SEMINAR N.

8: CHRIST AND SATAN

How is the story structured?
The story of Christ and Satan represents the great triumph of Christ over Satan, the
falling of humanity and the promise of a better life adjacent to God the Father of all.
The poem treats different themes and to divide it into those themes would be the
appropriate. Firstly, the poet goes back in time and talk about the expulsion of the
rebellious angel from heaven. In this part we notices the devils repentance and the
motives he had to rebel. Secondly, the poet describes the horrors and sufferings of
hell, where Satan and his followers were sent, together with the sinners. Thirdly, he
looks forwards to the resurrection of Christ and his reappearance to the disciples; this
sections ends with Christs promise to return to look for his militants.

When do the episodes mentioned here take place?
The episodes occurred before the earth was created, it is just impossible to know
exactly when because the very bible does not contain that information. All we know is
that that happened in heaven. However, the episodes that talk about Christs
temptation and Christs resurrection can be scheduled back to the very beginning of
the Christian era during and after the time Jesus lived in the earth.

Is it a biblical account?
I truly think the poem is a paraphrased biblical account of the book of Genesis and the
book of Mathew. The person that wrote it was very well acquainted with the biblical
histories and knew how to state his thought about the condemnation and salvation of
humanity.

The poem starts with a reference to Genesis; compare it to those in Caedmons
Hymn or in Beowulf.






Do you perceive any elegiac tone in the words of the fallen angels or in Satans?
It seems that Satan and his fallen angels felt very sorry for what they had done. Satan
felt remorse for thinking he could overcome the Almighty God and drive him off the
throne, but things did not worked out as he planned theme. His tone is very sad when
he talks about the light and the conditions in which he lived in heaven, and the angels
feel nostalgia too when they remind how was their life aside the Ordaining Lord.

From their point of view, whose responsibility was their fall? What is Satans main
feature?
The full responsibility for their fall is Satans. He was the liar, who convinced the angels
of his faked power and wisdom. Satans main feature was to be a good liar so good
that made the angels believe he was the holy God.

How are hell and Satan described?
Satan is described as a hideous being, liar, black, Gods adversary, pride and the hell is
depicted as a dark abyss, woeful, dwelling of dragons, shackle of punishment.

From what we hear in their speeches, do you think the devils would rebel against
God if they could?
I do not think they would rebel against God because they liked to inhabit in heaven
and being next to the Lord of Lords, the problem came when Satan tricked them telling
them he was God and that the real God was his son. The fallen angels wanted to go
back to heaven and live again with Christ, but it was too late for them, that was not
possible.




Can you indicate some passages marked by irony?
From line 163 to line 173 we find in Satans speech words that sounds like irony, it is
possible to find other, but I think these one may be very important because he mocks
at Gods characteristics and nature.

Do you think this poem might be oriented towards a didactic purpose and used in a
sermon? If so, how does the style change?
The purpose of the poem could be reasonable didactic, but I am not sure if it could be
used in a sermon due to its structure and composition. This is after all a poem, not a
piece of paper with biblical quotations and some exempla. In my opinion it is too long
to be a sermon and the language it uses is elaborate in a way. I would consider the
poem as a didactic and directed towards Christians and non-Christians in order they
could know where sin comes from and how to reach salvation through Christs blood.

Does this biblical account coincide with the Anglo-Saxon aspects of comitatus and
revenge?
I do not think so. This Christian stories have less in common with the Angle-Saxons
traditions. Here we see the matters of obedience, respect, loyalty and immeasurable
love. Satans punishment came as a direct consequence of his behaviour, but never as
a matter of revenge on Gods part. And the fact that the fallen angels agreed with the
devil to rebel is not a matter of premeditate complot on their behalf, but they were
cheated, and then had to spend their whole eternity with Satan suffering the
outcomes of their actions. Although Satan tries to take human to hell, at the end he
does not do much, its each one who decides to obey God and his commandments or
to follow the sinful actions and accompany Satan to hell, it is a personal decision.

What are the main biblical episodes the poet refers to?
First of all, he refers to Satan rebellion against God, then to Adam and Eves
disobedience, Christs temptation in the desert, later to Christ sacrifice, resurrection
and transfiguration. To conclude, the judgment of all the creation and the opportunity
to the Christians to be redeemed and transformed at the second coming of Christ.

THE FRIARS TALE


Go to the General Prologue and read the friars portrait by Chaucer the pilgrim. How
is this Friar Huberd presented?
The Friars is described as a limiter, a very festive fellow who in the four orders was
very mellow. He knew how to speak and was a great counsellor to marriages. He was a
beloved person, easy man in penance giving, the finest beggar of his batch. To sum up,
he was a righteous person.

