Review and Anticipate
In the Prologue, Chaucer describes the Pardoner as a cleric full of “flatteries and prevarication.” By selling pardons—documents officially forgiving the purchaser’s sins—and supposedly holy relics, the swindling Pardoner earns more in one short day than a poor country parson earns in a month or two. Even while exposing the Pardoner’s dishonesty, Chaucer praises the Pardoner’s persuasive skills: “How well he read a lesson or told a story!” Now, when it is the Pardoner’s turn to tell a story, he himself explains his methods: All his sermons illustrate the biblical text Radix malorum est cupiditas (“Love of money is the root of all evil”). He finds that preaching against the sin of avarice, or greed, is the best way to get people to pay him large sums of money for his pardons and relics! After providing this boastful explanation, he then proceeds to tell one of the stories from his sermons. As you read, think of answers to the question, What effect would the Pardoner’s story have on an audience of poorly educated country folk?
The Pardoner’s Prologue
“My lords,” he said, “in churches where I preach
I cultivate a haughty kind of speech
And ring it out as roundly as a bell;
I’ve got it all by heart, the tale I tell.
5I have a text, it always is the same
And always has been, since I learnt the game,
Old as the hills and fresher than the grass,
Radix malorum est cupiditas.”1
The Pardoner explains how he introduces himself to a congregation, showing official documents and offering relics as cures for various problems. Next, he explains how he preaches.
“Then, priestlike in my pulpit, with a frown,
10I stand, and when the yokels2 have sat down,
I preach, as you have heard me say before,
And tell a hundred lying mockeries3 more.
I take great pains, and stretching out my neck
To east and west I crane about and peck
15Just like a pigeon sitting on a barn.
My hands and tongue together spin the yarn
And all my antics4 are a joy to see.
The curse of avarice and cupidity5
Is all my sermon, for it frees the pelf.6
20Out come the pence, and specially for myself,
For my exclusive purpose is to win
And not at all to castigate7 their sin.
Once dead what matter how their souls may fare?
They can go blackberrying, for all I care!
25“Believe me, many a sermon or devotive
Exordium8 issues from an evil motive.
Some to give pleasure by their flattery
And gain promotion through hypocrisy,
Some out of vanity, some out of hate;
30Or when I dare not otherwise debate
I’ll put my discourse into such a shape,
My tongue will be a dagger; no escape
For him from slandering falsehood shall there be,
If he has hurt my brethren9 or me.
35For though I never mention him by name
The congregation guesses all the same
From certain hints that everybody knows,
And so I take revenge upon our foes
And spit my venom forth, while I profess
40Holy and true—or seeming holiness.
“But let me briefly make my purpose plain;
I preach for nothing but for greed of gain
And use the same old text, as bold as brass,
Radix malorum est cupiditas.
45And thus I preach against the very vice
I make my living out of—avarice.
And yet however guilty of that sin
Myself with others I have power to win
Them from it, I can bring them to repent;
50But that is not my principal intent.
Covetousness10 is both the root and stuff
Of all I preach. That ought to be enough.
“Well, then I give examples thick and fast
From bygone times, old stories from the past.
55A yokel mind loves stories from of old,
Being the kind it can repeat and hold.
What! Do you think, as long as I can preach
And get their silver for the things I teach,
That I will live in poverty, from choice?
60That’s not the counsel of my inner voice!
No! Let me preach and beg from kirk11 to kirk
And never do an honest job of work,
No, nor make baskets, like St. Paul, to gain
A livelihood. I do not preach in vain.
65There’s no apostle I would counterfeit;
I mean to have money, wool and cheese and wheat
Though it were given me by the poorest lad
Or poorest village widow, though she had
A string of starving children, all agape.
70No, let me drink the liquor of the grape
And keep a jolly wench in every town!
“But listen, gentlemen; to bring things down
To a conclusion, would you like a tale?
Now as I’ve drunk a draught of corn-ripe ale,
75By God it stands to reason I can strike
On some good story that you all will like.
