"The love of money is the root of all evil.

"
How meaningful is this verse for the reader of the
Pardoner's Prologue and Tale?

He calls preaching a game. He loves to play that game.

He loves to preach against greed. “Yokol” stupid people, he loves preaching to
them and lying.
Greed=cupidity
People start freeing money as soon as he starts preaching. He only cares
about money but not about their souls. He is drink because he seems holy
but he is vicious.
While he preaches against the greed, it is his way of leaving. He is drunk so
he gives away his strategy, he loves to have money to go to the bar and
getting girls.
Messagge can´t be split from messenger, he is a holy vicious man but he can
tell a moral tale.
3 brothers drinking in a bar and they hear a bell that marks that someone
died.
Death killed him. They decide they are going to look for death. They found an
old man, they don´t treat him with respect.
They follow the directions of the old man but they found money. They decide
to take it at night. They decide that 2 should stay and one should go for food.
When he comes back they kill one, they then drink the wine and die. They
finally found death.
That´s how the pardoner likes to preach.
The relation between the prologue and the tale is based on greed. The
pardoner preachs against greed to make people feel guilty about being
greedy, recognixe it as a sin, and the pay money to be free of sin.

At the end he talks about the sin that is the greed and tries to show the other
pilgrims that they are like the people of the tale. He offers to pardon them
because he has special relics which he mentioned in the beggining, but he
doesn´t care about their souls. He encourages them to get the pardon from
him, because they are in an adventure. He wants the first one to be the
host,but he refuses. The host already knows his secrets, and that it is all
fake. When they are about to fight, the knight intercedes and they give a
handshake.
Chaucer is seriously planting the seed of some sorious doubt on the
authenticity of the catholic church.
Chaucer asks if it is true that if you do something unethical because of
greed, it fundamentally changes you, makes you less human. Retributed
justice, do bad get bad.

He repeats that his theme is always "Money is the root of all evil" because,
with this text, he can denounce the very vice that he practices: greed. And
even though he is guilty of the same sins he preaches against, he can still
make other people repent. The Pardoner admits that he likes money, rich
food, and fine living. And even if he is not a moral man, he can tell a good
moral tale, which follows.
The function of a pardoner in Chaucer's time was to collect moneys for
charitable purposes and to be the Pope's special agent in dispensing or
rewarding contributors with certain pardons as a remission for sins. By canon
law, a pardoner was required to remain in a certain area; within this area, he
could visit churches, receive contributions, and, in the Pope's name, dispense
indulgences. An honest pardoner was entitled to a percentage of the take;
however, most pardoners were dishonest and took much more than their
share and, in many cases, would take all the contributions. Thus, as he
boasts, Chaucer's Pardoner belongs to the latter class — that is, he speaks of
how much he collects by refusing to give indulgences to anyone except the
very good people.

In his prologue, the Pardoner frankly confesses that he is a fraud motivated

by greed and avarice and that he is guilty of all seven sins. Even though he is
essentially a hypocrite in his profession, he is at least being honest as he
makes his confession. But then, ironically, at the end of his tale, he requests
that the pilgrims make a contribution. Thus, for many reasons, the Pardoner
is the most complex figure in the entire pilgrimage. He is certainly an
intellectual figure; his references and knowledge demonstrated in the tale
and his use of psychology in getting only the good people to come forward
attest to his intellect. But in making his confessions to the pilgrims about his
hypocrisy, he seems to be saying that he wishes he could be more sincere in
his ways, except that he is too fond of money, good food and wine, and power.

The moral of the tale is obvious - cupiditas and greed are the cause of moral bankruptcy
and certain damnation. However being told by our self confessed avaricious Pardoner it
seems inappropriate, inconsistent and extremely hypocritical given his boastful
admissions of his own deceptive double dealings. (Gross, pg 5) The Pardoner preaches
this moral tale for the masses and an accomplished performer who automatically goes
through the mechanical motions of preaching a habitual sermon verbatim, up to and
including, soliciting offerings for his fraudulent goods. (Pearsall, pg 361).
Seemingly lacking capacity for self awareness or insight, the Pardoner's complete
spiritual bankruptcy, in spite of his profession as a churchman, makes him the exemplar
of the very vices he preaches against. The Pardoner has used his storytelling
opportunity to demonstrate his superior preaching skills to his fellow pilgrims and
disclosed the effectiveness with which he rorts his congregations. The basic irony is
that in doing so he reveals his own inherently evil existence is ruled bycupiditas which
in accordance with the medieval belief system, would realize the certainty of his own
damnation (Pearsall, pg 359-363).
The carefully crafted character of the Pardoner delivered in the General Prologue seems
consistent with the gluttonous, arrogant, braggart depicted in the Prologue to the
Pardoner's Tale. However, the Pardoner's Tale itself, an exemplum bearing the moral
that 'greed is the root of all evil' is completely hypocritical given the behaviour he
demonstrates, the characteristics attributed to him and the perceptions we acquire of the
Pardoner's character. This dichotomy has given rise to such diversity of critical opinion
that it was very likely a quite deliberate stratagem on Chaucer's part and the result of
which is a Pardoner who stubbornly resists critical consensus. (Khinoy, pg 256)

Chaucer asks if it is true that if you do something unethical because of

greed, it fundamentally changes you, makes you less human
The moral of the tale is obvious - cupiditas and greed are the cause of moral bankruptcy
and certain damnation. But in making his confessions to the pilgrims about his
hypocrisy, he seems to be saying that he wishes he could be more sincere in
his ways, except that he is too fond of money, good food and wine, and power.

