Religious Elements Of The Pardoner's Tale example essay topic

Religious elements of the Pardoner's Tal The role of the Pardoner in medieval society itself is a role of religious importance, no matter how irreligious the individual. The pardoner is one who has a papal bull allowing them to sell indulgences. Indulgences were pieces of paper sold for the forgiveness of sins and had a somewhat dubious moral status as their ability to forgive was not actually confirmed within the Bible, instead an indulgence was formally an award of the surplus of good left by Christ and His saints to the penitent from the Treasury of Merit, which excused them from the pain of Purgatory though not the guilt of the sin which out them there. They were however extremely popular amongst a superstitious and credulous society; many pardoners' attributed various miraculous powers to them beyond their original capacity for mere salvation. The money received from indulgences supposedly went for good works, which provided the religious theory that allowed Rome to sell forgiveness. After confession, a priest would often impose a penance which could involve the performance of some good deed - purchase of indulgences allowed the more indolent of the faithful to buy a penance without the effort of having to carry out the redeeming work.

The money actually went towards the building of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome and keeping the Pope in luxury, which made pardoners were a vital part of the Roman Catholic Church of Chaucer's era as they provided part of the vast income needed to maintain Rome in all its glory. The Pardoner admits to making sermons and preaching at every opportunity he gets, boasting of his oratorical skill. 'In churches whan I prec he, I peyne me to han an haunteyn speech, and ringe it out as round go oth a belle, for I kan all by rote I telle' (lines 329-332) He clearly admits that he himself neither believes nor practices what he preaches, and is merely taking advantage of the religious and gullible nature of the people he makes his living off. The Pardoner sells not only indulgences, but also relics; his credulous audience are lead to believe that the bones in the Pardoner's possession are remnants of saints, and have wondrous powers, such as being able to heal any sick 'cow, or calf, or sheep, or oxe' (line 354). The Pardoner tells us how he is able to dupe anyone into buying his bits of rubbish disguised as religious icons by means of his not inconsiderable powers of persuasion, taking advantage of people's piety to make a profit.

The Pardoner's blas'e and frank attitude about the ease with which he cons innocent people out of their money implies that the medieval church was an institution where many such as the Pardoner were able to abuse its power. Looking at Chaucer's representation of medieval clerical life would seem to support this view - the Monk, Friar, Nun and Summoner between them are guilty of absenteeism, breaking holy vows, corruption and using their positions to gain money and women. The gentle Parson alone is left to epitomize the good of the clergy; devout, meek, dedicated to his flock, he is a paragon of a priest. However, his good example is clearly outweighed by the bad and Chaucer implies that the clergy tend more towards the Pardoner's pattern than the Parson.

The Pardoner's position within the Church should mean that he lived a life free of sin; a godly man chosen to the calling after all would be expected to live his life according to the teachings of the one he has dedicated it to. Instead, he confesses to the pilgrims not only his many transgressions, but also his enjoyment of committing them and the lack of repentance that could have redeemed him. Church theory held that if a man repented of his sins and performed penance, he would be forgiven. However, the Pardoner exults in his ability to sin and this that has lead critics to pronounce the Pardoner 'a damned soul', for in Christian doctrine this damns his to Hell. One of the more interesting and controversial aspects of the Pardoner is whether he is actually a hardened sinner, impervious to guilt and conscience, or whether he sins but feels guilty, hiding it under an air of nonchalance and pride at the extent of sins he has committed. Should it prove to be the former, then the Pardoner is truly beyond salvation, but if the latter then it is possible for the Pardoner to find redemption.

His seemingly heartfelt plea for others to look to Christ for forgiveness, and his brutal honesty about himself indicate that the Pardoner could feel guilty, and therefore could achieve redemption. Yet his intelligence indicates that should the Pardoner feel any inkling of remorse at taking money from 'the pov reste wide in a village, al sh olde hir children starve for famine' and would not hesitate to take 'movie, wolfe, these and whete'. This could be false boasting of the depths of his depravity, but that the Pardoner even dares to attempt to sell relics to his fellow pilgrims after admitting that they are a sham suggests that there really is no limit to his greed for money. The Tale is an exemplum, a strongly moral sermon, and to ruin its message by advertising his false products the Pardoner displays either insensitivity to morals or an arrogant confidence that his words will have swayed the audience completely to his side, neither of which are particularly redeeming values. If the Pardoner feels at all guilty for his sins, it would require an incredible faculty for concealing his true emotions. His ability to assume a sermonizing preaching attitude and sound sincere, his ability to con people out of all their money show that he is undoubtedly a talented actor.

