Consider the Significance of Death in the Pardoner's Tale
Consider the significance of death in the Pardoners tale.
When Chaucer was writing the Canterbury Tales in the 14th century the Black Death had killed approximately one quarter to one third of the European population within 2 years; even without the plague the average persons’ life expectancy was 28 years. Literature at the time, even books my medics believed that God was the giver and taker of life, Therefore the relieving of sin by a priest in the 14th century is similar to the relieving of pain by a doctor today. In essence only God could begin and end their lives or so it was thought; wounds and diseases were metaphors for sins. It is no wonder that society relied on God and the church because they were constantly reminded that they could die at any time and more importantly their sins were seen as a measure of their behaviour. Let’s make the point clear: in the 14th century your health was a result of your conduct; if you lived a God fearing chastened life then you had nothing to fear, the church preached, however if you fell into the bottomless pit of the temptation of the seven deadly sins then they must face the judgement that awaits you at death. The plague according to Bishop Edendon ‘is a fire which blazed as a result of Adam’s sin. . . . . . . producing a multitude of sins which have provoked the divine anger, by a just judgement, to His revenge.’ Here Edendon is preaching to the petrified that their sins are the cause of the plague, because they are so insurmountable, they have angered God; he has got revenge by giving sinners the cruel Black Death, beware you who sin, was the message, you are the maker of your own death.
In the 19th Century some writers became fascinated with the Gothic genre about the ‘supernatutral’ and concepts of evil. The mood was always gloomy and shadowy. There was always a mysterious male character that dwelt in an eerie castle that is dark, full of strange shadows and is labyrinthine and confusing. The layout is
When Chaucer was writing the Canterbury Tales in the 14th century the Black Death had killed approximately one quarter to one third of the European population within 2 years; even without the plague the average persons’ life expectancy was 28 years. Literature at the time, even books my medics believed that God was the giver and taker of life, Therefore the relieving of sin by a priest in the 14th century is similar to the relieving of pain by a doctor today. In essence only God could begin and end their lives or so it was thought; wounds and diseases were metaphors for sins. It is no wonder that society relied on God and the church because they were constantly reminded that they could die at any time and more importantly their sins were seen as a measure of their behaviour. Let’s make the point clear: in the 14th century your health was a result of your conduct; if you lived a God fearing chastened life then you had nothing to fear, the church preached, however if you fell into the bottomless pit of the temptation of the seven deadly sins then they must face the judgement that awaits you at death. The plague according to Bishop Edendon ‘is a fire which blazed as a result of Adam’s sin. . . . . . . producing a multitude of sins which have provoked the divine anger, by a just judgement, to His revenge.’ Here Edendon is preaching to the petrified that their sins are the cause of the plague, because they are so insurmountable, they have angered God; he has got revenge by giving sinners the cruel Black Death, beware you who sin, was the message, you are the maker of your own death.
In the 19th Century some writers became fascinated with the Gothic genre about the ‘supernatutral’ and concepts of evil. The mood was always gloomy and shadowy. There was always a mysterious male character that dwelt in an eerie castle that is dark, full of strange shadows and is labyrinthine and confusing. The layout is