For though I am a wholly vicious man
Don’t think I can’t tell moral tales. I can!
Here’s one I often preach when out for winning;
80Now please be quiet. Here is the beginning.”
The Pardoner’s Tale
It’s of three rioters I have to tell
Who, long before the morning service bell,12
Were sitting in a tavern for a drink.
And as they sat, they heard the hand-bell clink
85Before a coffin going to the grave;
One of them called the little tavern-knave13
And said “Go and find out at once—look spry!—
Whose corpse is in that coffin passing by;
And see you get the name correctly too.”
90“Sir,” said the boy, “no need, I promise you;
Two hours before you came here I was told.
He was a friend of yours in days of old,
And suddenly, last night, the man was slain,
Upon his bench, face up, dead drunk again.
95There came a privy14 thief, they call him Death,
Who kills us all round here, and in a breath
He speared him through the heart, he never stirred.
And then Death went his way without a word.
He’s killed a thousand in the present plague,15
100And, sir, it doesn’t do to be too vague
If you should meet him; you had best be wary.
Be on your guard with such an adversary,
Be primed to meet him everywhere you go,
That’s what my mother said. It’s all I know.”
105The publican16 joined in with, “By St. Mary,
What the child says is right; you’d best be wary,
This very year he killed, in a large village
A mile away, man, woman, serf at tillage,17
Page in the household, children—all there were.
110Yes, I imagine that he lives round there.
It’s well to be prepared in these alarms,
He might do you dishonor.” “Huh, God’s arms!”
The rioter said, “Is he so fierce to meet?
I’ll search for him, by Jesus, street by street.
115God’s blessed bones! I’ll register a vow!
Here, chaps! The three of us together now,
Hold up your hands, like me, and we’ll be brothers
In this affair, and each defend the others,
And we will kill this traitor Death, I say!
120Away with him as he had made away
With all our friends. God’s dignity! Tonight!”
They made their bargain, swore with appetite,
These three, to live and die for one another
As brother-born might swear to his born brother.
125And up they started in their drunken rage
And made towards this village which the page
And publican had spoken of before.
Many and grisly were the oaths they swore,
Tearing Christ’s blessed body to a shred;18
130“If we can only catch him, Death is dead!”
When they had gone not fully half a mile,
Just as they were about to cross a stile,
They came upon a very poor old man
Who humbly greeted them and thus began,
135“God look to you, my lords, and give you quiet!”
To which the proudest of these men of riot
Gave back the answer, “What, old fool? Give place!
Why are you all wrapped up except your face?
Why live so long? Isn’t it time to die?”
140The old, old fellow looked him in the eye
And said, “Because I never yet have found,
Though I have walked to India, searching round
Village and city on my pilgrimage,
One who would change his youth to have my age.
145And so my age is mine and must be still
Upon me, for such time as God may will.
“Not even Death, alas, will take my life;
So, like a wretched prisoner at strife
Within himself, I walk alone and wait
150About the earth, which is my mother’s gate,
Knock-knocking with my staff from night to noon
And crying, ‘Mother, open to me soon!
Look at me, mother, won’t you let me in?
See how I wither, flesh and blood and skin!
155Alas! When will these bones be laid to rest?
Mother, I would exchange—for that were best—
The wardrobe in my chamber, standing there
So long, for yours! Aye, for a shirt of hair19
To wrap me in!’ She has refused her grace,
160Whence comes the pallor of my withered face.
“But it dishonored you when you began
To speak so roughly, sir, to an old man,
Unless he had injured you in word or deed.
It says in holy writ, as you may read,
165‘Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head
And honor it,’ And therefore be it said
‘Do no more harm to an old man than you,
Being now young, would have another do
When you are old’—if you should live till then.
170And so may God be with you, gentlemen,
For I must go whither I have to go.’
“By God,” the gambler said, “you shan’t do so,
You don’t get off so easy, by St. John!