However, informing his fellow pilgrims and potential buyers of the falsity of his salvation and relics does not seem a likely option for the money hungry Pardoner, his acting skills were saved for the Tale rather than presenting an air of insouciant uncaring bravado. Within The Pardoner's Tale, the Pardoner refers to several texts designed to impress his audience with his learning, mentioning the Bible: 'the holy writ take I to my witnesse' (line 197). Misinterpreting the Bible deliberately to strengthen his argument, knowing that his typical audience will be awed by his knowledge of the Holy Works and not question his flawed reasoning, he takes advantage of a society where people are not forbidden but also unable to read the Latin Bible. An example of this is when he blames Adam's gluttony for the fall of Man from Eden.

'For while that Adam fasted, as I rede, he was in Parades and whan that he eet of the fruit defended on the tree, anon he was out cast to wo and to peyne. ' Lines 222-225 This is a blatant aberration from the actual tale - Man fell because the snake tempted Eve into eating the Fruit of Knowledge of Good and Evil by promising her the powers of divinity, not because Adam felt hungry. The Scriptures were regarded as the fount of all truth in Chaucer's deeply devout world and the Pardoner was able to take advantage of this view, using Bible tales to gain people's respect, deserved or not. The Pardoner has himself been compared to the Snake in the Garden of Eden, sharing with the Devil the cunning and intelligence above that of normal people and an ability to outwit them and persuade them to sin. Both possess the power of speech and can sway their audiences by their beguiling words although their forked tongue rarely speaks true. Snake and Pardoner misinterpret the Bible to suit their needs, for example when the Devil tried to tempt Jesus in the desert by quoting Scriptures for his own end; and the Pardoner attributes various sins to evildoers within the Bible to support his point: gluttony in Adam, drunkenness in Herod.

Devil and Pardoner work against the salvation of men, the Devil by leading people astray, the Pardoner by selling indulgences whose authenticity is in question and therefore whose ability to redeem sinners is doubtful. Neither repent of their sins against God and seek to destroy Him and His influence, Lucifer in his rebellion and seeking to tempt all souls into sinning, and the Pardoner by his constant swearing which he admits is ripping up Christ's body: 'Oure blessed lords body they to tere- Hem thought that Jews rent hym night ynough'. (Lines 188-189). Chaucer has created a figure of evil that subverts the work of the Lord whilst appearing to uphold his teachings, although the fault is not that of the institution of the church, but of the Pardoner himself.

Whilst the Church has allowed the Pardoner a position of great influence, Chaucer blames the individual corruptness of clergymen rather than heretically accusing the establishment itself. The Pardoner has been accused of many sins, though the most controversial are those dwelling on his sexuality. Critics such as McAlpine have suggested that the Pardoner is homosexual, basing these assumptions on the narrator's description of him as a 'gelding or mare' (line 691), mare being a common synonym for homosexuality in the Middle Ages. Homosexuality was a form of heresy in the Roman Catholic Church, those that performed such unnatural and heinous deeds were damned to Hell. It would provide an explanation as to why the Pardoner revels in his wickedness - being damned already, it matters not what he does. However, Chaucer does not make any implication beyond that brief line, and although the Pardoner is seen to be a perverse ecclesiastic, there is no reason to suspect that he was designed to be even more of a perversion in his contemporary world.

The rioters within the Tale themselves are blasphemers, cursing 'by Goddess precious here... by his naples... by the blood of Christ that is in Hayles' (line 365-366). They are deeply irreligious, encompassing six of the Seven Deadly Sins: gluttony, wrath, lust, greed, wrath and pride, sloth being the only one not shown within the tale. These sins are ultimately those of blasphemy as devotion to any of the vices demonstrates that the sinner values something else more than God, be it food, drink or money. 'O gluttony, luxuries and hasardrye! Thou blasphemer of Christ, with vileynye and others grete, of usage and of pride,' (lines 611-613) It is these sins that lead to their downfall and death, making the story a moral fable.

The rioters clearly do not live life according to precepts set down by the Church; killed by their own greed and depravity, this exemplum warns the reader against such folly. The Pardoner has taken a message from the Bible and turned it into a fiery sermon, warning that 'if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if you live by the spirit you put to death the body you will live'. [1] This clear maxim makes The Pardoner's Tale a pious one, the righteous thread giving it the religious element needed to fulfil the Host's request for a religious story, the long sermon-like lecture the Pardoner delivers at the beginning of the Tale emphasising its moral sentiments. Sin leads to downfall, and The Pardoner's Tale is an excellent fabliau with the intricately woven strands of plot, humour, dialogue and even moralistic injunctions, despite the hypocrisy of the teller of the tale.

