Within Dante's Inferno, the protagonist strays from the moral path and gets lost in the dark woods. Almost attacked by ferocious 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 during the medieval period. While Dante unleashes his hatred towards clericalism, in the epic poem The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer documents various social tensions of the 1300s due to the explicit representation of thirty-four characters. Within the Inferno and the Canterbury Tales, these vernacular writings illuminate anticlericalism inspired by personal experiences during the medieval period. Starting with Inferno, Dante Alighieri was born in Florence, Italy, in 1265. He came from a moderate, wealthy family immersed in the complex political environment of Florence. Although his family had a huge impact on Dante, he began to study philosophy, which only intensified his political views. Dante's personal life during the late 13th century closely parallels the comedy Inferno. In this period the struggle between Church and State for temporal power affected Italy in various ways. Specifically, two parties developed in Florence following this crisis, one was the Guelph party, a supporter of the papacy, and the Ghibelline party focused on imperial power. Dante being part of the White party, supporting the independence of Florence from papal authority, eventually has personal problems with Pope Boniface VIII, supporting the black party. This specific terrain had individuals willing to work with the Pope to restore power; Boniface finally comes out... halfway through the paper... it inspires 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 about fifty percent of England and remained widespread, social statuses were demolished and new ones created. The workforce took this opportunity to increase leverage, provoking resentment among the nobles and propertied classes. And while the nobles and others harbored resentment towards the workforce, they will eventually feel the same when the peasants rise up against them. As time passed merchants capitalized on the demand for luxury, which led to a mercantile oligarchy rule over London. Although Chaucer's political views are unclear, social satire during the medieval era is undoubtedly relevant with The Canterbury Tales.