I heard you mention, just a moment gone,
175A certain traitor Death who singles out
And kills the fine young fellows hereabout.
And you’re his spy, by God! You wait a bit.
Say where he is or you shall pay for it,
By God and by the Holy Sacrament!
180I say you’ve joined together by consent
To kill us younger folk, you thieving swine!”
“Well, sirs,” he said, “if it be your design
To find out Death, turn up this crooked way
Towards that grove, I left him there today
185Under a tree, and there you’ll find him waiting.
He isn’t one to hide for all your prating.
You see that oak? He won’t be far to find.
And God protect you that redeemed mankind,
Aye, and amend you!” Thus that ancient man.
190At once the three young rioters began
To run, and reached the tree, and there they found
A pile of golden florins20 on the ground,
New-coined, eight bushels of them as they thought.
No longer was it Death those fellows sought,
195For they were all so thrilled to see the sight,
The florins were so beautiful and bright,
That down they sat beside the precious pile.
The wickedest spoke first after a while.
“Brothers,” he said, “you listen to what I say.
200I’m pretty sharp although I joke away.
It’s clear that Fortune has bestowed this treasure
To let us live in jollity and pleasure.
Light come, light go! We’ll spend it as we ought.
God’s precious dignity! Who would have thought
205This morning was to be our lucky day?
“If one could only get the gold away,
Back to my house, or else to yours, perhaps
For as you know, the gold is ours, chaps—
We’d all be at the top of fortune, hey?
210But certainly it can’t be done by day.
People would call us robbers—a strong gang,
So our own property would make us hang.
No, we must bring this treasure back by night
Some prudent way, and keep it out of sight.
215And so as a solution I propose
We draw for lots and see the way it goes;
The one who draws the longest, lucky man,
Shall run to town as quickly as he can
To fetch us bread and wine—but keep things dark—
220While two remain in hiding here to mark
Our heap of treasure. If there’s no delay,
When night comes down we’ll carry it away,
All three of us, wherever we have planned.”
He gathered lots and hid them in his hand
225Bidding them draw for where the luck should fall.
It fell upon the youngest of them all,
And off he ran at once towards the town.
As soon as he had gone, the first sat down
And thus began a parley21 with the other:
230“You know that you can trust me as a brother;
Now let me tell you where your profit lies;
You know our friend has gone to get supplies
And here’s a lot of gold that is to be
Divided equally amongst us three.
235Nevertheless, if I could shape things thus
So that we shared it out—the two of us—
Wouldn’t you take it as a friendly act?”
“But how?” the other said. “He knows the fact
that all the gold was left with me and you;
240What can we tell him? What are we to do?”
“Is it a bargain,” said the first, “or no?
For I can tell you in a word or so
What’s to be done to bring the thing about.”
“Trust me,” the other said, “you needn’t doubt
245My word. I won’t betray you, I’ll be true.”
“Well,” said his friend, “you see that we are two,
And two are twice as powerful as one.
Now look; when he comes back, get up in fun
To have a wrestle; then, as you attack,
250I’ll up and put my dagger through his back
While you and he are struggling, as in game;
Then draw your dagger too and do the same.
Then all this money will be ours to spend,
Divided equally of course, dear friend.
255Then we can gratify our lusts and fill
The day with dicing at our own sweet will.”
Thus these two miscreants22 agreed to slay
The third and youngest, as you heard me say.
The youngest, as he ran towards the town,
260Kept turning over, rolling up and down
Within his heart the beauty of those bright
New florins, saying, “Lord, to think I might
Have all that treasure to myself alone!
Could there be anyone beneath the throne
265Of God so happy as I then should be?”
And so the Fiend,23 our common enemy,
Was given power to put it in his thought
That there was always poison to be bought,
And that with poison he could kill his friends.
270To men in such a state the Devil sends
Thoughts of this kind, and has a full permission
To lure them on to sorrow and perdition;24
For this young man was utterly content
To kill them both and never to repent.
