To the casual reader, Dante's Inferno and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales are generally interpreted as simple works of fiction designed and created for the sole purpose of entertainment. To fully grasp the message intended by the authors, however, it is necessary to carefully analyze the rhetoric and style of each work. If both works of art were not carefully examined, the reader would overlook Dante and Chaucer's layered themes of criticizing the behaviors of church representatives in their poems. These influential artists anticipated the beginnings of the Catholic Reformation, largely exemplified in Inferno and The Canterbury Tales. From the authors' perspective, Catholic church officials were revealed to be flawed in that they were incredibly corrupt and placed a sinful emphasis on worldly wealth. Nearly a century before the Reformation era, beginning in 1517 with Martin Luther's Theses, Dante and Chaucer both catalyzed the Reformation movement by subtly rebuking the Church, indirectly through their works of fiction. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Although Dante offers cutting commentary on the politics of his city-state of Florence throughout the Inferno, his commentary on the position of church officials is of particular interest. His criticism is important because of his future roles in significant historical events of the resulting split of the Catholic church into the Protestant sect. During Dante's lifetime, church corruption was rampant. Everyone from priests to the Pope was guilty of the sin of avarice, defined by the intense greed of monetary wealth. Dante's contempt for the representatives of the church is represented by their placement in the structure of his Inferno. To understand the gravity of Dante's contempt for the sinful leaders of the Church, one must first understand the construction of his Hell. Dante's Inferno was built on the gravity of the sin committed; the more serious the sin, the deeper the Hell to which the sinner was condemned. Thus, in Canto XIX, (page 454) many of the important leaders of the church, including Pope Nicholas III, are found in the eighth circle of Hell, which is the penultimate circle of Hell. For reference, the lustful are found in the second circle, while the arch-heretics are found in the sixth circle (page 391). Now that the basics of the structure have been established, the form of punishment follows a similar general set of rules in Hell. Dante finds Pope Nicholas III “writhing more than all his companions… licked by a redder flame” (page 454). Since Nicholas III was not a mere priest, but rather the pope of the entire Catholic church, who was entrusted with "the keys in his keeping" (page 456), his form of punishment was more drastic than the others, exemplified by the brighter fire, hotter flame. In Dante's conversation with Pope Nicholas III, he claims that the pope "brings sorrow to the world" instead of worshiping God, "worshiped hundreds... not differing from the idolater" (page 456). This very scene represents Dante's point of view on the shortcomings of the representatives of the church; who place more importance on worldly wealth than on the righteous leadership of the Catholic Church. Furthermore, Pope Nicholas III was not the only pope guilty of these sins. As exemplified by the ability of the tormented to see into the future, but not the past, described on page 455, other popes were to be condemned to the same set into which Pope Nicholas III had already been placed, supporting the idea that more representatives of the church were entangled in fraud and deception. Even if theseconcrete events did not lead to widespread change during Dante Alighieri's lifetime, they provided the necessary stimulus that would lead to the events of Martin Luther. Dante played this catalytic role by first introducing the idea that the church was involved in corruption and deception. Although not directly addressed in Inferno, this preliminary introduction was necessary due to the sheer power of the Catholic Church and its effective ability to silence opponents and influence public interest. Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales is a plot of a variety of people on a pilgrimage to a Canterbury cathedral. It is noteworthy; while Chaucer may have created a setting with religious undertones, being that of a pilgrimage, it is actually quite ironic because the characters described in the plot also represent Chaucer's criticisms of the representatives of the church. In Dante's Inferno, he informs the audience of his criticisms of the church's representatives based on their place in his Hell. In contrast, Chaucer uses irony to show his opinion on the matter. For example, when describing the Prioress, she is described as "finding what she likes best" (page 665). This statement is supported by the fact that she wears a rosary in adherence to the love and admiration of Jesus Christ, but nuns were not allowed to wear gaudy items, let alone jewelry in the first place (page 666). By wearing the rosary, the Prioress means that she does not have a particular attachment to the Catholic Church, nor to the main beliefs on which it is based. This example is representative of Chaucer's view that church officials are heavily corrupt and that the Catholic Church as a whole should not be trusted due to its dishonesty and fraud. Chaucer further illustrates his point that many church officials are corrupted by the Monk's description. The Monk also proves the author's point that church officials are corrupted by his willingness to adhere to the religion of which he is a leader. Instead of reading the Bible and engaging in religious thought and prayer, the Monk prefers to go hunting because he "is careless of the rules" (page 666). Chaucer delves into the Monk's character development by stating that he "wouldn't give you a plucked goose...for that text" (page 666). According to the interpretation of this quote, the text in question here is the Holy Bible. Since the Monk does not feel responsible for the principles of his position, he prefers to go out and spend his time according to his hobbies, which are hunting. All of these quotes support the claim that Chaucer is again creating a contrast in his characters, representative of his point of view as a whole. The specific contrast between these characters is that they are both in positions of authority in the church, but act as if they are corrupt, further exemplified by the Monk's choice of clothing, which is very elaborate. Jesus Christ taught that his followers should be humbled and show modesty towards other people, but the Monk completely ignores this teaching, further exemplifying his illicit behavior. Perhaps the most notable and intriguing example of corruption in Chaucer's tale is that of the Pardoner, who confesses to advertising false relics to Christians (page 713). Chaucer's description of the Pardoner is a direct representation of the type of church official that Martin Luther would later advance against, as described in The 95 Theses. Similar to Dante, by exposing to the public the idea of ​​church corruption disguised as a façade of fiction, Chaucer succeeded in paving the way for the Reformation. When the Reformation actually arrived, many.