The Pardoner: Getting to know him

Chaucer cleverly depicts the Pardoner/Pisces as the image of a fish. Then he has a bit of fun with the two images combined as he transitions to the characteristics of a man. Following that, he provides a brief identification of the actual sign.
     Here he is still concentrating on the area of the "hair."
          A hood, for jollity, wore he none.
He wears no hood. That's clear. But what can we make of,
          Disheveled, save his cap, he rode all bare.
The line is generally explained to say he was bareheaded--except for his cap. But as a fish, of course, he rides all bare! (Disheveled, in this case, means unbound hair rather than unkempt. We had previously learned his appearance is neat and orderly.)
     Identifying the sign of Pisces echoes Manilius, an ancient astronomer: One half of Pisces concludes winter, the other introduces spring. How does Chaucer express this?
          Of his craft, from Berwick into Ware,
          Never was there such another pardoner.
The Pardoner/Pisces is one of a kind, but so is each of the signs. Scrutinizing the names of the specific towns as words, the most meaningful is "Ware." It means spring. For example, In ware tyme he sews his whete. If "Ware" is spring, "Berwick" must communicate winter. "Ber" as an alternate spelling of bare (without vegetation) combined with "wick" (Hardwick, Brunswick) as a land area says "a region that is bare." Transforming the bare land of winter into the new life of spring is, indeed, the province of Pisces.
     Once the identification is done with, the poet launches into a  character study. In his traveling bag, the Pardoner claims to have Our Lady's veil, a portion of the sail from St. Peter's boat, and a glass filled with pig's bones; he declares all are holy relics. He uses these items to make fools of people. He flatters and tricks poor people and other clergymen. In doing so, he succeeds in taking in more money in a day than devoted preachers do in two months.
     His performance in church, nevertheless, is outwardly exemplary. He preaches and sings expertly. His motivation, however, is greed. With a better performance, the "more silver he'd win."
     This portrait is part of the undercurrent of protests in the Tales. The reason given for his expert performance, for example, conceals the exaggerated medieval devotion to Mary.
          Therefore he sang merrier and loud. 
Even more powerful is the line that follows the attention to  his sleek surface.
          I trust he were a gelding or a mare.
Because of his utter lack of beard, he is said to be impotent. To deny the power of the pardon of the "sign of the fish"--Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven--is heresy!
     The final member of Chaucer's clique is the Pardoner. The closing prayer of the Tales expresses the poet's need of forgiveness for his sins. So the concerns demonstrated in the group are Money/ the Manciple, the Devil/ the Miller, Judgment/ the Reeve, Death/ the Summoner, and the Sign of the Fish--the Church/ the Pardoner.
     This General Prologue presentation does not end Chaucer's exposure of this pilgrim. These disclosures may repel us, but when the Pardoner speaks for himself, as he does in the prologue to his Tale, he becomes even more hateful. Chaucer want us to know him well.

The loathsome Pardoner clue

The Host's confrontation by the loathsome, contemptible Pilgrim Pardoner is a short but lively scene, ordinarily viewed with emphasis on humor.
     He is a minor churchman, and a fraud, who peddles absolution. His targets--the unsuspecting and the impoverished faithful. What we learn about him from the narrator repels us, but when the Pardoner speaks for himself, he becomes even more hateful. For example, he tells us he has a collection of "relics," which he declares are authentic. He promises they will cure diseases in animals and humans and relieve suspicions of jealous husbands. He tells false stories and ruins reputations with his venom while claiming to edify. Greed is his only motive; he cares nothing about counseling sinners. But, so powerful and persuasive are his words that even the poorest give him money, wool and cheese, though their children are starving.
     As he finishes promoting his cause to his companions, he offers to absolve each of them of his or her sins. Then he says, "I advise that Our  Host here shall begin / For he is most enveloped in sin." The Host is invited to come forward and kiss each of the Pardoner's relics! At this, the Host lashes out at the Pardoner's boastfully confessed hypocrisy.

As we go to our task of finding the image of Christ within this action, the Host's anger is fitting. Recall Christ lashing out at the money changers in the temple.
     One word, however, is the key to the scene--enveloped. Chaucer's Pardoner uses the word to describe the Host as most enveloped in sin. The Pardoner is not addressing a sinful man, that is, a sin-filled man. Sin surrounds, enfolds the Host. This image has long been a tradition with Christ. In the Harrowing of Hell, mentioned in our previous entry, Christ says to Satan, "Sin found thou never / In me as in other men."
     And as Chaucer's humble Parson tells us, "Jesus Christ took upon Himself the pain of all our wickednesses," but "in Him is no imperfection." Sin is closely associated with Christ, but it is external to His being. The poet, in providing additional evidence of Christ, indicates the same of Our Host.
     The tradition continues today. Christ is often described as taking all our sins upon Himself. Sinfulness is external to Christ; it envelops Him. That statement is a parallel to Chaucer's portrait of Our Host. Here again, we find a comic surface that needs to be penetrated in order to discover the portrait of Christ within. It takes only careful reading with an open mind to see the image Chaucer has concealed.
     Next time, we will look at our penultimate clue, a matter of genuine substance.