The Seven Deadly Sins

Table of Contents

Introduction

- Introduction to the Seven Deadly Sins

The Seven Sins in English Literature

- The Canterbury Tales

Conclusion

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Introduction

Pride, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Gluttony, Wrath, and Envy. The Seven Deadly Sins are very

familiar to us and we instantly know what we’re talking about. For people in the 21st century,

this mainly has to do with the movie Se7en by, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

However, the Seven Deadly Sins will also be known to anyone who has an interest in

literature, especially in that of the Medieval and Early Modern periods in which the Seven

Deadly Sins were a highly interesting and popular element that was frequently used.

The Seven Deadly Sins have a long tradition in literature, mainly because the concept

of sin has always been interesting to people. Furthermore, the Seven Deadly Sins are part of

the doctrine of the Roman Catholic church, which had a huge influence in Medieval times and

the Early Modern period. Throughout this period of time there were numerous references to

the Seven Deadly Sins, especially in religious documents and treatises.

However, it would be foolish to say that the influence of the Seven Deadly Sins did

not extend beyond the church. There were numerous references to the Seven Deadly Sins in

secular literature (in so far as literature at that time could be secular), which made a great

impression on people and were part of some of the greatest works of literature. Examples of

this are Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Edmund Spenser’s Fairie Queene and William

Langland’s Piers Plowman. All of these titles come from English literature. But there are also

examples from outside of England. The best example outside of England is the Divina

Commedia by Dante Alighieri. The main purpose of this essay is to discover if there are clear

connections between the descriptions and uses that Dante makes of the Seven Deadly Sins in

Divina Commedia and the different descriptions and uses of the Seven Deadly Sins in English

literature. Dante’s Divina Commedia has much in common with the English tradition of

depicting the Seven Deadly Sins. However, there are certainly differences in both the

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depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins in the different sources and in the intent of the authors

portraying them.

Introduction to the Seven Deadly Sins

When looking at the origin of the Seven Deadly Sins, it is important to first look at the

tradition they belong to. Firstly, it is imperative to understand that the number seven has

played a very important part in Judaism and Christianity, having as a result a huge influence

on society, especially in Medieval and Early Modern society. When looking at the Bible, this

becomes clear. The Bible immediately opens with the number seven, namely in the form of

the seven days that God took to create the earth. He rested on the seventh day and even

sanctified it as a rest day on which we should honour Him. Even when looking at the number

itself, there is undeniably meaning to the number seven. The first wholly odd number is three,

and the first wholly even number is four. These two added up make seven.

When looking at the concept of sin, one of the clearest sources to look at is St.

Augustine. He makes clear that sin is any thought, word or deed against God. He also makes

clear that sin is the death of the soul, meaning that sin is that which can endanger our soul, for

it makes our pure, immortal soul mortal. Still, the distinction between normal sins and deadly

sins remains very unclear. Still, it appears that, as Rogers concludes “A sin is therefore deadly

when it is of sufficient magnitude to have consequence far-reaching and large, and is the

result of a deliberate act of the will” (Rogers, 6).

Opposite of the Seven Deadly Sins are the Seven Chief Virtues, namely Humility,

Chastity, Love, Patience, Bounty, Abstinence and Vigilance. When comparing these lists it

becomes very obvious that the lists are based on one another. However, it must be mentioned

that the current list of the Virtues is an adaptation of an older list of the Seven Virtues. It

becomes clear that the later version was much more linked to the Seven Deadly Sins, while

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the older list was much more autonomous. A part of this list was made up of a list of four

Virtues that was made in the classical world, originating from Plato (Fortitude, Prudence,

Temperance and Justice). These virtues were added to the main Christian virtues, namely

Faith, Hope and Charity.

Throughout history, there have been several ways to look at the Seven Deadly Sins

and especially the way in which they are ordered. The order of the Seven Deadly Sins reveals

the different orders of importance that people hold them in. The first writer that really gave a

meaningful sequence of Seven Deadly Sins was John Cassian in his two books De Institutis

Coenobiorum and Collationes, both of which feature the Seven Sins in a most prominent role.

