In Dante's Inferno, the protagonist strays from the moral path and gets lost in the dark woods. Almost attacked by wild animals, he is saved by the ghost of Virgil, a popular Roman poet. Virgil guides Dante through the nine circles of Hell and through this journey, Dante reveals his true feelings towards the political world of medieval times. While Dante unleashes his hatred towards clericalism, in the epic poem The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer documents various social tensions in the 1300s due to the explicit depiction of thirty-four characters. In The Inferno and Canterbury Tales, these vernacular writings illuminate anticlericalism inspired by personal experiences from medieval times. Starting with The Inferno, Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy in 1265. He came from a moderately wealthy family that immersed itself in the complex Florentine political environment. While his family had a huge impact on Dante, he began to study philosophy, which only intensified his political views. Dante's personal life in the late 13th century greatly parallels the comedy Inferno. During this period, the struggle between church and state for temporal authority affected Italy in various ways. Specifically in Florence, two parties developed as a result of this crisis, one being the Guelph loyalty, supporting the papacy, and the Ghibelline loyalty focused on imperial power. Dante being part of the white party, supporting the independence of Florence from papal authority, ultimately has personal problems with Pope Boniface VIII, who supports the black party. This specific terrain had individuals willing to work with the pope to restore power; Boniface eventually comes out...... middle of paper...... to inspire his future texts, such as The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer experienced brutal events during the 1300s, such as the English social sphere, the Black Death, and the Hundred Years' Wars. Due to the Black Death which wiped out around fifty percent of England and remained widespread everywhere, social statuses were torn down, creating new ones. The working population took advantage of this opportunity to increase their influence, which aroused resentment among the noble and propertied classes. And while the nobles and others felt resentment towards the labor force, they would eventually resent the same feeling when the peasantry revolted against them. Over time, merchants capitalized on the demand for luxury, resulting in the domination of London by a merchant oligarchy. Although Chaucer's political views are unclear, social satire in medieval times is undoubtedly relevant to The Canterbury Tales..