Chaucer’s Pardoner

Upon only scratching the surface, Chaucer's Pardoner would seem to be a rotten scoundrel, using the reputation and power of the church to stuff his pockets at the expense of desperate and the ignorant. While this is certainly on the mark, the Pardoner proves to be far more complex than this simple characterization allows.
I believe that the Pardoner was probably once an honorable man, or intended to be. He was corrupted by his trade, which was in itself corrupt. This was not uncommon of the time. This was a man who made a living out of “saving” others, whether he cared or meant to matters not, but could not save himself as long as he continued to practice the trade set upon him by the church. So in essence, the Church damned him. The Church relied heavily upon the funds brought in by the promises of salvation for those that give and from the sale of pardons. Because of this, the corrupt practices, like those of the Pardoner, were overlooked and accepted as a necessary ev...