Pardoners Tale

In "The Pardoner's Tale," the Pardoner reveals that his preaching and promises of salvation are merely a ploy to get money. He then goes on to recount the tale of a licentious group of young Flemish people who come across a stash of gold coins. Each of the young men plots against the others so that he may be the richest until all three wind up dead. The Pardoner concludes that avarice can lead only to death—before offering each of the pilgrims a chance to make contributions to his admittedly fake relics.

This tale is read in the original Middle English by Richard Bebb under the direction of Britain's foremost Chaucer scholar, Professor Derek Brewer. This was Bebb's last recording.