Which Quotes Show The Friar In The Canterbury Tales Is Greedy?

Okay, let’s dig into this with a cup of tea and my battered copy of 'The Canterbury Tales' nearby — the Friar is one of those characters who keeps popping up in conversation because Chaucer is just so sly about him. If you want quotes that point straight at the Friar's greed, the most useful place to look is the General Prologue where Chaucer sketches him with ironic praise and sly detail. A few lines that readers and scholars always point to are the ones about how he arranged marriages and curries favor with wealthy folk: 'He hadde maad ful many a mariage / Of yonge wommen, at his owene cost.' That line sounds generous — “at his own cost” — but the context makes it clear he’s monetizing pastoral duties and social access, using the guise of charity to secure connections and gifts.

Another striking passage shows how he chooses his penitents selectively and profits from confessions: Chaucer notes that the Friar was quick to give absolution where he could expect reward, a habit that reads as mercenary rather than merciful. Paraphrased lines like 'For unto a povre ordre that was sodeyn... he would give penance lightly if profit followed' demonstrate this preference. The text also flatly describes his cozy relationships with innkeepers and barmaids — people who passed him small earnings and favors — which makes the Friar less like a spiritual shepherd and more like a social broker: he’s always where the money flows.

Finally, look at how Chaucer’s tone flips between mock-praise and plain description — lines that call him a 'merry and a wanton fellow' or point out that he was a 'limiter' with a special license to beg are dripping with irony. Those phrases, taken together with the scenes of him soliciting gifts, arranging marriages, and favoring the rich in confession, create a portrait of clerical greed: he’s not simply poor and pious, he’s adept at turning religion into revenue. If you want to cite specific passages in an essay, use the General Prologue's section on the Friar (often labeled in editions) — that chunk gives the clearest, quotable moments that expose his avarice. Personally, every time I reread it I’m struck by how modern Chaucer’s satire feels — it’s basically a medieval memo on how charm plus clerical cover can hide a pretty sharp appetite for gain.

Oh, I love this little moral puzzle — Chaucer does such deliciously pointed stuff. To show the Friar’s greed in a compact way, pull quotations from the General Prologue where Chaucer both flatters and undercuts him: lines about how he 'made many marriages of young women at his own cost' (which reads as a way to gain influence and gifts), and the remarks that he was a 'limiter' with license to beg but preferred the company of the well-off. Another crisp piece is where Chaucer implies the Friar gives easy penances when it brings him benefit; that’s basically calling him a cleric-for-hire.

Those quotations are compact evidence: they reveal a guy who mixes charm, access to confession, and social networking to his own advantage. If you’re writing something short, quote those lines from the General Prologue and then point to the way Chaucer’s tone — half-complimentary, half-sardonic — makes the greed obvious without spelling it out bluntly. If you want more, reading the Friar’s interactions in his tale and his exchanges with the Summoner adds scenes that confirm the portrait.