Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/),also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury,Thomas of London[1] and later Thomas àBecket[note 1] (21 December 1119 or 1120–29 December 1170),was an English cleric and statesman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162,and then as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He is known for his conflict with King Henry II over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. He was canonised by Pope Alexander III two years after his death. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
Besides these accounts,there are also two others that are likely contemporary that appear in the Quadrilogus II and the Thómas saga Erkibyskups. Besides these biographies,there is also the mention of the events of Becket's life in the chronicles of the time. These include Robert of Torigni's work,Roger of Howden's Gesta Regis Henrici Secundi and Chronica,Ralph de Diceto's works,William of Newburgh's Historia Rerum,and Gervase of Canterbury's works.[3] Another account appears in Expugnatio Hibernica ("Conquest of Ireland",1189) by Gerald of Wales.[4]
Early life
Becket was born c. 1119[5] (or 1120 according to later tradition)[1] at Cheapside,London,on 21 December,the feast day of Thomas the Apostle. He was the son of Gilbert and Matilda Beket.[note 2] Gilbert's father was from Thierville in the lordship of Brionne in Normandy and was either a small landowner or a petty knight.[1] Matilda was also of Norman descent[8] –her family may have originated near Caen. Gilbert was perhaps related to Theobald of Bec,whose family was also from Thierville. Gilbert began his life as a merchant,perhaps in textiles,but by the 1120s he was living in London and was a property owner,living on the rental income from his properties. He also served as the sheriff of the city at some point.[1] Becket's parents were buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral.
Plaque marking Becket's birthplace on Cheapside in London
One of Becket's father's wealthy friends,Richer de L'Aigle,often invited Thomas to his estates in Sussex where Becket encountered hunting and hawking. According to Grim,Becket learned much from Richer,who was later a signatory of the Constitutions of Clarendon against him.[1]
At age 10,Becket was sent as a student to Merton Priory south-west of the city in Surrey. He later attended a grammar school in London,perhaps the one at St Paul's Cathedral. He did not study any subjects beyond the trivium and quadrivium at these schools. Around age 20,he spent about a year in Paris,but he did not study canon or civil law at the time,and his Latin skill remained somewhat rudimentary. Some time after Becket began his schooling,his father suffered financial reverses,and Becket was forced to earn a living as a clerk;with the help of his father he secured a place in the business of a relative. Later Becket acquired a position in the household of Archbishop of Canterbury Theobald of Bec.[1]
As chancellor,Becket enforced the king's traditional sources of revenue that were exacted from all landowners,including churches and bishoprics.[1] King Henry sent his son Henry to live in Becket's household,it being the custom then for noble children to be fostered out to other noble houses.{{[10]}}
Primacy
Becket was nominated as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162,several months after the death of Theobald. His election was confirmed on 23 May 1162 by a royal council of bishops and noblemen.[1] Henry may have hoped that Becket would continue to put royal government first rather than the church,but the famed transformation of Becket into an ascetic occurred at this time.[11]
A rift grew between Henry and Becket as Becket resigned his chancellorship and sought to recover and extend the rights of the archbishopric. This led to a series of conflicts with the king,including one over the jurisdiction of secular courts over English clergymen,which accelerated antipathy between Becket and the king. Attempts by Henry to influence other bishops against Becket began in Westminster Abbey in October 1163,where the king sought approval of the traditional rights of royal government in regard to the church.[1] This led to the Constitutions of Clarendon in 1164,where Becket was officially asked to agree to the king's rights or face political repercussions.
14th-century depiction of Becket at centre with King Henry II at left
King Henry II presided over assemblies of most of the higher English clergy at Clarendon Palace on 30 January 1164. In 16 constitutions he sought less clerical independence and weaker connections with Rome. He used his skills to induce their consent and apparently succeeded with all but Becket. Finally,even Becket expressed willingness to agree to the substance of the Constitutions of Clarendon,but he still refused formally to sign the documents. Henry summoned Becket to appear before a great council at Northampton Castle on 8 October 1164,to answer allegations of contempt of royal authority and malfeasance in the chancellor's office. Convicted on the charges,Becket stormed out of the trial and fled to the Continent.[1]
A Seal of the Abbot of Arbroath,showing the murder of Becket. Arbroath Abbey was founded 8 years after the death of St Thomas and dedicated to him;it became the wealthiest abbey in Scotland.
