The Pardoner's Tale

The Pardoner's Tale Summary

"The Pardoner's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is a moral story about greed and its destructive consequences. The Pardoner, a dishonest church official who sells pardons and indulgences, tells this tale.

Here's a summary in modern English:

The tale begins with three riotous and drunken friends in a tavern. They hear a bell signifying a burial and discover that the dead man was a friend of theirs, killed by a mysterious figure named Death.

Angered and reckless, they vow to avenge their friend's death and seek out this figure. An old man they meet on the road tells them they will find Death under a particular tree.

When they reach the tree, instead of finding Death, they discover a large pile of gold coins. Immediately, their pledge of brotherhood dissolves as their greed takes over. They decide to wait until nightfall to move the treasure without attracting attention, drawing lots to decide who will fetch food and wine while the other two watch over the gold.

The youngest man draws the shortest straw and goes to town. Meanwhile, the two remaining ones plot to kill him upon his return to increase their share of the gold. Unknown to them, the youngest man also plans to kill them so he can have all the gold to himself. He purchases poison and puts it in two of the three wine bottles he buys.

When he returns, the two men attack and kill him. To celebrate, they drink the wine and succumb to the poison. Thus, all three men meet their end, figuratively finding 'Death' under the tree as the old man had said.

After finishing his tale, the Pardoner tries to sell his relics and pardons to the other pilgrims, illustrating the very greed he condemned in his story. His hypocrisy is rebuked by the Host, leading to a heated exchange, which the Knight eventually quells.

"The Pardoner's Tale" serves as a morality tale warning against the deadly sin of avarice and demonstrates how greed only leads to destruction. It's also a commentary on the hypocritical practices of corrupt church officials in Chaucer's time.