In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, The Pardoner tells a story in the form of a sermon, an exemplum, to be exact.

story is established through the story of the three rioters.  The three rioters are anonymous hoodlums to whom the narrator gives no distinctive characteristics.  We are introduced to these three drunken rioters who are on a quest to find death, after their friend dies from the plague.  During their venture, we are introduced to the irony of this tale, as each of the men agree to die for one another.  As they embark on their quest for death, they encounter an old man who they treat impolitely, asking him why he still alive.  He completes their quest for death, when he informs them that he has last seen Death under a large oak tree. The men hurry to the spot and instead find eight bushels of gold, and decide to keep the gold.  The reader is supposed to see that the money is death, and is lying at the root of the tree, which is where we begin to form the theme, “money is the root of all evil.”  However, the drunken rioters do not see through this and they grow greedy and kill themselves through trickery.  They begin celebrating their fortune with bread and wine, however shortly after; the first two rioters and the youngest rioter begin to display devilish thoughts to gain more of the money. However the older two rioters kill the youngest because they want more money.  Their journey ends when the older two rioters decide to kill the younger rioter because they want more money, however the younger rioter had already poisoned their wine to attempt to gain all the money.  The older two rioters drink the wine and die.  Thus completing the theme, “money is the root of all evil.” After completing the tale, the reader is lead to believe that the Old Man is none other than Death himself.  The man is described as wearing a robe that covers his entire body; much like a Grim Reaper would wear.  After he is treated so badly by these men, he just happens to lead them into a death trap, which he knows will cost nothing but problems.  It is also said that the man cannot die, perhaps the man cannot die because he is Death himself, and there is no one else left to show him death.  It’s often said that Death can come in many disguises, what’s to say a sweet old man isn’t one of them?  Some people also believe in fate, and only Death himself, would know to guide these three to what become their fate. The Pardoner as narrator is irony at it’s finest.  The Pardoner starts off the story by admitting that while he preaches against all kinds of sins, he himself indulges in various vices. His actions do not accord with his words. The Pardoner’s main source of income comes from selling indulgences and relics that help prevent such sins as jealousy in a man, yet he claims he will not sell his relics to sinners. In The Canterbury Tales, the Pardoner is an immoral man who tells a very moral story for very immoral reasons. The Pardoner preaches what he himself is guilty of; leading to the old saying that not everyone practices what they preach.  Thus giving a large amount of irony to a story that is told by an ironic person.