[2] It is actually highly ironic that the sinful Pardoner who is as far as it is possible to get from the Christian ideal should be the one to deliver such a fable, when he with full knowledge has turned his back upon the God, instead choosing a life that despite fleeting material gains on Earth will lead him to an eternity in damnation. The Pardoner evidently identifies himself with the three rioters within the Tale; they share many features such as the tendency to lie, caring for money above all other things and leading a sinful life. The fate of the rioters show that the Pardoner acknowledges which way his life will lead should he carry on as he is now; that the pursuit of money, exalting it above all else leads to death and following that, damnation for the sinful life led. The Tale therefore is an omen of what will befall the Pardoner; he is damning himself with his words, unless he heeds his own warning. It is highly ironic that such a story of morality comes from the mouth of a sinner; that the devil recognises his fate is appealing, and when he twist it into a story to lecture others on righteousness and virtue, it is amusing. Nevertheless, it is not just the physical blasphemy the rioters commit that the Pardoner touches upon.

Although the sins they are guilty of are all forms of sacrilege, the actual tale itself has blasphemous overtones. The rioters set out on a farce of a quest to kill Death. Throughout history, humanity has been afraid of death because of the consequences in the afterlife, an eternity in Heaven or Hell. Catholicism particularly taught that we were all natural sinners and bound for perpetual torture without the utmost piety. However, when Christ sacrificed himself on the Cross, he supposedly gained salvation for all of humanity, thus metaphorically killing Death - we shall live eternally after death in Heaven having been saved by His blood. 'O original of oure dampnacioun til Christ had de bought us with his blood again!' (Lines 214-215) Therefore, the rioters are attempting to perform the role of Christ: that of killing Death.

Seeking to kill Death was not that of a noble quest, it is deeply unchristian as all true believers were expected to fear Death, Old Age and Disease as reminders of mortality and what lay beyond the grave. In Piers Plowman Conscience implores Kunde that Death aids man in the age old battle against sin and the Devil. [3] By attempting to rid humankind of mortality, the three rioters are trying to play God; they seek to prevent humanity from a natural fear of the consequences of Hell by removing its threat to the far off Day of Judgement. The close resemblance the three rioters have been said to resemble the Trinity is similarly irreligious. During Chaucer's time, the story of Christ's sacrifice could be interpreted in two ways by an uneducated laity: that of Christ giving up his life for humanity, or the other two members of the Trinity conspiring against the Son and sending him to Earth to kill him - Christ had no choice, his destiny was to die. Similar to this latter theory then is the tale of the rioters, the two older members of the trio plotting to kill the youngest.

The parody is emphasised when the youngest reseller is sent into town to get 'breed and wyn' (line 511) which is what represents Christ's body in the Sacrament of the Mass, a symbol of Christ's sacrifice One redeeming aspect of the Pardoner is that through his persuasive preaching, he undoubtedly was able to reform his audience. He encouraged others to be good and obey the words of God. Despite the fact that the reasons for his preaching were not to better the souls of his audience, the Pardoner was a good influence on others. His life was an example of everything he preached against: blasphemy, drinking, avarice, lust and gluttony, yet his words changed people for the good. This makes him hypocritical, but also a power for reformation. By the very act that damns his own, the Pardoner could be saving other souls despite the possible falsity of his indulgences.

Although 'no work of Chaucer could more easily have become a document of decadence', Chaucer emphasises the righteousness of moral behaviour by placing a specimen of unadulterated evil before his audience to despise. 'The Pardoner's Tale' is so strong and powerful in its satirical cynicism and joy for fraud using as it does many of the typical vocal characteristics of preachers such as the exclamation it provides delight as the audience savours the vulgar, tasteless coarseness of the Pardoner. However, Chaucer still maintains a respect and inspires a reverence for he moral right of medieval society, despite the likeable rogue that is the teller of the Tale. This makes 'The Pardoner's Tale' different from the French literary tradition of the time, one which revelled in its decadence and corruption.

[4] The Pardoner after all can be traced to Faux-Semblant, a similarly evil character confessing his sins to an enraptured audience. Essentially the Host requested a religious tale of the Pardoner, the most irreligious person present, and that is what was delivered. Religion was extremely important in the Middle Ages, the Church often dominating people's lives from their baptism till their funeral. The Bible was the one text all knew of and revered; any who studied Holy Scriptures was to be likewise respected as having read the truth. However, it was also widely acknowledged at that time that many of the powerful in the hierarchy of the church were only using the institution as a career, abusing the power of the church rather than using it to perform their anointed duties. Life was meant to be lived according the strict lines of canon law in order to gain salvation, and the questions of mortality, heaven and hell were important issues for Chaucer's contemporaries.

The Tale as a whole is a moralistic fable, exhorting the audience to live their lives out according to the precepts of Christ. The Pardoner himself is an example of what not to do, and can be used as a religious symbol in that he is the opposite of what we should strive to emulate. [1] Romans 8: 123 [2] Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales, Lawrence, 1950 [3] Piers Plowman, C XXII 76-109 [4] Chaucer and the French Tradition, Muscatine, 1957, page 247.