However, Cassian uses eight Sins, something that would continue for a long time. Cassian

formed this list, basing it on Egyptian sources. The list he makes is usually referred to as

glaitavs. This made up word is constituted of the first letters of the Latin names of the Seven

Deadly Sins. These Latin names would keep being used throughout history. The g stands for

Gula (Gluttony), the l for Luxuria (Lechery), a for Avaritia (Greed, or as it’s better known in

the medieval and early modern period, Covetousness) the i for Ira (Wrath, or Anger), the t for

Tristia (Sadness), a for Accedia (Sloth), the v for Vana Gloria (Vain-Glory) and the s for

Superbia (Pride). In this introduction, I will continue to use the Latin names for the Seven

Deadly Sins, since this is clearer when explaining the different systems. When discussing the

Seven Deadly Sins in their literary sources, I will use the English vernacular while naming

them. Cassian links each of the Seven Deadly Sins he describes to the seven Canaanite

nations that Israel had to fight. However, as previously mentioned, he lists eight Deadly Sins.

Cassian solves this problem by adding Egypt as Israel’s greatest enemy, linking it with the

greatest Sin in his list, Gluttony (Bloomfield, 70).

The basic explanation for the order that Cassian uses is that the excess of the one sin

leads to the other. For instance, an excess of Gula leads to Luxuria (if you drink too much

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wine your sexual restraints will loosen). When following this motivation, this would lead to

the conclusion that Pride is the worst sin to commit, while Gluttony is the most tempting.

Gregory the Great (Pope Gregory I) changed this system of ordering the Seven Deadly

Sins. The sins named by Gregory are the sins as are known in our times. The new system of

Sins was first mentioned by Gregory in his book Moralia. However, the order of the sins was

not the only thing that changed. In this list the sins of Tristitia and Vana Gloria are removed

from the order. They are both joined with other Sins. Tristitia is joined with Accedia under the

latter name. The same goes for Vana-Gloria and Superbia. To make the number Seven,

Gregory adds a new Sin to the list, namely Invidia (Envy). The order of Gregory is based on a

different principle than that of Cassian. Gregory’s order of the Seven Deadly Sins is based on

the amount of damage done by man to God by misusing the Love that is purposed to go to

God. Gregory’s list becomes siiaagl (in some sources, Vana Gloria is used in place of

Superbia, making the list viiaagl)(Bloomfield, 72).

The list mentioned above is composed of: Superbia, Invidia, Ira, Accedia, Avaritia,

Gula and Luxuria. It can be divided in three groups. The first group is the most offending to

God. It is love that is directed at the wrong things. With Superbia, the love is directed at

oneself, with Invidia, the love is directed to the other’s possessions, and with Ira, the love is

directed at hurting another. The second group consists solely of Accedia. This Sin represents

the insufficient love for God and His creation. The final group is that of too much love for

God’s creation, so that it detracts from worshipping God Himself. Avaritia is too much love

for money, Gula is too much love for food and drink, and Luxuria is too much love for the

other human being. Obviously, when looking at both systems of ordering the Deadly Sins is

the fact that Pride is the worst Sin in the eyes of both authors. This can be explained quite

easily, since it was Pride that caused Lucifer to rebel against God, beginning the tainting of

God’s creation. This was already known by Cassian, as Bloomfield points out by quoting him:

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“How great is the evil of pride, that it rightly has no angel, nor other virtues opposed to it, but

God Himself as its adversary” (Bloomfield 69).

One thing that also does not escape notice is the seven penitentiary psalms. These

psalms each are devices to ward of one of the particular Deadly Sins. When looking at the

psalms the psalms themselves, the Sin they warn against is very explicit. The different psalms

are: psalm 6 (against Superbia), psalm 32 (against Invidia), psalm 38(against Ira), Psalm 51

(against Accedia), psalm 102 (against Avaritia), psalm 130 (against Gula) and psalm 143

(against Luxuria). These psalms are mentioned by Rogers after the introduction of his book

(Rogers, IV). The system one can discern when looking at the different penitentiary psalms is

that of siiaagl, so it is likely to assume that the tradition of using these seven psalms as ward

against the Seven Deadly Sins only came into being after the rearranging of the order the

Deadly Sins are treated by Gregory I.

