6. Something to believe in

Abstract

It is no simple matter to access Chaucer’s religion. We are separated from Chaucer not just by the Reformation, but by the Counter-Reformation too. The range of Christian belief expressed by Chaucer’s pilgrims is remarkably broad, ranging from the orthodox perfectionism embraced by the professional religious, such as the nuns, to its explicit rejection by the Wife of Bath, and others. ‘Something to believe in’ explains that the variety of belief explored in Chaucer’s writing is, by any standard, extraordinary. It discusses the different examples of paganism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and thresholds to other worlds in his work. Chaucer was a sublime poet who explored many forms and objects of belief.