The Pardoner

Along with receiving the indulgence, the penitent would make a donation to the Church by giving money to me. Eventually, this “charitable” donation became a necessary part of receiving an indulgence. Paid by the Church to offer these indulgences,I was not supposed to pocket the penitents’ charitable donations. That said, the practice of offering indulgences came under critique by quite a few churchmen, since once the charitable donation became a practice allied to receiving an indulgence, it began to look like one could cleanse oneself of sin by simply paying off the Church. Additionally, widespread suspicion held that pardoners counterfeited the pope’s signature on illegitimate indulgences and pocketed the “charitable donations” themselves.After telling the group how I gull people into indulging my own avarice through a sermon I preaches on greed, I tell of a tale that exemplifies the vice decried in my sermon. Furthermore, I attempts to sell pardons to the group—in effect plying my trade in clear violation of the rules outlined by the host.