WIffE ~ARDONEI~’S ~ROLOGUE
"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.
I have a text, it alwaysis the same
And always has been, since I learnt the game,
Old as the hills ha~d fresher than the grass,
Radix malorum est cupiditas.
. "But first I make pronouncement whence I come,
Show them my bulls in detail and in sum,
And flaunt the papal seal for their inspection
As wan-ant for my bodily protection,
That none may have the hnpudence to irk
Or hinder me in Christ’s most holy work.
Then I tell stories, asoccasion calls,
Showing forth bulls from popes and cardinals,
From patriarchs and bishops; as I do,
I speak some words in Latin--just a few-To put a saffron tinge upon my preaching
And stir devotion with a spice of teaching.
Then I bring all~ my long glass bottles out
Cram-full of bones and ragged bits of clout,
Relics they are, at least for such are
Then, cased in metal, I’ve a.shoulder-bone,
Belonging to a sheep., a holyJew’s.
’Good men,’ I say, ’take heed, for here is news.
Take but this bone and dip it in a well;
If cow or calf, if,sheep or ox should swell
From eating snakes or that a snake has stung,
Take water frQm that well and wash its tongue,
And it will then recover. Furthermore,
Where there is pox or scab or other sore,
All animals that water at that well
Are cured at once. Take note of what I tell.
If the good man--the omaaer of the stock-Goes once a week, before the crow of co~k,
Fasting, mad takes a draught of water too,
Why then, according to that holyarew,
He’ll find his cattle multiply and sell.
48
UNIT ONE: MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
8 Radix... eupiditas.
"Avarice (greed for wealth) is
the root of all eviL" [Latin]
10 bull, formal ~a~nouncemerit or official decree from
the pope.
19 saffron (saf/ron), n. an
orange-yellow spice used to
color and flavor certain
dishes, such as rice.
22 clout, cloth.
25 sheep... Jew’s, that is, he
is’claiming that the sheep’s
bone belpnged to some
biblical patriarch, such as
Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.
32 pox, any disease, such as
chicken pox.or small pox,
character;zeal by sldn eruptions.
~ Why does the Pardoner
carry- these relics around ,gift
him?
"’And it’s a cure for jealousy as well;
For though a re. an be given to jealous wrath,
Use but this water when you make his broth,
And never again will he mistrust his wife,
Though he lmew all about her sil~, 1 life,
45 Though two or three clergy had enjoyed.her love.
"Now look; I have a mitten here, a glove.
WTaoever wears this mitten on/his hand
Will multiply his grain. He sows his land
And up will come abundant wheat ’or oats,
so Providing that he offers pence or groats.
"’Good men and women, here’s a word of warning;
If there is anyone in church this morning
Guilty of sin, so far beyond expression
Horrible, that he dare not make confession,
5~ Or any woman, whether young or old,
That’s cuckolded her husband, be she told
That such as she shall have no power or grace
To offer to my relics in this place.
But those who can acquit themselves of blame
60 Crux all coine up and offer in God’s name,
And I will shrive them by the authority
Commftted in this papal bull to me.’
"That trick’s been worth a hundred marks a yea~
Since I became a Pardoner, never fear.
58 Th~n, priestlike in my pulpit, with a frown,
I stand, and when the yokels have sat down,
.I preach, as ybu have heard me say before,
And tell a hundred lying modkeries more.
I take great pains, and stretching out my neck
v0 To east and west I crane about and peck
Just like a pigeon sitting on a bana.
My hands and tongue together spin the yarn
And all my antics are a joy to see.
The curse o£ avarice a~d cupidity
75 Is all my sermon, for it frees the pelf.
out come the pence, and specially for myself,
,For my exclusive purpose_is to win
And not at- all to castigate their sin.
Once dead what matter how their souls may fare?
so They can go blackberrying, for all I care!
"Believe me, many a sermon or devotive
Exordium issues from an evil motive.
Some to give pleasure by their flattery
A~ad gain promotion through hypocrisy,
4o
50 pence or groaIls. Pen~ is
the phtral of penny," a groat is
an old English coin worth
four pence.
g6 cackold (kuk¢old), v. be
unfaithful to.
confession of and grant forgivaess to.
