Geoffrey Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale

Susan Yager (Iowa State University)

Ed. by , Corinne Saunders, University of Durham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1387

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)
Story

Resources

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The

Pardoner’s Tale

is the second story in Fragment VI of Geoffrey Chaucer’s

Canterbury Tales

, and is paired in that fragment with the

Physician’s Tale.

These stories share common themes of selfishness and greed, include grisly and unexpected deaths, and raise issues of morality and justice. Both also draw from the same literary source, the

Roman de la Rose,

which Chaucer knew and may have partly translated. The

Pardoner’s Tale

is the better known of the two stories, and is more often taught and anthologized.

The function of a pardoner in the Middle Ages was to raise money for charitable causes by offering indulgences, or remittance of the guilt or punishment for sins, to repentant sinners. Indulgences reduce the consequences of sin for the penitent and represent a share of the

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1148 words

Citation: Yager, Susan. "The Pardoner's Tale". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=19959, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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