This short commentary is an analysis of Chaucer's Pardoner, perhaps the most diabolical of all Chaucer's pilgrim characters. Himself driven by avarice, he tells a tale, ironically, about the evil of avarice, his intention being to encourage his listeners to loosen their purse strings and buy an indulgence, or, even better, to purchase a relic from him. Purportedly a pardoner, he has no interest in the spiritual welfare of his victims, but only in the accumulation of money for his own selfish,