63 a hundred marks. A raark
was a coin of much higher
denorrdnatlon than a groat.
In other words, the Pardoner
has been making good
money from "that trick."
66 yokel (y~/kM), n. a country persbn. It is often meant
as an insult, as the Pardoner
meaaxs it here.
7~ avarice (av/or is), n.
... cupidity (kya pid"~ t~);
Avarice is greed for wealth;
cupidity is the eager desire
to possess something.
7fi pelf, money.
78 castigate (kaslt~ g~t), v.
punish in order to correct.
82 exordium (egz6r/d~ ~m),
n. introductory part of a
speech.
The Pm-doner’s Prologae 49
s5 Some out of vanity, some out of hate;
Or when I dare not otherwise debate
I’ll put my discourse i~to such a shape,
My tongue will be a dagger; no escape
For him from slandering falsehood shall there be
9o If he has hurt my brethren or me.
For 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
9~ And spk my venom forth, while I profess
Holy and true--or seeming holiness.
"But let me briefly make my purpose plain;
I preach for noth’mg but for greed of gain
And use the stone old text, as bold as brass,
~oo Radix malorum est cupiditas.
And 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
10~ Them from iF, I can bring them to repent;
But that is not my principal intent.
C6vetousness is both the root and stuff
Of all I preach. That ought to be enough.
’Well, then I give examples thick and fast
1~0 From bygone times, old stories from the past.
A yokel mind loves stories from of old, ’
Being th~ kind it can repeat and hold.
What! Do you think, as long as I cab preach
And get their silver for the things I teach,
n~ That I will live in poverty, from choice?
That’s not the comasel of my inner voice!
No! Let me preach and beg from kirk to kirk
And never do an honest job of work,
No, nor make baskets, like St. Paul, to gain
~20 A livelihood. I do not preach in vain.
There’s no aposfle I would counterfeit;
I mean to have money, wool and cheese and wheat
~aough it were given me by the poorest lad
Or poorest v~lage widow, though she had
~29 A string of starving children, all agape.
No, let me drink the liquor of the grape
. And keep ajoltywench in every toW~!
"But listen, gentlemen; to bririg things down
To a conclusion, would you like a tale?
50
UNIT ONE: MEDIEVAL LI’IZRA’I~JRag
90 brethren (bre~-~Zr~n), n.
pl. the fellow members of a
church.
107 covetousness (kuv/~ tosni~), n. desire for th’mgs that
belong to others.
117 kirk, church.
119 make baskets... St. Pau~
a geference to St. Paul the
Hermit, not the Aposde Patti.
125~-gape (~ g~p/), adj.
open-mouthed with wonder
or sttrprlse.
is0 ’Now as I’ve drunk a draught of corn-ripe
By God it stands to reason I can strike
On some goo’d 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!
~ss Here’s qne I often preach.when out for w~inning;
Now please be quiet. Here is the beginning."
THE 1)ARDONER’s TALE
¯.. It’s of three rioters ~[ have to tell
Who, long before the morning service bell,
Were sitting in a tavern for a drink.
And as they sat, they heard the hand-bell clink
s Before a coffin going to the grave;
One of them called the little tavern-lu]ave
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."
~0 "Sir," said the boy, "no need, I promise you;
Two hours before you came here I was told.
He was a friend of yom’s in days of old,
And suddenly, last night, the man was slain,
Upon his bench, face up, dead drunk again.
~ There came a privy thief, they call him Death,
¯ Who kills us all round here, and in a breath
He speared him through the heart, he never stin-ed.
And then Death went his w@ without a word.
He’s killed a thousand in the present plague,
20 And, sir, it doesn’t do to be too vague
If y(~.u should meet tiim; you had best be wary..
Be on your guard with such an adversary,
Be primed to meet him everywhere ~ou go,
That’s what my mother said. It’s all I know."
The publican joined in with, "By St. Mary,
What the child says is right; you’d best be wary,
This veryyear he killed, in a large village
A mile away, man, woman, serf at tillage,
Page in the household, children all there were.
s0 Yes, I imagir~e 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.
ss God’s Messed bones! I’ll register a vow!
