Dante and Chaucer: anticlerical? In the short selections we have read so far of Dante and Chaucer an important topic of discussion that seems to come up often is whether Dante and Chaucer Chaucer should be seen as anticlerical to because of his writing style and the apparent shots he throws at the Church throughout his writings. By the end of the 14th century the Catholic Church, which ruled many parts of Europe, had become very wealthy. The cathedrals and churches that were being built began to become very expensive to produce and the amount of decoration and money that was going into these cathedrals and churches surprised even many of the wealthiest people. In a century that included many hardships such as death, disease, famine, and hard-to-find work, many considered this sudden rise to power and wealth by the Church to be quite disturbing and unjust. Many people also think that the Church is deceptive since it is known for preaching against the concept of greed. This is where Dante and Chaucer come in. Dante and Chaucer were part of a large group of people who considered this rise to power and wealth to be unfair and therefore expressed their disappointment through their writings. Throughout their writings, Dante and Chaucer used similar and different writing techniques to express their irritations towards the Church and to shed little light on the actions the Church was taking. In the 14th century, the Church influenced practically every aspect of life, from social to economic, etc. Dante was not immune to these influences. Throughout his life he encountered many conflicts with the Church and especially with people like Pope Boniface VIII. Dante saw the Church as a corrupt institution, in the middle of the paper, corrupt with every one of them. This is how Chaucer vented his anger through the Church, through his characters and by describing and mocking the way Church officials acted. In conclusion, it can be said that Dante and Chaucer were two very unique writers who used similar and different techniques to express their anger. towards the Church. Many sarcastic comments and descriptions of certain characters and stories really emphasized Dante and Chaucer's anger towards the Church and I think some people really agreed with them and had the same position regarding the sudden increase in power and wealth of the Church. Dante and Chaucer were courageous in opposing and going against the Church in their writings and saying what they truly believed was wrong with the Church and its practices, and they expressed their opinions through what they both did best: writing.