# The Pardoner — The Canterbury Tales character guide

> The Pardoner in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-the-prologue

## Snapshot

A smooth-tongued pardoner who sells relics and indulgences with theatrical flair, openly confessing that his only goal is profit.

## Who they are

He rides with the pilgrims carrying a bag of pig's bones and a pillowcase he calls Our Lady's veil, and he cheerfully admits that his sermons are designed to fleece the faithful. His tale about three rioters who destroy each other over gold is a masterclass in moral storytelling delivered by a man who ignores his own lesson. The gap between his preaching and his practice makes him one of the pilgrimage's most unsettling figures, and his offer to sell relics to the company pushes the framing narrative to a breaking point.

## In the story

### [The Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-prologue)

Interrupts the Wife of Bath, expressing shock at her views on marriage and his own reluctance to wed.

### [The Pardoner's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-pardoner-s-tale)

The narrator of the tale, a corrupt church official who preaches against greed while indulging in it himself.

### [The Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-prologue)

The Pardoner is called upon by the Host to tell a tale; he agrees to tell a moral story after drinking.

### [The Pardoner's Tale](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/chapters/the-tale)

Preaches against avarice while admitting his own greed, then tells a moral tale to win money.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters/pardoner
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_canterbury_tales_se/characters