Canterbury Tales: Power Corrupts The pilgrims in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales exhibit human characteristics ranging from righteousness to corruption. Two of the pilgrims, the Clerk and Frere (Friar) demonstrate traits on opposite ends of the spectrum of human nature. The Clerk, wishing to educate himself and others, strove to reach a higher understanding of philosophy. The Friar used his position in the church to take advantage of innocent people for his own benefit. The Clerk was noble and just while the Friar was greedy. The Clerk was an ecclesiastical student at Oxford. He had co