According to the description in the story, what was the role of summoners in
medieval society?
A summoner was a person who runs about the nation dealing out summonses for
fornication, and was beaten up by every villager. He knew so much about bribery and
blackmail, he spot for sure lecher, adulterer or paramour, and they were the source of
his rent. The job of a summoner was to issue summons from the church against
sinners who, under penalty of excommunication, pay indulgences for their sins to
the church, money summoners often took for themselves.

From the narrators perspective, were summoners virtuous people?
Not at all. The summoner was considered a liar, a thief who stole from everyone as
much as he could. Indeed, when he encountered the yeoman, he asked him to teach
him his subtler tricks for winning more money, because after all they were both
bailiffs.

What about the rest of the ecclesiastical net he belongs to?
The friars were against the summoner because they consider him a bad person who
took economic advantage of peoples secrets and dirty stuffs. Archdeacons were who
boldly carried out the Church's laws against fornication, witchcraft and lechery. In this
tale we do not see much about the criticism to the religious system, but to the people
who perform the laws. The Archdeacon and summoners were the worst, meanwhile
the friars were considered a little be better.
Do you perceive irony in the friars portrait of the summoner?
I think there is some irony in the friars description of the summoner. He says the
summoner was a treacherous thief, a pastor to certain people that ate from his hand.
But sometimes friars did the same. I do not see much difference between the two,
there have always been tricks and mischief among the ecclesiastical figures, to know
who is good or bad, its been always a harsh task. The passages in which the devil is
mentioned are also ironic in a way, the devil is presented sometimes as being dull and
others as an executer.

When and where does the story happen?


How does the summoner address the devil?
The summoner got nearer the devil in order to tell him a gossip that the old man carter
said take my cart and my three horses, too. Trying to convince him of what he has
just said about the old man. In this respect, we notice that this dialogue between the
summoner and the devil is irony; the summoner would never now more than the very
mischievous devil, father of all lies.

How is confession present in the story?
Confession here is quite different from the Christian one. The summoner confess to
the yeoman all the bad things hes done, as well as the yeoman does. But this is not a
confession that will take them out of hell, but a sharing of intimate information
between two people that seem to be friend, even though they are both deceivers of
the true.

Does the devil lie? How does he present his daily life?
According to the bible he is the father and author of all lies; although in this poem the
devil stands for a better being than summoners. He daily routine is to take those
deceivers of the true to hell, especially summoners who have a special shelf there. The
devil in the story responds to peoples curses, immediately the widow cursed the
summoner the devil appeared and accomplished the curse, to take the summoner and
the widows pan to hell forever.
What is the importance of intention when uttering words in this story?
Well I think the uttering of certain words in the story are very determining, for instance
when the widow cursed the summoner the devil appeared as a response o that calling.
I think that certain words or curses can become true if the people utter them with a
deterministic tone, believing that that will really happen. People said things trusting
that what they wish and say could come true in reality.

Is the summoner aware of the danger he is in?
I do not think so. He thought he could escape from the devil hawks, but that was not
possible, even if he tried to cross himself three times, his acts had determined his
future dwelling place. It is usual to see this behaviour in most people, we do the wrong
things thinking nothing bad will never happen, or that we could in the last minute
repent and get heaven, but things do not work out like that, the consequences of our
evil actions will certainly take place.

What would you say are his main sins?
The summoner was accused for lying to the people, tricking in order to take money
from others, swindling and manipulating so that he might obtain whatever he wanted.
And of course, all these characteristics made of him a great sinner, deserver of the
eternal perdition and punishment.

What are the intentions of the old womans words?
I think her intentions are to drive the summoner out of her house, even though he
tried to make her believe shes done wrong things she was sure of not having
committed any bad action, neither her dead husband, so she was not disposed to be
robbed by the summoner, for that reason she cursed him, and really desired the devil
came to take him to hell. Friar's tale is also a reminder to watch what you wish for, and
not to speak without thinking. The devil, it seems, takes words literally.


Which of the two main characters is preferred by the narrator?
It is quite strange that neither the summoner nor the narrator fear the devil when they
meet. Summoners were considered hideous personages. In fact, the narrator too
seems to hold a higher opinion of the devil than of the summoner. For this reason I
think the narrator prefers more the yeoman character than the summoner, throughout
the whole poem the only thing we see is bad commentaries about summoners.