Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket, also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket, 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.
Early life
Becket was born c. 1119 at Cheapside, London, on 21 December, the feast day of Thomas the Apostle. He was the son of Gilbert and Matilda. Gilbert's father was from Thierville in the lordship of Brionne in Normandy and was either a small landowner or a petty knight. Matilda was also of Norman descent – 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. Becket's parents were buried in Old St Paul's Cathedral.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.
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.
Theobald entrusted him with several important missions to Rome and also sent him to Bologna and Auxerre to study canon law. In 1154, Theobald named Becket Archdeacon of Canterbury, and other ecclesiastical offices included benefices, prebends at Lincoln Cathedral and St Paul's Cathedral, and provost of Beverley. His efficiency in those posts led Theobald to recommend him to King Henry II for the vacant post of Lord Chancellor, to which Becket was appointed in January 1155.
As chancellor, Becket enforced the king's traditional sources of revenue that were exacted from all landowners, including churches and bishoprics. 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.
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. 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.Becket was ordained a priest on 2 June 1162 at Canterbury, and on 3 June he was consecrated as archbishop by Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester and the other suffragan bishops of Canterbury.
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. 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.
Constitutions of Clarendon
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.File:Arbroath Abbey Seal 01.jpg|thumb|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. 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. 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.
Assassination
On 14 June 1170 Roger de Pont L'Évêque, Archbishop of York, was at Westminster Abbey with Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, and Josceline de Bohon, Bishop of Salisbury, to crown the heir apparent, Henry the Young King. This breached Canterbury's privilege of coronation, and in November 1170 Becket excommunicated all three.On hearing reports of Becket's actions, Henry II is said to have uttered words interpreted by his men as wishing Becket killed. The exact wording is in doubt, and several versions were reported. The most commonly quoted, as invented in 1740 and handed down by oral tradition, is "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?", 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?" Many other variants have found their way into popular culture.
Regardless of what Henry said, it was interpreted as a royal command. Four knights—Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy and Richard le Breton—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. 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. 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.
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:
After Becket's death
After his death, the monks prepared Becket's body for burial. According to some accounts, it was found that Becket had worn a hairshirt under his archbishop's garments – a sign of penance. 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. In 1173, Becket's sister Mary was appointed abbess of Barking as reparation for the murder of her brother. 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.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.
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, 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. A stone cover over it had two holes where pilgrims could insert their heads and kiss the tomb, as illustrated in the "Miracle Windows" of the Trinity Chapel. A guard 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. The golden casket was placed on a pink marble base with prayer niches raised on three steps. Canterbury's religious history had always brought many pilgrims, and after Becket's death the numbers rapidly rose.