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The Seven Deadly Sins in English Literature.

The tradition of the Seven Deadly Sins has had a great influence in English Literature. They

appear in some of the most influential writings, including Piers Plowman by William

Langlan

d (the A-text written around 1377), The Canterbury Tales (1386-1400) by Geoffrey Chaucer,

The Fairy Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser and the The Tragical History of Doctor

Faustus (A-text written in 1604) by Christopher Marlowe. The first thing that one notices

when looking at these lists are that these works are secular. My choice not to include the

ecclesiastical works is deliberate, since the object of this essay is to compare the different

viewpoints on the Seven Deadly Sins from a social perspective, which is not directly

influenced by Rome in the way that the priests are. It will show the view of the ordinary man

on the Seven Deadly Sins. How do the Sins appear in the works by these famous and

important authors? That will be discussed in this chapter. Furthermore, the differences and

similarities in the depiction of the Sins will be put together and analysed. Through the

analysis, it will become clear that the depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins has a long tradition

in England, which features certain fixed elements on the one hand, but is open for individual

association and depiction on the other hand.

Canterbury Tales

The second source of the Seven Deadly Sins is the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey

Chaucer. This work, which is heavily inspired by the Decameron, is an invaluable part of

literature in early English society. In it, very different stories are described, both of an

ecclesial and non-ecclesial nature, and not even considered decent in the society in which it

was written. It is no surprise then that the poet himself apologizes for what he has written and

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insists that he is not to be held responsible for the statements that are made by his characters.

We should bear this in mind when reading The Canterbury Tales. This also is true for the Tale

that is of particular interest to us, namely The Parson’s Tale. However, before we take a look

at the Parson’s Tale itself, it is a good idea to look at the circumstances under which the

parson tells his story. In the General Prologue, the Parson is described as a poor man, content

to do God’s work. In this spiritual purity, he forms a group with the Nun’s Priest and the Nuns

as opposed to the Friar, the Monk and the Prioress, who in fact represent the degradation and

corruption within the Catholic Church. In fact, the Parson can be seen as Chaucer’s complaint

against the church and its misconduct. This is clearly shown by the lifestyle of the Parson:

“Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte, And this figure he added therto, That if gold

ruste, what shal iren do? For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste, No wonder is a

lewed man to ruste; And a shame it is, if a prest take keep, A shiten shepherde and a

clene sheep. Whel oghte a preest ensmple for to yive, By his clennesse, how that his

sheep sholde lyve” (Chaucer, 31).

In any case, the amount of text that the Parson gets in the General Prologue implies that he is

of some importance in the whole. This is also reflected in this fragment: “But riche he was of

hooly thought and werk. He was also a lerned man, a clerk” (Chaucer, 31).

The Parson’s Tale itself is long, and seems like a sermon. However, the form of the

tale also reveals something of the source from which Chaucer has formed the basis of the

Tale. The Tale is taken from an instructional book on Penance. Because of the wide variety of

the different sins a man can commit, these instructional books were issued to give priests

somewhat of a guideline, from which they could decide what punishment the sinner would

deserve. The Parson does not only give the Seven Deadly Sins and the ways to do penance to

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absolve them, he also gives specific vices, which origin from the Seven Deadly Sins. This

practical description of the Seven Deadly Sins fits the Parson well, for as the General

Prologue suggests, he is definitely a learned man, but contrary to the Monk (a character in the

Canterbury Tales who is also learned, as one can deduce from his description in the General

Prologue and the tale he tells), the Parson is not a clergyman gone in seclusion. This man is in

touch with the community and his congregation. Therefore, he will witness and hear the daily

sins that the people in his congregation commit. Keeping this in mind, he connects these sins

that he must hear daily when taking confessions with the Seven Deadly Sins as given by

