The third of the 10 Commandments of Moses, as recorded in EXODUS 20 : 7 is, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” The Pardoner preaches against “fals sweryng” by saying, “Bihold and se that in the firste table / Of heigh Goddes heestes honurable, / Hou that the seconde heeste of hym is this: / “Take nat my name in ydel or amys.”
Money
GENESIS 19 : 30-38 records that Lot’s daughters, their thinking so corrupted by the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah, believed that it was incumbent upon them to produce children by their father. Lot was a party to this only under the heavy influence of alcohol (vv. 33, 35). The Pardoner alludes to this passage to demonstrate that wine and drunkenness…
Drunkenness
GENESIS 19 : 30-38 records that Lot’s daughters, their thinking so corrupted by the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah, believed that it was incumbent upon them to produce children by their father. Lot was a party to this only under the heavy influence of alcohol (vv. 33, 35). The Pardoner alludes to this passage to demonstrate that wine and drunkenness…
Integrity
MATTHEW 14 : 1-12 & MARK 6 : 14-29 record how Herod Antipas, Roman tetrarch of Galilee from 4 B.C. To 39 A.D. and son of Herod the Great, imprisoned and later beheaded John the Baptist. Chaucer’s Pardoner attributes Herod’s actions to his drunkenness, though no such detail is offered by either Matthew or Mark. Both Matthew (14 : 9) and Mark (6 : 26)
Revealed Sin
In NUMBERS 32 : 23, Moses tells the tribes of Gad and Rueben that their sin has consequences and, using personification, Moses warns them to “…be sure your sin will find you out.” Chanticleer pleads his case to Pertelote that dreams must be believed, alluding not only to NUMBERS 32 : 23…