The Tongue as a Sword: Psalms 56 and 63 and the Pardoner

Author / Editor
Sheneman, Paul.

Title
The Tongue as a Sword: Psalms 56 and 63 and the Pardoner

Published
Chaucer Review 27 (1993): 396-400.

Description
When Chaucer notes in GP that the Pardoner could "wel affile his tongue," he is referring to the tongue as a weapon, a source of "slander and destruction," as noted in Psalms 56 and 63. Critics who have translated "affile" as "polish" have misread the line.

Chaucer Subjects
Pardoner and His Tale.