Here, chaps! The three of us together now,
m The Pardoner admits to
being "a wholly vicious man."
What do you think Qf this
co~fessinn?
6 lmave’(nfiv), ~. servant.
15 privy (priv/~), adj. secret;
hidden.
22 adversary (ad/wr ser/~),
n. opponent; enemy.
25 publ~_can (pub~l~ kbn), n.
taver~ keeper.
28 tillage (dl/ij), n. cultivation
of land.
This pilgrim’s badge from the
1300s shows Thomas ~, Becket
’riding in triumph as Archbisho~
of Canterbury. Pilgrims wore
badges llke this around their
necks or pinned to their ha~s.
What kind of souvenirs do
pilgrims obtain today? ~
The Pardoner’s Tale 51
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!
40 Away with him as he has mad~ away
With all our hiends. God’s dignity! Tonight!" ~
They made their bargain, swore witl~ appetite,
These three, to live and die for one another
As brother-born might swem- to his born brother.
45 And up they started in their drm~ken rage
And made towards this village ~vhich the page
And publican had spoken of before.
Many and grisly were the oaths they swore,
Tearing Christ’s blessed body to a shred;
~0 "If we can only catch him, Death is deadg’
When they had gone not f-ally half a mile,
JUst as the), were about to cross a stile,.
They came upon a very poor old man
Who hmnbly gq-eeted them and thus began,
55 "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 placel
Why are you all wrapped up except your face?
Why live so long? Isn’t it time to die?"
,
The 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.
65 And so my age is mine and must be still
Upon me, for such time as God may will.
’2qot even Death, alas, will take my life;
So, like a wretched prisoner at strife
Within himself, I walk alone and wait
vo About 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 sldn!
76 Alas! When will these bones be laid to rest?
Mother, I would exchange--for that were best-The wardrobe in my chamber, standin~ there
So long, for yours! Aye, for a shirt of hair
To wrap me in!’ She has refused her grace,
so Whence comes the pallor of mywithered face.
"_But it dishonored you when you began
UNIT ONE: MEDIEVAL LITEP~kTUI~E
N What ~s the nature of the
group that the three riotexs
form at this point? Do y~)u
think they will be able to
keep their group intact long
enough to fulfill their
purpose?
- ~ Why do you suppose the
rioters treat the old man the
way they do?
70 mother’s gate, the grave,
the entrance to "mother
78 shirt of hair, rough shirt
made of hdrsehair, worn to
make the wearer suffer us a
To speak so roughly, sir, to an old man,
Unless he had ,injured you in wo~d or deed.
It says in holy writ, as you may read,
s~ ’Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head
And honor it.’ And therefore be it said
’Do no more harm to an old man ~han you,
Being
now yotmg, wonld have another do
¯
~nen you are old’--ifyou should live till then.
so And 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 offso easy, by St. Jotml
I heard you mention, just a moment gone,
95 A certain traitor Death who singles out
And kills the ~ne 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[
~00 I sayyou’vejoi~ied together by consent
To kill us younger folk, you thieving swine!"
"Well, sirs," he said, "if it be your design
To find out Death, mrn up this crooked way
Towards that grove, I left him there today
,
~0s Under a tree, and there you’ll find him ~ifing.
He isn’t one to hide for all your prating.
You see that oak? He w~on’t be far to find.
And God protect you that redeemed mankind,
Aye, and amend youl" Thus that ancient man.
At once the fln-ee young rioters began
To run, and reached the tree, and there they found
A pile of golden florins on the ground,
New-coined, eight bushels of them as they thought.
No longer was it Death those fellows sought,
~z5 For theywere all so thrilled to see the sight,
The fio~ins were so beautiful and bright,
That down they sat beside the precious pile.
The xsickedest spoke f~rst after a while.
"Brothers," he said, "you listen to what I s~y.
~s0 I’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
~s This morning was to be our lucky day?
