This Pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex,
But smothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex;
By ounces henge his lokkes that he hadde,
And therwith he his shuldres overspradde;
But thynne it lay, by colpons oon and oon.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Pardoner is repugnant in appearance. His hair is long, greasy, limp and "yelow as wax." It hangs like a clump of wax in small strands down to his shoulders. This negative description of him foreshadows the kind of unscrupulous personality that we will come to learn learn this corrupt seller of Church pardons has.