Thomas Becket: Difference between revisions
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Thomas Beckett was first a clerk then an archdeacon of Canterbury before |
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[[Henry II]] ascended the throne in 1154. Beckett seems to have had an |
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immediate raport with the king who was fourteen years his junior. The two |
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were almost constant companions and within a year Beckett became Henry's |
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chancellor. |
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When Theobald, the [[Archbishop]] of Canterbury, died in 1161 Thomas |
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Beckett was elected to the post at Henry's urging. Signalling that he was |
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to be no mere king's puppet Beckett resigned his post as chancellor |
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against Henry's wishes. A series of conflicts arose between the two, most |
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notably the question of supremacy of the king's courts when dealing with |
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the clergy. By 1163 their mutual hostility was open. |
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1164 saw the council of Clarendon, which was intended to establish a set |
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of customs to settle church-state disputes. Its constitutions never |
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received Thomas Beckett's seal, and Beckett was to strongly criticise |
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them later. In October of that same year the two men had an angry |
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confrontation in Northampton which led Beckett to flee to France and |
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spend six year in exile. |
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On his return to England in 1170, Beckett delivered a provocative |
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Christmas speech. When news of this reached the king he was furious. Four |
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knights, who thought they understood the intent behind the king's ranting |
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traveled to Kent and killed Beckett. |
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His death was naturally considered a martyrdom by the church. Coupled |
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with the fact that the priests who dealt with Beckett's body found a hair |
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shirt underneath his finery, it was only a matter of time before Beckett |
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was made a [[saint]]. Canterbury later became a place of pilgrimage, as |
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made famous in the [[Canterbury Tales]]. |
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[[Category:People (medieval)]] |
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