"If one could only get that gold away,
TNs tarot card, part of a
dee~ of ~laylng cards from
the 1400s, shows Death as a
skeleton grasping an archer’s
bow in one hand and an ¯
arrow in the other¯ How is
this representation of Death
similar to the way Death is "
portrayed in The Pardoner’s
Tale? How is it different?
104 grove (grbv), n. group
of trees.
II~ florin, coin origlnally
issued in Florence, Italy;
various coins of the sanle
name were later used in
other g~tropean cotmtries.
The Pardoner’s Tale 53
Back to my house, or else to yours, perhaps-~or as you know, the gold is.ours, chaps-We’d all be at the top of forrane, hey?
But cert~fin]y it can’t be done by day.
People would call t~ robbers--a strong gang,
So our own property would make us hang.
No, we must bring this n’easure back by night
Some prudent way, and keep it out of sight.
And so as a solution I propgse
We draw for lots and see the way it goes;
The one who draws the longest, lucky man,
Shall rtm to town as quickly as he cma
To fetch us bread and wine--but keep things dark-While 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
Bidding them draw for where file luck should fall.
It fell upon the youngest of them all,
And off he ran at o~ce towards the to~m.
As soon as he had gone the first sat dow~ .
And thus began a parley with the other: °"
’~fou know that ygu can trust m.e as a brother;
,Now let me te.ll 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 eqn~y amongst us three.
Nevertheless, 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?" ~he other said. "He knows the fact
That all the gold was left with me a~.d you;
..
What can we tell him? What are we to do?"
"Is it a bargain," said the first, "or no?
For I can tel1 you in a word or so
What’s to be done to bring the thing about."
"Trust me," the other said, ’~ou needn’t doubt
My word. I won’~ betray you, I’ll be true."
"Well," said his friend, ’~/ou see that we are two,
And two are t~ce as powerful as on~.
Now look; when he comes back, get np in fun
To have a wrestle; then, as yon attack,
I’ll up and put my dagger through his back
While you and he are struggling, as in game;
134 prudent (pri~d/nt), adj.
sensible; discreet.
This shield from the late
1400s \~as nat intended for
combat but for display at a
tournament. The Image of
Death reflects the knight’s
willingness to die in battle
to honor his lady. Why mig~
images of ~eath have been
$o widespread in medieval
art?
Then draw your dagger too mad do the same.
Then all this mo.ney will be ours to spend,
’\ Divided equally of course, dear friend.
~7~Then we can gratify our lusts and fill
The day with dicing at our own sweet wilL"
Thus these two miscreants agreed to slay
.The third and youngest, as you heard me say.
The youngest, as he ran towards the town,
is0 Kept turning over, rolling up and down
Within his heart the beauty of those bright
New florins, saying, "Lord, to think I might
blave all that treasure to myself alone!
Could there be anyone beneath the throne
ls5 Of God so happy as I then should be?"
And so the Fiend, 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.
190 To 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;
For this young man was utterly content
To kill them both mxd never to I~epent.
19s
And on he ran, he tfad no thought to tarry,
Came to the town, found an apothecary
And said, "Sell me some p6ison if you will,
I have a lot of rats I want to kill
And there’s a polecat too about my yard
200 That 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 nay soul’s salvation
20s If any living creature eat or drink
A mouthful, ere he has the time to think,
Though he took less than make~ a grain of wheat,
You’ll see him fall do~a dying at your feet;
Yes, die he must, and in so short a while
210 You’d hardiy have the time to w~tlk 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 neighbouring street, and found a man
2~ Who lent him three large bottles. H’e withdrew
And deftly poured the poison into two.
177 miscreant irnlsZkrE 9nt),
~. wicked person; v~laln. ¯
186 Fiend, Satma; the devil.
[] Who do you think is going
to ~orne out on top of
this situation?
192 perdition (pot dish/on),
n. damnation.
196 apothecary (~ pothZzker/~) ~ n. pharmacist.
202 vermin (v~r/mon), n. pl.
or sing. small arfxnals, such as
roaches mad mice, that are
troublesome or dest~lcfive.
