The Prioress's Anti-Semitism
The Prioress was anti-Semitic because of her misperceptions of Jews, whom she believed were responsible for the deaths of the Christian children. The perception that the Semites killed the Christian children had a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of the Jews by deteriorating relations between those people and the rest of society. (Chaucer 10).
Additionally, the Prioress is against Semites because, according to her tales, the Semites were given the responsibility of gathering and lending money to the society by the leaders. However, the community perceived the act of collection and lending of funds an evil activity hence it is evident that the Prioress regarded the Semites as corrupt individuals who did not have proper intents for the society.
Question 2
Prioress' tale significantly reflects the anti-Semitism in the mediaeval times where the society exposed the Semites to various problems. One of the anti-Semitic activities in the medieval periods is their expulsion from the countries such as Trier (Germany), Metz (France) and the Holy Roman Empires among others. The leaders of the churches also perceived the Jews as evil people hence forced the Semites to convert to Christianity and persecuted those who failed to denounce their faith as the church attached the black blood libel to all Jews (Chazzan 241).
Also, the medieval period involved the racial discrimination against the Jews. In the late medieval times, the Jews who were prospering in economic activities faced various challenges such as the accusation that they practiced capitalism, which was against the ideals of Christianity (Chazzan 241). Therefore, it is evident from the medieval periods that the church exposed the Semites to significant problems.
Works Cited
Chazzan, Robert. From Anti-Judaism to Anti-Semitism, 2016: Cambridge university press. Print
Chaucer, Geoffrey. Canterbury Tales: Prioress and Her Tale, n.d. Print.