Henry pursued the fugitive archbishop with a series of edicts,targeting Becket and all Becket's friends and supporters,but King Louis VII of France offered Becket protection. He spent nearly two years in the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny until Henry's threats against the order obliged him to return to Sens.[12] Becket fought back by threatening excommunication and an interdict against the king and bishops and the kingdom,but Pope Alexander III,though sympathising with him in theory,favoured a more diplomatic approach. Papal legates were sent in 1167 with authority to act as arbitrators.[1] In 1170,Alexander sent delegates to impose a solution to the dispute. At that point,Henry offered a compromise that would allow Thomas to return to England from exile.[1]
Assassination
Becket's assassination and funeral,from a French enamelled chasse made c.1190–1200,one of about 52 surviving examplesSculpture and altar marking the spot of Thomas Becket's martyrdom in Canterbury Cathedral. The sculpture by Giles Blomfield represents the knights' four swords (two metal swords with reddened tips and their two shadows).
On hearing reports of Becket's actions,Henry II is said to have uttered words interpreted by his men as wishing Becket killed.[16] The exact wording is in doubt,and several versions were reported.[17] The most commonly quoted,as invented in 1740 and handed down by oral tradition,is "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?",[18] but according to historian Simon Schama this is incorrect:he accepts the account of the contemporary biographer Grim,writing in Latin,who gives,"What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household,who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?"[19] Many other variants have found their way into popular culture.
Regardless of what Henry said,it was interpreted as a royal command. Four knights[16]—Reginald FitzUrse,Hugh de Morville,William de Tracy and Richard le Breton[1]—set out to confront Becket. On 29 December 1170 they arrived at Canterbury. According to accounts by the monk Gervase of Canterbury and eyewitness Grim,the knights placed their weapons under a tree outside the cathedral and hid their armour under cloaks before entering to challenge Becket. The knights told Becket he was to go to Winchester to give an account of his actions,but Becket refused. When he refused their demands to submit to the king's will,they retrieved their weapons and rushed back inside.[20] Becket,meanwhile,proceeded to the Cathedral for vespers. The other monks tried to bolt themselves in for safety,but Becket said to them,"It is not right to make a fortress out of the house of prayer!",ordering them to reopen the doors.
The four knights,wielding drawn swords,ran into the room crying,"Where is Thomas Becket,traitor to the king and country?" They found Becket in a spot near a door to the monastic cloister,the stairs into the crypt,and the stairs leading up into the quire of the cathedral,where the monks were chanting vespers.[1] On seeing them Becket said,"I am no traitor and I am ready to die." One knight grabbed him and tried to pull him outside,but Becket grabbed onto a pillar and bowed his head to make peace with God.[21]
Several contemporary accounts of what happened next exist;of particular note is that of Grim,who was wounded in the attack. This is part of his account:
...the impious knight... suddenly set upon him and [shaved] off the summit of his crown which the sacred chrism consecrated to God... Then, with another blow received on the head, he remained firm. But with the third the stricken martyr bent his knees and elbows, offering himself as a living sacrifice, saying in a low voice, "For the name of Jesus and the protection of the church, I am ready to embrace death." But the third knight inflicted a grave wound on the fallen one; with this blow... his crown, which was large, separated from his head so that the blood turned white from the brain yet no less did the brain turn red from the blood; it purpled the appearance of the church... The fifth – not a knight but a cleric who had entered with the knights... placed his foot on the neck of the holy priest and precious martyr and (it is horrible to say) scattered the brains with the blood across the floor, exclaiming to the rest, "We can leave this place, knights, he will not get up again."[22]
An ivory piece portraying the knights involved in Becket's assassination. One knight holds an axe with which to break down the door of the cathedral.
After Becket's death
c.1215 stained glass miracle window in Canterbury Cathedral depicting the life of St Thomas Becket.