275And on he ran, he had no thought to tarry,
Came to the town, found an apothecary
And said, “Sell me some poison if you will,
I have a lot of rats I want to kill
And there’s a polecat too about my yard
280That takes my chickens and it hits me hard;
But I’ll get even, as is only right,
With vermin that destroy a man by night.”
The chemist answered, “I’ve a preparation
Which you shall have, and by my soul’s salvation
285If any living creature eat or drink
A mouthful, ere he has the time to think,
Though he took less than makes a grain of wheat,
You’ll see him fall down dying at your feet;
Yes, die he must and in so short a while
290You’d hardly have the time to walk a mile,
The poison is so strong, you understand.”
This cursed fellow grabbed into his hand
The box of poison and away he ran
Into a neighboring street, and found a man
295Who lent him three large bottles, He withdrew
And deftly poured the poison into two.
He kept the third one clean, as well he might,
For his own drink, meaning to work all night
Stacking the gold and carrying it away.
300And when this rioter, this devil’s clay,
Had filled his bottles up with wine, all three,
Back to rejoin his comrades sauntered he.
Why make a sermon of it? Why waste breath?
Exactly in the way they’d planned his death
305They fell on him and slew him, two to one.
Then said the first of them when this was done,
“Now for a drink. Sit down and let’s be merry,
For later on there’ll be the corpse to bury.”
And, as it happened, reaching for a sup,
310He took a bottle full of poison up
And drank and his companion, nothing loth,
Drank from it also, and they perished both.
There is, in Avicenna’s long relation25
Concerning poison and its operation,
315Trust me, no ghastlier section to transcend
What these two wretches suffered at their end.
Thus these two murderers received their due,
So did the treacherous young poisoner too.
O cursed sin! O blackguardly excess!
320O treacherous homicide! O wickedness!
O gluttony that lusted on and diced!
O blasphemy that took the name of Christ
With habit-hardened oaths that pride began!
Alas, how comes it that a mortal man,
325That thou, to thy Creator, Him that wrought thee,
That paid His precious blood for thee and bought thee,
Art so unnatural and false within?
Dearly beloved, God forgive your sin
And keep you from the vice of avarice!
330My holy pardon frees you all of this,
Provided that you make the right approaches,
That is with sterling rings, or silver brooches.
Bow down your heads under this holy bull!26
Come on, you women, offer up your wool!
335I’ll write your name into my ledger; so!
Into the bliss of Heaven you shall go.
For I’ll absolve you by my holy power,
You that make offering, clean as at the hour
When you were born. . . . That, sirs, is how I preach.
340And Jesu Christ, soul’s healer, aye, the leech
Of every soul, grant pardon and relieve you
Of sin, for that is best I won’t deceive you.
Critical Reading
1. Respond: Were you surprised by the fate of the rioters? Why or why not?
2. (a) Recall: When the story opens, what are the rioters doing, and what captures their attention? (b) Generalize: What sort of people are they? Explain how you know.
3. (a) Recall: What pledge do the rioters make to one another? (b) Evaluate: Do the rioters try to keep that pledge? Explain.
4. (a) Recall: What do the rioters find under the tree? (b) Interpret: The old man has said that death is under the tree. In what sense is his statement accurate?
5. (a) Recall: What reason does the young rioter give the apothecary for needing the poison? (b) Interpret: In what sense is he lying? In what sense is he telling the truth?
6. Draw Conclusions: The Pardoner is quite open about the manipulative use to which he puts the tale. Do the Pardoner’s reasons for telling the story detract from its moral truth? Explain.
7. (a) Extend: The tale refers to the time of the plague. What does the tale suggest about the effects of such a disaster on society? Support your answer. (b) Apply: Can stories such as this one encourage people to behave well even in times of crisis? Explain.
8. Make a Judgment: Do you think the desire for gain is ultimately destructive, as the Pardoner’s tale suggests, or can it lead to positive consequences? Explain.