His walet, biforn hym in his lappe
Bretful of pardoun comen from Rome al hoot.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, General Prologue. The Pardoner has a knapsack brimful of Church pardons (indulgences) all fresh from Rome. Selling indulgences was big business then for the Church and brought in a lot of income. Pardoners were meant to offer indulgences to contrite penitants in return for a charitable donation to the Church. But pardoners were known throughout history for keeping the "donations" for themselves.