Thomas à Becket
Thomas à Becket (1119-1170) was the most popular saint in England for centuries after his death, and the subject of numerous biographies from across Europe. Chaucer’s pilgrims in The Canterbury Tales are traveling to his shrine at Canterbury Cathedral, a wonderfully profitable venture for his former establishment. Unusually for hagiography, the martyrdom of Becket transcends devotional literature and is one of the most famous incidents in English history. Becket was an influential figure at the court of Henry II as well as Archbishop of Canterbury, and his rocky friendship with the aforesaid king makes the story eternally fascinating.
Becket was born to wealthy Norman parents in Cheapside, London, and educated at Merton Priory and Paris. His father was a wealthy and well-connected merchant turned property owner who had served as sheriff of London for a time. As a youth, Becket was more inclined to hunting and hawking than spiritual matters, according to Edward Grim, an eyewitness to the martyrdom. After his return from Paris, Becket was forced to earn a living as his father’s fortunes changed, and he ended up as a clerk to Theobald of Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, successfully carrying out tasks at the Vatican.
His success as a clerk led to Theobald recommending Becket to Henry II. Henry and Becket hit it off straight away; the Plantagenet king was a vigorous young man built like a wrestler, whose fondness for hunting matched Becket’s, and he made the latter his chancellor. Becket loved the lavish lifestyle of Henry’s court, and contemporaries said that ‘they had but one heart and one mind’. The pair shared a penchant for feasting, wine, and boyish humor. When Theobald died, Henry took the unprecedented step of naming Becket as the new Archbishop, much to the fury of the Church.
The Archbishop of Canterbury was supposed to be a monk; Becket’s appointment thus seemed a shrewd political move to wrestle power from the church. However, Becket surprisingly adopted an austere lifestyle, and a series of conflicts erupted between the king and Archbishop, with Beckett resigning as chancellor and trying to expand archbishopric powers. Becket was eventually forced into exile in 1164-170. Upon returning, he again angered Henry, who was heard to utter ‘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’.
On December 29th 1170, four knights who took Henry’s overheard words as a royal order confronted Becket and ordered him to answer for his actions in Winchester. Becket refused, fled to the cathedral and whilst standing in prayer, was scalped by the first blow of the sword, then finally hacked to death as he lay on the floor, still praying, his blood and brains splattered across the cathedral. Christendom was shocked, and the devastated Henry fasted for three days and performed unprecedented public penance for the deed in 1174 by walking barefoot through Canterbury to the shrine of his former friend.