Originating in mid-13th century England, attorney generals were viewed to be the valiant knights of blind justice, yet they earn their power, money and knowledge through corruption. In Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, through irony and sarcasm, the difference between the ideal function or role in a society of a particular person versus their true behaviour is established. Some examples being the Pardoner’s money habits of being bribed for a “merciful” punishment, a Monk with a particular attraction to hunting and expensive clothes, a Doctor who cares more about gossip than helping people. Chaucer uses irony and sarcasm to rightly depict the true colours of the people. The Sergeant at Law is a character with distinct differences from his ideal status and his real behaviour, from being the representation of justice to extortion being his practice. During the 14th century, at the time of the Canterbury Tales, the Sergeant at Law worked behind the king, giving him advice and working along side him. He was a man of power, respected by the community for his position as he would handle cases and write undeniably correct legal documents. Even though this was over seven centuries ago, the current position of attorney general is not only of a person of power but he also carries the responsibility of representing the people. Maintaining the same role of advising the person in command, in this case being the president, and administering the Department of Justice. Noticeable through Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, there is a distinct difference with how the Sergeant at Law is viewed and his real behaviour. Ideally, the Sergeant at Law is a respected man of values who dedicates his life to help the people in the court. He is a strategist organizing his justice department to truthfully conduct all their legal matters. He would have an altruistic approach to his job. Out of all his qualities, leader is the most important and the more preeminent of them all. Even though this is how the people beheld the Sergeant at Law, his real behaviour was the opposite of this. He would consistently be bribed for advantages and information on the court. He would use extortion and blackmail to win and end cases. Always searching for an opportunity of leverage, he was manipulative and obnoxious in order to get the job done. And yet, his greatest offense was his indifference to the people and their rights, which is cemented in job as a representative of the people. The Canterbury Tales describe a series of characters with an ideal role in society which they don’t follow. Taking a look at the Sergeant at Law specifically, he did abide to his ideal characteristics and functionality, instead working for his own gain and convenience. Chaucer’s uses humour to explain this with irony and sarcasm comparing the “valiant knight of blind justice” to what he is, in reality. Originating from England in the mid-thirteenth century, attorney generals were seen as the brave knights of blind justice, but they gained their power, money and knowledge through corruption. In the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, through irony and sarcasm, he establishes the difference between the function and the ideal role in a society of a particular person versus his true behavior. Some examples are the monetary habits of the Pardoner of being bribed to have a "merciful" punishment, a Monk with a particular attraction for hunting and expensive clothes, a Doctor who cares more gossip than for helping people. Chaucer uses irony and sarcasm to correctly represent the true colors of people. The Sergeant at Law is a character with distinctive differences of his ideal state and his real behavior, from being the representation of justice to extortion being his practice. During the fourteenth century, at the time of the Canterbury Tales, the Sergeant at Law worked behind the king, giving him advice and working alongside him. He was a man of power, respected by the community for his position, since he would handle cases and write undoubtedly correct legal documents. Although this happened more than seven centuries ago, the current position of attorney general is not only of a person of power, but also has the responsibility of representing people. Maintaining the same advisory role to the person in charge, in this case being the president, and administer the Department of Justice. Through the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer, there is a clear difference with the way the Sergeant at Law is seen and his real behavior. Ideally, the Sergeant at Law is a respected man of values who dedicates his life to helping people in court. He is a strategist organizing the justice department to carry out all the legal affairs. He would have an altruistic approach to his work. Of all his qualities, being a leader is the most important and most outstanding one of all. Although this is how people thought of the Sergeant at Law, his real behavior was the opposite of this. They would constantly bribe him to get benefits and information about the court. He would use extortion and blackmail to win and finish cases. Always looking for an opportunity for leverage, he was manipulative and unpleasant so he would do the job. And yet, his greatest crime was his indifference to people and their rights, which was consolidated in the work as a representative of the people. The Canterbury Tales describes a series of characters with an ideal role in society that do no follow. Taking a look at the Sergeant at Law specifically, he didn't fulfil his ideal features and functionality, instead he would work for his own benefit and convenience. Chaucer uses humor to explain this with irony and sarcasm when comparing the "brave knight of blind justice" with what he really is.
