How we cite our quotes: (Line number)
Quote #1
Bulles of popes and cardynales,
Of patriarkes and bishopes I shewe,
And in Latyn I speke a wordes fewe,
To saffron with my predicacioun,
And for to stire hem to devocioun. (56 – 60)
The Pardoner's methods are all about manipulating the emotions of his audience to get them to buy his pardons and relics. Here he describes how he mixes a display of his "bulls," or pardons, with words in Latin. He knows this would be pretty impressive to an uneducated audience. The Pardoner's use of the figure of "spicing up" his speech (with Saffron) foreshadows his description of cookery later in his Tale; the implication might be that Latin whets the appetite of his audience for substantial food (the Pardons) just as spice does for an epicure.
Quote #2
Thanne shewe I forth my longe cristal stones,
Ycrammed ful of cloutes and of bones;
Relikes been they, as wenen they echoon. (61- 64)
The Pardoner keeps a sack full of old rags and bones, which he passes off to his audience as relics, or the real clothing or bones of saints. The Pardoner clues us in that the relics are total fakes with the phrase "as wenene they echoon," which basically means, "or so they think," implying that although the audience believes they're real, the relics are definitely not. He's successful because of the medieval craze for relics; he's got a very popular product, even if he's selling snake oil.
Quote #3
Good men and wommen, o thyng warne I yow,
If any wight be in this chirche now
That hat doon synne horrible, that he
Dar nat for shame of it yshryven be,
Or any womman, be she yong or old,
that hath ymaad hir housbonde cokewold,
Swich folk shal have no power ne no grace
To offren to my relikes in this place. (91 – 98)
This is the really impressive part of the Pardoner's sales pitch. He basically forces everyone to buy the merchandise or risk being "outed" as a terrible sinner. If someone doesn't come forward to make an offering after this part of the speech, everyone else will suspect them of a sexual sin (in a woman's case, specifically of being an adulterer). A genius move, in Shmoop's opinion.