The Pardoner’s Tale 55
He kept the third one clean, as well he might,
For his own drink, meaning to work all night
Stacking the gold and canting it away.
And 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
They fell on him and slew him, two to one.
Then said the first of them when this was done,
"Now for a drir~k. 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,
He took a bottle full of poisor~_trp
And drank; a~d his companion, nothing loth,
Drank from it also, and they perished both.
There is in A’dcenna’s long relation
Concerning poison and its operation,
Trust 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 blad~guardly excess!
O "treacherous homicide! O wickedness!
O gluttony that lusted on and diced!
O bIasphemy that took the name of Christ
With habit-hardened oaths that pride began!
Alas, how comes it that a mortal man,
That 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!
My 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!
Come on, you women, offer up your wool!
I’ll write your name into my ledger; so]
Into the bliss of Heaven you shall go.
For I’ll absolve you by my holy pov{er,
You that make offering, dean as at the hour
When you were born .... ’ That, sirs, is how I preach°
AndJesu Christ, soul’s healer, aye, the leech
Of every soul, grant pardon and relieve you
The Pardoner, from the
Ellesmere Manuscript copy of
The Canterbury Tales, about 1410
In this Illuminated manuseipt, th{
text was copied out by hand, and
marginal drawings and highly
ornate capital letters wore used
for decoration. How does this
compare with the way you
visualized the Pardoner? ¥
233 Avieenna’s long relafio{
a-dcen~a was an eleventhcentury Arab physiciamwhc
wrote a refer~ence book
"long relation") on poison.
24:~ blasphemy (blas/fa m?
n. abuse of or contempt fo
God.
~’57 absolve (ab solv/~; v.
¯ free a person from guilt or
punishment for sin.
260 leech, here, dqct~r. Ic
earner times phy~iciaal~
leeches to draw blood
patients as a method of
treating diseases.
Of sin, for that is best, I won’t deceive you.
"One tMng I should have mentioned in my tale,
Dear
people. I’ve some relics ill my bale
2s~ And pardons too, as full and fine, I hope,
As any in England, given me by the Pope.
If there be one among you that is willing
’To have my absolution for a shilling
Devoutly given, comeI and do not harden
270 Your hearts but kneel in humbleness for pal’don;
Or else, receive my pardon as we go.
You can renew it every town or so
Always provided that you still renew
Each time, and in good money, what is due.
~7~ It is an honor to you to have found
A pardoner with his ~redentials sound
Who can absolve you as you ply the spur
In any accident that may occur.
For instance--we are all at Fortune’s beck--2s0 Your horse may throw you down and break your neck.
What a security it is to all
To have me here among you and at call
With pardon for the lowly and the great
When soul leaves body for the future state!
~ss And I advise our Host here to begin,
The most enveloped of you all in sin.
Come folward, Host, you shall be the first to pay,
And kiss my holy relics right away.
Only a groat. Come on, unbuckle your purse!"
"No, no," said he, "not I, and may the curse
Of Christ descend upon me if I do!
You’ll have me kissing your old breeches too
~ And swear they were the relic of a saint .... "
The Pardoner said nothing, not a word;
2% He was so angry that he couldn’t speak.
"Well," said our Host, "if you’re for showing pique,
I’ll joke no more, not with an angry man."
The worthy Knight immediately began,
Seeing the fun was getting rather rough,
s00 And said, "No more, we’ve all had quite enough.
Now, Master Pardoner, perk up, look cheerly!
And you, Sir Host, whom I esteem so dearly,
I beg of you to kiss the Pardoner.
"Come, Pardoner, draw n, earer, my dear sir.
s05 et s laugh again and keep the ball m ply.
They kissed, and we continued on onr way.
264 bale, bmadle.
268 absolution (ab/soIt/short), n. a declaration
that frees a perso~ from guilt
or punishment for sin.
285 Host, the keeper of the
Tabard Inn, where the
pilgrims gather before setting
ouL The Host proposes the
stor~-telling and accompanies
the pilgrims to judge which
tale is best.
296 plque ipfik), n. anger;
wounded pride.
298 Knight, another one of
the p~lgrims.
The Pardoner’s Tale 57