The Pardoners Tale The Pardoner High voice small

The Pardoners Tale

The Pardoner • High voice, small in stature, remarked by the host that he cannot decide whether he is a very effeminate homosexual or a eunuch. • “thin scraggly hair of which, however, he is absurdly vain” • Openly a fraud, right away he explains everything he does is for money to support himself, and saving souls has nothing to do with it. • Always carries the tools of his trade, signed indulgences and fake holy relics made from goat bones. • He requests food and drink before telling his tale, and quickly becomes drunk before he starts.

The Tale Itself • The characters include three young Flemish hooligans, and an old man as the only main characters. The story itself seems most like a folktale, though considering the speaker the moral value may be lost. • He speaks a few lines about the three boys, and the launches into a 200 line tirade against gluttony, drunkenness, and finally swearing. This is all done while drunk and after admitting to being a fraud, so very openly hypocritical.

The Tale Itself Cont • The tale begins while the 3 are out drinking, when they are informed one of their close friends has been killed by death. after realizing death has killed thousands with the outbreak of the plague, they vow to find and kill him. • on their way out of town to find him, they encounter a very old man heading into town. After the boys wondering how he is dead being so old, the old man agree, wishing “mother earth” would take him back. He scolds the boys for their language however, which leads them to accuse him of being a spy for death. They are told death is sitting under a nearby tree, under which they discover 8 huge bags of gold.

The Tale Itself Continued • The youngest is sent off to get food and wine, and while he is gone the other 2 plot to kill him to take his share of gold. • the youngest thinks similar thoughts and buys poison for 2 of the 3 drinks. when he returns is murdered by his companions, who swiftly die from drinking the poison wine. • The pardoner then attempts to sell his “relics” to the pilgrimage, which causes a fight between himself and the host that requires the knight to break it up.

Connections to Other Stories • It comes immediately after the apothecaries tale, which is so depressing people request a more lively story. The pardoner agrees, but doesn’t follow through. • The fight between the host and the pardoner helps to show the host is far from respectful for the church at times, probably due to its corruption. • It also connects to tales such as that of the summoner, who almost seems to compete for who can act the most vile among them.

Themes or Central Ideas • His line at the start of the tale “greed is the root of all evil” The main theme being the ruin that gluttony, greed, and drunkenness lead. • The whole story almost seems like a parody, due to the admissions by the pardoner and his drunkenness. • The way the story is presented, the pardoner almost seems like an actor, enjoying tricking people and explaining how he does it while trying to swindle the group as well. • Overall he seems to be a perfect example of corruption in the church, and is completely aware of it. This was a very common practice of the time, and people of the time would have faced lies and tricks like these daily.

Research Ideas • Chaucer's opinion of the church, and how he expressed it through his writing.

Works Cited • "The Pardoner's Tale. " The Pardoner's Tale. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2015. • "The Pardoner, His Prologue, and His Tale. " Academic Brooklyn. Webcore, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2015. <"The Pardoner's Tale. " The Pardoner's Tale. N. p. , n. d. Web. 01 Apr. 2015. academic. brooklyn. cuny. edu/webcore/murphy/canterbury/14 p ardon. pdf>. • To reference in other works please use • Shelton, Jesse. ”The Pardoners Tale”. Digital image. 2 Apr. 2015. Web.