How we cite our quotes: (Line number)
Quote #1
And thanne my bulles shewe I, alle and some;
Oure lige lordes seel on my patente,
That shewe I first, my body to warente,
That no man be so boold, ne preest ne clerk,
Me to destourbe of Cristes hooly werk. (51 – 54)
Although the Pardoner's characterization of what he's doing as "Cristes hooly werk" may not ring hollow to us and the pilgrims just yet, by the time the he's concluded his description of his methods, it certainly will. The Pardoner makes it clear that his "work" is to win as much money as possible to line his own pocket—hardly an exercise in Christian charity. Evidently, local priests and clerics were suspicious of the traveling pardoners, who had a reputation for gouging their parishioners.
Quote #2
Of avarice and of swich cursednesse
Is al my prechyng, for to make hem free
To yeven hir pens; and namely, unto me! (112 – 116)
With these lines we get the first inkling of the Pardoner's hypocritical greed: he rails against avarice (greed) in his sermons in order to make his listeners more generous with their coins. Although the Pardoner's theme might not be hypocritical if he were spending the money on charity, he's clearly using it to line his pocket, shaming others for their greed in order to satisfy his own.
Quote #3
For my entente is nat but for to wynne,
And no thyng for correccioun of synne.
I rekke nevere, whan that they been beryed,
Though that hir soules goon a-blakeberyed! (117 – 120)
The understood goal of the medieval preacher was always supposed to be the salvation of souls through the correction of sin. Just by taking the pulpit, the Pardoner signaled to others that this was his goal, too. But this guy doesn't care at all about that, and he freely admits it. Chaucer's letting us in on one of the big concerns of the medieval church, which knew that this kind of thing was rampant among its traveling friars and pardoners. The preaching wasn't exactly being done as it was intended.