The Pardoner

In the prologue to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the narrator is particularly critical of the Pardoner. A pardoner was someone who was employed by the church selling pardons, excusing church members from paying penance for their sins. Like Chaucer's other works, the Pardoner is riddled with moral and religious contexts. The narrator clearly dislikes the pardoner, wondering if he were “a geldyng or a mare” (Chaucer), or a neutered or female horse. The narrator continues to make fun of the pardoner, saying that his voice “bleated like a goat” (Chaucer) and other insults. The narrator clearly does not like the pardoner, and the dislike is justified. The pardoner sells counterfeit pardons for the church, pocketing the money and letting patrons believe that their sins were forgiven. He takes advantage of the citizens’ religious devotion and trust in the church's power (Delahoyde). In addition to selling counterfeit pardons, the pardoner takes further advantage of church patrons by selling false relics of saints. The pardoner planned to sell ‘the bones of saints’, which were really pig bones, to trusting patron because, “In that one day more money stood to gain/ Than the poor dupe in two months could attain.” (Chaucer). The pardoner has no moral or ethical dilemma with giving a man pig bones, pretending they are the bones of a saint, and taking the man’s earnings for two whole months. The pardoner’s behavior is extremely hypocritical. Because he works for the church, the people trust him and assume that he follows the church’s moral code. As a representative of the church, the pardoner should uphold their values and beliefs, and acts as though he truly believes in his work. Truthfully, the pardoner is manipulative and cunning, taking advantage of the church goers and his position for his own monetary gain. He berates the people, making them feel guilt and shame for their sins, pressuring them to purchase more pardons from the church, when in reality, the pardons are fake and will not cleanse them of their sins. These people believe that he is the key to their eternal salvation, and he is exploiting that belief for money.

Works Cited

Chaucer, Geoffrey. "Canterbury Tales." Prologue. 1386.

Delahoyde, Michael. The Pardoner's Tale. n.d. 16 November 2013.