The Pardoner and the Friar

The Pardoner and the Friar is an allegorical exploration of religion’s politics. The Friar--a traveling churchman--is trying to convince the local townspeople to give him money. In return, he will pray for their souls; he is, after all, a holy friar and close to God. But then along comes a Pardoner, a man who wields papal permission to sell holy relics in order to save people’s souls. At the church, these two men begin a debate of religious ideology, determined to win the hearts, minds, and money of the locals. When the church’s parson tries to end their feud, he stumbles into a conflict of more gravity than he could have imagined. A lesser-known work by John Heywood, The Pardoner and the Friar reveals the uncertainties of religion and faith that permeated the early 1500s in England.