Gregory the Great. This is clearly shown, not only in the order in which the Seven Deadly

Sins are discussed, but also in the importance of the sin of Pride among the other Sins. The

Parson stresses that it is the root of all Sins, and that its influence is therefore too much to

describe. Another feature that has been taken from Gregory the Great is the mention of the

division of Gluttony into five different areas: Eating before it is time to eat, taking too much

pleasure in eating or drinking, eating or drinking too much, having too much curiosity for

eating or drinking, or drinking to greedily. All these exempla are mentioned in The Parson’s

Tale

However, the Parson’s preach does differ from the theory of Gregory the Great.

Whether this is incidental or intentional is not sure, but Chaucer changes the order of the

Deadly Sins. Chaucer changes the order of Envy and Wrath. This does not change the

mnemonic word siiaagl, nor does it change the groups that can be put together when looking

at this acronym. Pride, Wrath and Envy are still together in the group of misdirected love.

Still, it is interesting to note that a man of learning should make this mistake, leading to the

conclusion that this Parson is still only human, and that we should always be critical of what

is preached to us. This then, fits wonderfully well with the message of the Parson regarding

the church, namely that we should be critical of it.

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This mention of the Seven Deadly Sins by the Parson can also be directed at his

present company, just as his usual sermon is directed at his own congregation. In this case, as

has been pointed out by Frederick Rogers, the Tale would be meant for the members of the

company headed for Canterbury. This idea is proposed by Bloomfield in The Seven Deadly

Sins. This Tale serves to make the different travellers look at themselves and see what of the

Seven Deadly Sins they can recognise in themselves. As Rogers points out, there are several

academics who suggest that Chaucer wrote at least part of the Canterbury Tales with the idea

of letting the Seven Sins return frequently in the Canterbury Tales. This is mentioned by John

Livingston Lowes in his article “Chaucer and the Seven Sins”. In his he names the following

Tales as examples of the Seven Deadly Sins: “the Physician (exemplifying Lechery), the

Pardoner (Avarice and Gluttony), the Second Nun (Sloth), the Wife of Bath (Pride), the

Manciple (Wrath), the Man of Law (Envy), and the Summoner-Friar group (Wrath)”

(Livingston Lowes, 240). The source on which Livingston Lowes bases himself is Frederick

Tupper’s “Chaucer and the Seven Deadly Sins”. Tupper mentions that all Sins in the tales of

the different pilgrims that are mentioned above are in fact the consequences of the Seven

Deadly Sins and are not the actual Sins themselves. They are the examples of the Seven

Deadly Sins that are mentioned by the Parson (Tupper, 107). The difference between Tupper

and Livingston Lowes is the fact that Livingston Lowes claims that the Tales are not directly

linked to the examples of the Seven Deadly Sins, as Tupper does. Livingston Lowes claims

that the Seven Deadly Sins (or the examples of those Seven Deadly Sins) are represented by

their opposites, or are hinted at by the different Tales.

Furthermore, several characters can be seen as personifications of the Seven Sins.

Tupper also makes reference of this on page 107 of his article. If we look at the Squire, for

instance, he is fond of his wealthy appearance and his fine clothes, in contrast to his father the

Knight, who is the ideal picture of humble chivalry. This love of outward appear by the

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Squire is explicitly described by the Parson as one of the branches of Pride. Another example

is the drinking Miller (Gluttony). The Monk that likes to go hunting and wears a lover’s idol

(Lechery), the hypocritical Friar (Pride) who is quick to anger and to act upon his anger

(Wrath) as is proven by the slanderous Tale he tells of the Summoner, whom he has been

silently cursing.

With the Parson’s Tale, Chaucer manages to combine critique at the Church with

admiration and respect for the same institution. Simultaneously, he manages to ridicule his

own fictional travelling company by pointing out their flaws. The work is traditional in its

approach of the Seven Sins, but original in its implementation. It fits well with the parson’s

idea of scolding the sinners in his parish, and at the same time give the good example of living

one’s life oneself.

