Books: THE MEN WHO FOUND DEATH

One of the most pointed of all Chaucer’s stories is The Pardoner’s Tale—the story of the three young roisterers who went looking for Death. They seize an old man and mockingly demand that he tell them where Death can be found. He assures them that he has seen Death, that very day, down the road, under an oak tree. With drunken bravado, they march to the tree and find, to their amazed delight, a pile of gold florins. But the old man was right, too. Since the three decide they cannot haul their treasure home in daylight, they send the youngest back to town for bread & wine. No sooner is he gone than one of the other two proposes a piece of treachery. The climax of The Pardoner’s Tale, as told in Coghill’s new version:

” ‘Now look; when he comes back, get up in fun And have a wrestle with him, just a rag; Then I’ll jump up and slice him through the bag While he is struggling, thinking it a game; You draw your dagger too and do the same.

Then all this money will be ours to spend, Divided equally, of course, dear friend . . .’

The youngest, as he ran towards the town, Kept turning over, rolling up and down

Within his heart the beauty of those bright New florins, saying, ‘Lord, to think I might Have all that treasure to myself alone! Could there be anyone beneath the throne Of God so happy as I then should be?’ . . .

And on he ran, he had no thought to tarry, Came to the town, found an apothecary And said, ‘Sell me some poison if you will, I have a lot of rats I want to kill . . .’

This cursed fellow grabbed into his hand The box of poison and away he ran Into a neighboring street, and found a man Who lent him three large bottles. He withdrew And deftly poured the poison into two. He kept the third one clean, as well he might, For his own drink, meaning to work all night Stacking the gold and carrying it away . . .

Why make a sermon of it? Why waste breath? Exactly in the way they’d planned his death They fell on him and slew him, two to one. Then said the first of them when this was done, ‘Now for a drink. Sit down and let’s be merry. For later on there’ll be the corpse to bury.’ And, so it happened, reaching for a sup He took a bottle full of poison up And drank; and his companion, nothing loth, Drank from it also, and they perished both.”