RONYAN, RONYON, a supposed saint, has evoked much comment. Harry Bailly swears by this saint as he comments on the pitiful qualities in The Physician's Tale, PardI 310. Some scholars have tried to show that St. Ninian is meant; that the word means "testicle" and balances the "coillons" at the end of The Pardoner's Tale. The Pardoner echoes Bailly and swears by St. Ronyan when he agrees to tell a tale, PardI 320. Chaucer may also have meant St. Ronan, a Celtic saint who came to pre-Christian Brittany at the end of the first century. The holly in the saint's legend was very likely used as an agent of birth control and is appropriate to the Pardoner.

Ronyan appears in final rhyming position, PardI 310; Ronyon also appears in final rhyming position, PardI 320.