After his death, the monks prepared Becket's body for burial.[1] According to some accounts, it was found that Becket had worn a hairshirt under his archbishop's garments – a sign of penance.[23] Soon after, the faithful throughout Europe began venerating Becket as a martyr, and on 21 February 1173 – little more than two years after his death – he was canonised by Pope Alexander III in St Peter's Church, Segni.[1] In 1173, Becket's sister Mary was appointed abbess of Barking as reparation for the murder of her brother.[24] On 12 July 1174, amidst the Revolt of 1173–1174, Henry humbled himself in public penance at Becket's tomb and at St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury, which became a popular pilgrimage site.{{[25] }}
Becket's assassins fled north to de Morville's Knaresborough Castle for about a year. De Morville also held property in Cumbria, and this too may have provided a hiding place, as the men prepared for a longer stay in the separate kingdom of Scotland. They were not arrested and Henry did not confiscate their lands, but he did not help them when they sought his advice in August 1171. Pope Alexander excommunicated all four. Seeking forgiveness, the assassins travelled to Rome, where Alexander ordered them to serve as knights in the Holy Lands for a period of 14 years.[26]
This sentence also inspired the Knights of Saint Thomas, incorporated in 1191 at Acre and which was to be modelled on the Teutonic Knights. This was the only military order native to England (with chapters in Acre, London, Kilkenny, and Nicosia), just as the Gilbertine Order was the only monastic order native to England.
The monks were afraid Becket's body might be stolen, and so his remains were placed beneath the floor of the eastern crypt of the cathedral.[26] A stone cover over it had two holes where pilgrims could insert their heads and kiss the tomb,[1] as illustrated in the "Miracle Windows" of the Trinity Chapel. A guard chamber (now the Wax Chamber) had a clear view of the grave. In 1220 Becket's bones were moved to a gold-plated, bejewelled shrine behind the high altar in the recently built Trinity Chapel.[27] The golden casket was placed on a pink marble base with prayer niches raised on three steps.[28] Canterbury's religious history had always brought many pilgrims, and after Becket's death the numbers rapidly rose.[29]
St Thomas Becket's consecration, death and burial, at wall paintings in Santa Maria de Terrassa (Terrassa, Catalonia, Spain), romanesque frescoes, c.1180Former site of Thomas Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathedral
The translation of Becket's body occurred on 7 July 1220, the 50th jubilee year of his death, and was "one of the great symbolic events in the life of the medieval English Church", attended by King Henry III, the papal legate, Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton, and many dignitaries and magnates, both secular and ecclesiastical.[citation needed] A "major new feast day was instituted, commemorating the translation... celebrated each July almost everywhere in England and in many French churches."[33] It was suppressed in 1536 with the Reformation.[34] The shrine was destroyed in 1538 during the dissolution of the monasteries on orders from King Henry VIII.[1][35] He also destroyed Becket's bones and ordered all mention of his name obliterated.[35][36]
A cult began, which included drinking of "water of Saint Thomas", a mix of water and the remains of the martyr's blood miraculously multiplied. The procedure was frowned upon by the more orthodox, due to the similarities with the eucharist of the blood of Jesus.[37] The saint's fame quickly spread through the Norman world. The first holy image of Becket is thought to be a mosaic icon still visible in Monreale Cathedral in Sicily, created shortly after his death. Becket's cousins obtained refuge at the Sicilian court during their exile, and King William II of Sicily wed a daughter of Henry II. Marsala Cathedral in western Sicily is dedicated to Becket. Over 45 medieval chassereliquaries decorated in champlevé enamel showing similar scenes from Becket's life survive, including the Becket Casket, constructed to hold relics of him at Peterborough Abbey and now housed in London's Victoria and Albert Museum.[citation needed]
As the scion of a mercantile dynasty of later centuries, Mercers, Becket was much regarded as a Londoner by citizens and adopted as London's co-patron saint with Saint Paul: both appear on the seals of the city and of the Lord Mayor.[citation needed] The Bridge House Estates seal has only a Becket image, while his martyrdom is shown on the reverse.[citation needed]
Fresco depicting the murder of Thomas Becket; on the left is the figure of Saint Lanfranco in act of blessing. Church of San Lanfranco, Pavia.
Legacy
In 1170 King Alfonso VIII of Castille married Eleanor Plantagenet, second daughter of Henry II and Eleanor, Queen of England and Duchess of Aquitaine. She honoured Becket with a wall painting of his martyrdom that survives in the church of San Nicolás de Soria in Spain.[38] Becket's assassination made an impact in Spain: within five years of his death Salamanca had a church named after him, Iglesia de Santo Tomás Cantuariense. Monumental frescoes with the martyrdom of Becket were depicted in the romanesque church of Santa Maria in Terrassa.
