Exemplum: tale intended to deliver a moral lesson Radix malorum est cupiditas – Money is the root of all evil Irony: He preaches against the sin of greed when he openly admits to being guilty of this sin. Hypocritical.
3 Variations: Bubonic, Pneumatic, and septicemic Passed from infected fleas, rats, and from one another Symptoms: tumor-like swellings in armpits, neck, and groin. Also coughing blood, fever, and weakness Life expectancy after signs of symptoms: From 1 week to 2 days Public reaction: Panic! Caused a breakdown in social order. Killed so quickly that there was not enough consecrated ground to bury all the victims. This resulted in Mass Burials.
Theme: “Greed is the root of all evil” He brags openly and boldly. Aware that he preaches against what he practices Manipulates the gullible out of money, and has no guilt for it. Starts his story by saying his own wickedness does not prevent him from telling a moral story
3 Rioters indulge in excess: drinking, gambling, and swearing Hear of a mysterious figure named Death…in their drunkenness, they decided to find him and kill him. Old man tells them that they will find Death beneath an oak tree in a grove. Instead, they find 8 sacks of money.
They decide they can’t take it back to town in the daylight, otherwise they’ll be accused of being thieves. So they decided to move it in the nighttime, but guard it meanwhile. Send the youngest rioter to town for supplies
Immediately, the other two begin plotting how to kill him in order to have more money for themselves. Youngest rioter is one step ahead of them. While he’s in town, he purchases poison to put in their wine. When the youngest returns to the tree, the other two leap out and kill him. They drink the wine to celebrate, but chose the wrong bottles to do so.
Pardoner again reminds the pilgrims to beware of the sin of avarice (greed) and death may strike any time With the pilgrims properly scared, the Pardoner begins to sell his fake religious relics.