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Conclusion

Studying the Seven Deadly Sins in any tradition, it is important to understand the background

of these Seven Sins and their particular meaning in Roman Catholic tradition. When looking

further, it becomes important to see how that Catholic tradition is used by authors to create

their depiction of the Seven Deadly Sins. Furthermore, the relationship between the author

(and the society which he is part of) is of importance.

When looking at the way in which Dante’s Divina Commedia compares to the English

tradition of dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, the similarities are obvious, since Dante

seems to use the Seven Sins in several ways that return in the different approaches in English

literature. He uses them to educate (in a moral sense), to amuse and to comment on society.

These three main motives of dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins are also used in four of the

most prominent sources in English literature which feature the Seven Deadly Sins, in various

degrees of importance. The medieval sources appear to take on a more educational role, while

the later sources appear to focus more on the role of language, and on amusement. The

different intentions of the authors could be a suitable subject for further research regarding the

Seven Deadly Sins

Another interesting thing when looking at the Seven Deadly Sins in the different

sources is that most sources personify the Seven Deadly Sins. This makes the abstract

character of the concept of sin more practical and easier to understand for the common man.

However, Dante creates distance by personifying the Deadly Sins in the form of mythological

persona. The English sources use common personifications that require less research into

mythology and tend to become allegories.

The final thing that is interesting to see is that (some of) the Seven Deadly Sins are

used to criticize the very institution that created them in the form that is used by the authors of

the sources that we have looked at. The Catholic church is criticised, usually by identifying

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one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins with clergymen. Examples of this are the

personification of Wrath in Langland’s Piers Plowman and the Parson who preaches to his

fellow pilgrims, including several clergymen in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

The Seven Deadly Sins played a role in several of the greatest works in English

literature as well as in the Divina Commedia, perhaps the greatest work in Italian literature.

The similarities and differences when comparing these sources reveal specific information

about the nature of the authors and the society in which each of them wrote.

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Works Cited and Used

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy, vol. 1: Inferno, tr. Charles S. Singleton, Princeton : Princeton U.P.1977.

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy, vol. 3: Purgatorio, tr. Charles S. Singleton, Princeton : Princeton U.P.1977.

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy, vol. 5: Paradiso, tr. Charles S. Singleton, Princeton : Princeton U.P.1977.

Bloomfield, Morton W. The Seven Deadly Sins: an Introduction to the History of a Religious Concept, with Special Reference to Medieval English Literature. Michigan : State U.P. 1967

Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Canterbury Tales.” The Riverside Chaucer ed. Larry D. Benson. Oxford : Oxford U.P. 1988, pp 3-329.

Friederich, Werner P. Dante’s Fame Abroad, 1350-1850 : the Influence of Dante Alighieri on the Poets and Scholars of Spain, France, England, Germany, Switzerland and the United States : a Ssurvey of the Present State of Scholarship. Chapel Hill : Univ. of North Carolina Press. 1950.

Langland, William. The Book Concerning Piers the Plowman, tr. Donald and Rachel Attwater, ed. Rachel Attwater. London: Everyman. 1957.

Livingstone Lowes, John. . “Chaucer and the Seven Sins.” Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. volume 30, issue 2, pp 237-371.

Marlowe, Christopher. “The Tragedy of Doctor Faustus.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature ed.M.H. Abrams. New York : Norton. 2000.

Raffa, Guy. “Purgatorio.” Danteworlds, 18 June 2008, 18 June 2008. <http://danteworlds.laits.utexas.edu/purgatory/index.html>.

Rogers, Frederick. The Seven Deadly Sins. London: Bullen. 1907.

Spenser, Edmund. “The Fairie Queene.” The Norton Anthology of English literature ed.M.H. Abrams, New York : Norton. 2000.

Tambling, Jeremy. “Dreaming the Siren: Dante and Melancholy.” Forum for Modern Language Studies. vol 4. January , 2004 .pp 56-69.

Tupper, Frederick. “Chaucer and the Seven Sins.” Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. Volume: 29, issue 1, pp 93-128.

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