The story of Becket's life became a popular theme for medieval Nottingham alabaster carvers. One set of Becket panels is shown in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[39][40][41]
The arms of the city of Canterbury, officially registered in 1619 but dating back to at least 1380, is based on the attributed arms of Becket: Argent, three Cornish choughs proper, with the addition of a chief gules charged with a lion passant guardant or from the Royal Arms of England.[42]
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a non-profit, non-partisan legal and educational institute in the United States fostering free expression for religious traditions took its inspiration from Becket.[47]
In 2005 a poll of historians by BBC History magazine of the "worst Briton" in each century of the last 1,000 years selected Becket as the worst of the 12th century.[48] The following year the magazine polled its readers which of the ten selected by historians was the worst of the last millennium. Becket came second behind Jack the Ripper. The editor of the magazine suggested that Becket and the Ripper had been chosen because they were the best known names, and few would have heard of most of the other candidates.[49]
Among his obligations in contrition to Henry, William de Tracy much enlarged and re-dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury the parish church in Lapford, Devon, in his manor of Bradninch. The martyrdom day is still marked by a Lapford Revel.[citation needed]
Baptismal font depicting Henry II of England ordering the murder of Thomas Becket (Lyngsjö Church, Sweden, late 12th century)
Explanatory notes
↑The name "Thomas à Becket" is not contemporary but was first used by Thomas Nashe in the 1590s.[2]
↑There is a legend that claims Thomas's mother was a Saracen princess who met and fell in love with his English father while he was on Crusade or pilgrimage in the Holy Land, followed him home, was baptised and married him. This story has no truth to it, being a fabrication from three centuries after the saint's martyrdom, inserted as a forgery into Edward Grim's 12th-century Life of St Thomas.[6][7] Matilda is occasionally known as Rohise.[1]
↑Sánchez, Carles (2021). A painted tragedy The martyrdom of Thomas Becket in Santa Maria de Terrassa and the diffusion of its cult in the Iberian Peninsula. Anem Editors. ISBN978-84-122385-7-0.
↑Reames, Sherry L. (January 2005). "Reconstructing and Interpreting a Thirteenth-Century Office for the Translation of Thomas Becket". Speculum. 80 (1): 118–170. doi:10.1017/S0038713400006679. JSTOR20463165. S2CID162716876. Quoting pp. 118–119.
↑Scully, Robert E. (October 2000). "The Unmaking of a Saint: Thomas Becket and the English Reformation". The Catholic Historical Review. 86 (4): 579–602. doi:10.1353/cat.2000.0094. JSTOR25025818. S2CID201743927. Especially p. 592.
↑Reeves, David; Bowman, James; Wilson-Johnson, David; Neary, Martin; Slane, Phillip; Novis, Constance; Brink, Harvey; Keith, Gillian; Willocks, David; English Chamber Choir; English Festival Orchestra (1999). "Becket: The kiss of peace=Le baiser de la paix=Der Kuss der Friedens". English Gramophone/DRM Control Point; Australia: manufactured in Australia under license. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I. (1996). Handbook of British Chronology (Third reviseded.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-56350-5.
Hutton, William Holden (1910). Thomas Becket– Archbishop of Canterbury. London: Pitman and Sons Ltd. ISBN978-1-4097-8808-9.{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn (1855). Historical Memorials of Canterbury. London: John Murray.
Staunton, Michael (2001). The Lives of Thomas Becket. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. ISBN978-0-7190-5454-9.
Staunton, Michael (2006). Thomas Becket and His Biographers. Woodbridge, UK: The Boydell Press. ISBN978-1-84383-271-3.
Staunton, Michael (2025). Thomas Becket and His World. London, UK: Reaktion Books. ISBN9781836390701.
Warren, W. L. (1973). Henry II. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN978-0-520-03494-5.
Further reading
Biographies
Anne Duggan, 2005, Thomas Becket, London: Hodder Arnold
John Guy, 2012, Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Random House
David Knowles 1970, Thomas Becket, London: Adam & Charles Black
Richard Winston, 1967, Thomas Becket, New York: Alfred A. Knopf
Historiography
James W. Alexander, "The Becket controversy in recent historiography", Journal of British studies 9.2 (1970): 1–26. in JSTOR
Anne Duggan, 1980, Thomas Becket: A Textual History of his Letters, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Anne Duggan, ed., 2000, The Correspondence of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (1162–1170). 2 vols, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Carles Sánchez Márquez, 2021, A painted tragedy. The martyrdom of Thomas Becket in Santa Maria de Terrassa and the diffusion of its cult in the Iberian Peninsula, La Seu d'Urgell: Anem Editors
External links
English Wikisource has original works by or about:
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
