Corruption In The Pardoner's Tale
The Middle Ages was a time of corruption. The Church came up with several corrupt methods to pay for these church officials. The Church told its people that pilgrimages to sites of relics and holy places were suitable ways to repent for their sins (Walker). “The Pardoner's Tale” by Geoffrey Chaucer demonstrates the idea of not being greedy to enhance characteristics of the Pardoner as he used the Church to gain money.
One of the things that the Pardoner was good at was condemning people, and making sure they felt shame in themselves. The Catholic Church would preach good sermons, but they wanted people to feel shame for what they did so they would feel remorse and pay for indulgences. In the beginning, an indulgence was just a certificate given by the Pope to a person whose sins had been forgiven …show more content…
They also ate and drank beyond their might,
So that they gave the devil sacrifice
Within the devil's temple by the vice
Of gluttony, which is abomination.
Their oaths were great, so worthy of damnation
It was a grisly thing to hear them swear;
The body of our blessed Lord they'd tear
As if the Jews had not torn him enough.(Chaucer 465-475)
The main motive for the Pardoner was money. Money was his main concern. He didn’t care about the people or their salvation. All he wanted was to improve his economic status, and live his life in riches. He did anything to gain money. In the end of his sermons he would always remind people there was a feed for salvation by saying “Come forth, Sir Host, and offer first right now, And kiss then each and every relic. How? For just a groat! Unbuckle now your purse" (Chaucer). All these things pointed out the corruption of the Catholic Church, and how the Pardoner’s sell of indulgences were used for
One of the things that the Pardoner was good at was condemning people, and making sure they felt shame in themselves. The Catholic Church would preach good sermons, but they wanted people to feel shame for what they did so they would feel remorse and pay for indulgences. In the beginning, an indulgence was just a certificate given by the Pope to a person whose sins had been forgiven …show more content…
They also ate and drank beyond their might,
So that they gave the devil sacrifice
Within the devil's temple by the vice
Of gluttony, which is abomination.
Their oaths were great, so worthy of damnation
It was a grisly thing to hear them swear;
The body of our blessed Lord they'd tear
As if the Jews had not torn him enough.(Chaucer 465-475)
The main motive for the Pardoner was money. Money was his main concern. He didn’t care about the people or their salvation. All he wanted was to improve his economic status, and live his life in riches. He did anything to gain money. In the end of his sermons he would always remind people there was a feed for salvation by saying “Come forth, Sir Host, and offer first right now, And kiss then each and every relic. How? For just a groat! Unbuckle now your purse" (Chaucer). All these things pointed out the corruption of the Catholic Church, and how the Pardoner’s sell of indulgences were used for