What's Wrong with the Pardoner? Complexion Theory, the Phlegmatic Man, and Effeminacy

Author / Editor
Whitney, Elspeth.

Title
What's Wrong with the Pardoner? Complexion Theory, the Phlegmatic Man, and Effeminacy

Published
Chaucer Review 45 (2011): 357-89.

Description
In the context of medieval humoral symptomatology, Chaucer's Pardoner fits the profile of a phlegmatic male. This diagnosis explains, in turn, his corrupt character, for "incontinence, excess, deceitfulness, cowardice, and negligence" in a man were all thought to be symptoms of excessive phlegm.

Chaucer Subjects
Pardoner and His Tale