Question

Choose the meaning of the bold words in questions 1-10.

5. If there be one among you that is willing / to have my aboslution for a shilling. (The Canterbury Tales, "The Pardoner's Tale") Absolution is in bold.
a. prayer garment b. confessions c. prediction d. remission of sin
7. For our parents nothing can we claim / Save temporal things, and these may hurt and maim. (The Canterbury Tales, "The Wife of Bath's Tale") Temporal is in bold.
a. painful b. sacred c. secular d. hereditary

Answer 1

In 'The Canterbury Tales', 'absolution' means the remission of sin, while 'temporal' means secular.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the given sentence, 'absolution' means remission of sin. In the context of 'The Pardoner's Tale' from The Canterbury Tales, absolution refers to the forgiveness or the act of being pardoned for one's sins by a religious authority figure (in this case, a pardoner).

Similarly, in the sentence, 'temporal' means secular. The word refers to something that is related to the material world and not of a spiritual or religious nature. In 'The Wife of Bath's Tale', temporal things symbolize earthly possessions or wealth.

Answer 2

D. Absolution (from "absolve") is the remission of sin (to be "absolved of guilt"). This was a service holy men would provide in the past, acting as a liaison to God and absolving men of their sins.

C. Temporal (think "temporary") means secular, or that which is opposed to religious ideas. The relation to time is that in religion, physical existence is considered a temporary, whereas spirituality and the afterlife are supposedly infinite.