The 12th century was dominated by religion,
although the king, Henry II, had little time for this.
He would miss church services, and if he did ever go, he'd
spend the majority of it chatting with his courtiers or even sketching.
Henry appeared to be above all, including god.
He was stubborn with a terrifying personality,
some say in many ways similar to his mother.
Henry could only be described as over the top.
And anyone who crossed him took a considerable risk.
One man did, not just once but on many occasions,
and it all concluded in one of the most tragic endings in history.
We now look at the sacred life of Thomas Becket.
Thomas Becket was born to relatively
well-off Norman immigrants who had settled in Cheapside, London.
A solid primary education at Merton
Abbey prepared him for a career as a financial clerk in Paris afterwards.
He joined Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury's
staff sometime around 1142.
And then he was shipped off to Italy's Bologna
and France's Auxerre to study canon law.
Becket was ordained as a deacon in 1154
and appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury the following year.
Because of Becket's work in this critical administrative position,
Theobald utilised him as an intermediary in negotiations with the English king.
Once Henry II
took over from Stephen as king in 1154, he promoted Becket
to the role of Chancellor of England the following year.
Becket was 15 years older than Henry,
but this age gap didn't warrant any misgivings between the two.
Together they would spend many hours hunting and gaming.
Henry was so pleased with his chancellor that he gave Becket estates
and royal grants, which made Becket a wealthy man.
Henry was not what you'd call suave and sophisticated.
In fact, the complete opposite.
He would often appear dirty and think nothing about appearing at court
after jumping off his horse covered in mud.
On the other hand, Becket was far more enticed
by the wealth of the land and now had a taste for the high life.
In 1158 Becket was sent to Paris by the king;
this usually would have been a trip made with one or two others,
yet his entourage included 250 servants,
eight wagons of provisions and a wardrobe of 24 outfits.
A pretty extraordinary amount of bling, even for a lowly chancellor.
But his richness of life didn't end there; back
in England, Becket had a household fit for a king himself.
It included 700 knights, and he employed a further
52 clerks to run the estates.
Money was no object, and neither was it held back.
Spend spend spend were quite possibly Becket's most uttered words.
It was said he once paid 100 shillings
on a dish of eels, an astronomical amount back then.
At today's prices, it would roughly equate to around
4,000 pounds or approximately 5,000 dollars.
Although his
extravagances never raised eyebrows, his lifestyle brought him closer to Henry,
who backed his man 100 per cent of the time.
Becket eventually became the most important man
in England, well, second only to the king.
His next role was to become the archbishop of Canterbury,
another royal gift and another one to add to Becket's already rich collection.
Ever since the time of William the conqueror, kings of England
have always struggled with the power of outside forces,
especially the pope, whose interventions into the realm
would cause great consternation amongst its rulers.
Making Becket, the archbishop was his way
of fending off any political intrusion from Rome and their demands
which would help Henry solidify his power and country.
Although Henry thought he could trust his right-hand man
to do the right thing, he was far off the mark.
Becket changed; maybe power had gone to his head.
He thought his relationship with Henry was untouchable,
and he could freely deliver his own way forward without acknowledging the king.
But how wrong he was.
Becket now gave up on everything he had successfully built.
He abandoned all the luxuries surrounding his life;
his previous pleasures were gone.
And even his extensive wardrobe, once fit for a king, had now been forsaken.
For some reason, Becket went from prince to pauper overnight;
he devoted his time now to study, prayer and even acts of charity.
Henry was astounded by these actions;
what had happened to change his closest confidence overnight?
His once luxury-loving friend had seemingly
turned his back on everything, including the king.
There is no rhyme or reason to what caused this change of heart,
and no relevant information survives Becket's thoughts over this period.
But Becket was now on a slippery path; instead of backing his king,
he would attempt to block and obstruct
any reference the king made about his dealings or the pope.
Henry had seen enough, and knowing what the king's temperament was like,
we can only imagine the furious reaction he had now to Becket.
Firstly he removed all of Becket's clerks from service,
and if found guilty of any crime, they would have initially been placed
under the jurisdiction of the independent church court.
Henry wanted to go further and demanded they must all be handed over
to civil law courts for punishment.
Becket refused; their relationship, which had already been under strain,
was now crumbling and a freindship that once saw them inseparable
was now one of deep hatred.