Although the pardoner was created by Chaucer many centuries ago, he is a

character who remains relevant even in today's society. When he chastises
his audience for their wrongdoings, he is revealed as a hypocrite: he is just as
much a sinner as those whom he addresses. This tendency can still be seen
today: many people easily dictate how others should live their lives while
ignoring their own advice. The theme of the danger of greed is particularly
central to contemporary society. Today, as in earlier years, people are wholly
focused on the desire for financial gain, and are often willing to commit
hateful acts in the pursuit of money.

The hypocrisy stated in the Pardoner´s character, portrays greed in Chaucer´s

society, theme which is particularly central to contemporary society.

The Pardoner presented as an example of cupiditas and the tale about three men overtaken with greed
relates to the present days, when as in earlier years, people are wholly focused on the
desire for financial gain and are often willing to commit hateful acts in the quest
for money.
The pursuit for wealth and ego-driven achievements frequently leads to
negative outcomes, being it´s final debacle not simply that their monetary feats
can’t ever bring them the lasting happiness and inner peace, but that their futile
chase generally produces all sorts of misfortune to others as the tale clearly
illustrates.

An avaricious self confessed Pardoner, summoning about how greed is the

cause of moral crisis, depicts a reality of Chaucer´s time, leaving us a
meaningful message about our current society.

It may not always be to the point of death but it most likely will produce a negative outcome

The tale of the three men overtaken with greed relates to this
present decade of people

The Pardoner's complete spiritual bankruptcy, in spite of his profession as a churchman,

makes him the exemplar of the very vices he preaches against
does not practice what he preaches

The Pardoner, summoning about how greed is the cause of moral bankruptcy, seems an
hypocrisy, however by depicting a reality of his time, it leaves us a meaningful message
about our current society.
hypocrisy given the admissions of his own deceptive behaviour, however the character
pretends to illustrate the axiom "Money is the root of all evil” and

Chaucer asks if it is true that if you do something unethical because of

greed, it fundamentally changes you, makes you less human

The Pardoner sells salvation in return for people's hard-earned money, making it look like a real
deal for them, while .By repeating his theme is always "Money is the root of all
evil" because, with this text, he can denounce the very vice that he
practices: greed
The Pardoner always takes the sentence “Radiz malorum est cupiditas” as text for a
sermon, denouncing the very vice that he practices, greed. This is
summoning his fellow pilgrims for their wrongdoings seems a clear example of
hypocrisy, but also

seems an hypocrisy given the admissions of his own deceptive behaviour, however the
character pretends to illustrate the axiom "Money is the root of all evil” and

"?. (Gross, pg 5) The Pardoner preaches this moral tale for the masses and an
accomplished performer who automatically goes through the mechanical motions of
preaching a habitual sermon verbatim, up to and including, soliciting offerings for his
fraudulent goods. (Pearsall, pg 361).
Seemingly lacking capacity for self awareness or insight, the Pardoner's complete
spiritual bankruptcy, in spite of his profession as a churchman, makes him the exemplar
of the very vices he preaches against. The Pardoner has used his storytelling
opportunity to demonstrate his superior preaching skills to his fellow pilgrims and
disclosed the effectiveness with which he rorts his congregations. The basic irony is
that in doing so he reveals his own inherently evil existence is ruled by cupiditas which
in accordance with the medieval belief system, would realize the certainty of his own
damnation (Pearsall, pg 359-363).
The carefully crafted character of the Pardoner delivered in the General Prologue seems
consistent with the gluttonous, arrogant, braggart depicted in the Prologue to the
Pardoner's Tale. However, the Pardoner's Tale itself, an exemplum bearing the moral
that 'greed is the root of all evil' is completely hypocritical given the behaviour he
demonstrates, the characteristics attributed to him and the perceptions we acquire of the
Pardoner's character. This dichotomy has given rise to such diversity of critical opinion
that it was very likely a quite deliberate stratagem on Chaucer's part and the result of
which is a Pardoner who stubbornly resists critical consensus. (

The Pardoner's Prologue and Tale convey the idea that greed are the cause of moral
bankruptcy and certain damnation, reflects the character of the Pardoner himself and his
hypocrisy.
By summoning the pilgrims for their wrongdoings, he is revealed as a
hypocrite as he is just as much a sinner as those whom he addresses. This
tendency can still be seen today: many people easily dictate how others
should live their lives while ignoring their own advice. The theme of the
danger of greed is particularly central to contemporary society. Today, as in
earlier years, people are wholly focused on the desire for financial gain, and
are often willing to commit hateful acts in the pursuit of money.

The tale involves three unredeemable characters whose greed and shamefulness mirror
the pardoner's own. Although the Pardoner is extremely greedy, he continues to try and
teach that "Avarice is the root of all evil" (6). The characters in his tale display great
hypocrisy as well. Within the story, the sins the Pardoner includes in the story of the
Rioters (drunkenness, gluttony, swearing, gambling) is ironic and further brings out
characteristics of the Pardoner. The setting of the Pardoner in the tavern as he gives the
sermon against vices is ironic because these vices are commonly seen in taverns. These
vices also serve as a purpose of characterization for the Pardoner, who is exploiting his
own weaknesses and warning against the vices that are a part of his daily life.

The epigraph which Chaucer has chosen from Paul´s epistle to Timothy. The Pardoner
always takes the sentence “Radiz malorum est cupiditas” as text for a sermon, but
Chaucer places this sentence before the Pardoner´s prologue and confession and the
implication is that the sentence retains connotations concerned with the character of the
Pardoner as well

On an ethical level, the worst thing about their pursuits is that their mercenary, ego-
driven achievements frequently do considerable damage to others
and their prospects The final debacle of their pursuit isn’t simply that their monetary
accomplishments can’t ever bring them the lasting happiness and peace of mind
they secretly crave. It’s that their futile quest generally causes all sorts of
misfortune to others