A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrie,
An outridere, that lovede venerie,
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable,
And whan he rood, men myghte his brydel heere
Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd als cleere
And eek as loude as dooth the chapel belle.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. Not the usual Monk this man. Rather than leading the spartan life associated with monks, he enjoys a life of extravagence. He enjoys hunting and owns many excellent horses. When he goes out riding you can hear his bridle jingling as loud as the chapel bell. In the Monk, Chaucer is satirizing hypocritical religious figures who are meant to live a monastic life of hard work and doing without, but instead are in the lap of luxury and idleness.