Henry made his next move; he made charges against Becket, all fabricated
to bring him down, including embezzling public funds while being chancellor.
Becket appeared in court, and it's said he carried a large cross
dramatic as his appearance was Becket argued his case,
asserting they had no right to try him.
He had also appealed to the pope directly for support.
Becket knew he was dancing with danger,
and even a man who once trod the same boards as the high and mighty
could not escape every time without eventual retribution.
He fled to France in 1164,
seeking exile; it would last six years.
But over time, the king of France and the pope
somehow managed to make amends between the two former friends,
and for now, it seemed an agreeable decision.
Becket felt confident enough to return to England;
little did he know what awaited across the channel.
He arrived on 1 December 1170, in his eyes
others had concluded the ongoing quarrel between himself and Henry.
In the kings, it was far from over,
and things again became highly charged.
Becket, on this occasion, became even more reckless and defiant than before.
Henry, in the meantime, crowned his eldest surviving
son, the eight-year-old Prince Henry.
He became known as the young king.
Placing the crown on your heir within a ruling monarch's lifetime
was a means to deter any powerful rival
who fancied their opportunity to step up.
The only problem with Henry's coronation was the archbishop of York carried it out.
Henry probably ignored the fact that only an archbishop of Canterbury
could carry out such a ceremony if it were to be above board and legal.
You see, the archbishops of Canterbury had a monopoly
when it came to placing the crown on rulers' heads.
Although Becket
was still archbishop, even a disgraced one at that who had all his rights
taken away after his fall out with Henry, but then, adding to his detriment,
he pushed Henry further away and caused the king to erupt in anger.
Becket excommunicated the archbishop of York and six
other bishops involved in crowning the young Henry.
The king was in Normandy at the time of hearing the news.
He said, "what
miserable drones and traitors I have nourished
and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated
with such shameful contempt by a low-born clerk.
Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?"
Four of Henry's
knights, Hugh de Morville, Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracey
and Richard le Breton, took their horses and Henry's words
as they set out to cross England bound for Canterbury.
At around 5 pm on 29 December 1170, the four knights marched
into the cathedral.
Becket was spotted at prayer before the altar.
The knights commanded he remove the ex-communications,
but Becket ignored the threat and asked them to leave.
Close by was a young monk by the name of Edwin Grim
he watched the whole event pan out in front of the altar.
Later he would record an account of the tragic and bloody scene.
Here is his report.
Knight "you shall die" Becket, "I am ready to die for my lord
that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace."
Grim continued saying, "the knights then laid their hands on him,
pulling and dragging as if to remove him from the church outside.
But Becket was strong as they could not wrestle him away,
yet they continued to cling on.
Becket said, "touch me not;
you and your accomplices act like madmen." One of the knights,
completely blinded by rage, raised his sword above his head and said,
"no faith nor subjection do I owe you against loyalty to the king."
Becket seeing for the first time
that death was near, raised his hands as if to pray and lowered his neck.
Scarcely had he done this, when the first sword struck;
it cut off the top of his crown.
A second blow again on the head yet Becket managed to remain somehow kneeling
hands clasped, then a third blow this time falling onto his elbows,
he was said to be heard saying
"for the name of Jesus and the protection of the church
I am ready to face death." The most destructive blow
was yet to follow when one of the knights wielded his sword against Becket's neck.
So terrible was the impact his sword shattered on the stone flooring.
one knight placed his foot on Becket's neck scattering tissue and blood all around.
One eventually shouted out, "let us away, knights, he will rise no more."
Becket was dead,
as for the king, happy at the news, yet would soon realise
how the masses viewed this outrage throughout Christian Europe.
For Canterbury, it became a shrine to the murdered archbishop.
The knights who did this deadly deed were not clear either;
they were disgraced for their actions, forced into penance by fasting
before eventually being banished to the holy lands.
Henry was the focus of attention; his most remarkable
display of remorse was for once not a show, not a game,
nor did he believe he could walk away from this atrocity
as one that cleansed his guilt.
Henry went to Ireland and laid low.
For once, this warrior was himself on the run,
but as we know, the empire could not be ruled by a fugitive,
and eventually, king Henry II had to return to England and face the music.