Lanae Davis
Professor Snell
World Literature I
1 November 2017
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket, also known as Thomas a Becket, was born on December 21, 1118 and was murdered on December 29, 1170. He was born in Cheapside, London and was the son of Gilbert and Matilda Becket. One of Becket’s achievements was that he was announced Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until the day of his death.
Thomas Becket became Archbishop of Canterbury during a time when the relationship between the church and the government was uneasy. Becket being Archbishop named him the head of the Church in England. King Henry II and Thomas Becket were friends until Becket was declared Archbishop, which eventually led to his murder. The king believed that Becket would fulfill all his intentions. However, Becket disobeyed which began an argument between the two. To free from the king’s anger, Becket ran away to France and stayed there for six years. After a long six years, King Henry decides to invite Becket back to England. However, it did not take very long
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for the old feud to start up again. The harsh encounter between the two men escalated to the point of Becket being murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. Four knights who heard King Henry cry out for someone to rid him of Becket traveled to England to murder the Archbishop.
First, the knights demanded that Becket do as the king desired but he strongly refused. On the same day at sunset, the knights appeared in the Canterbury Cathedral once more searching for him. Becket then answered of his whereabouts when the knights were asking where his so called “traitorous” self was. When Becket finished talking, the knights then charged him and killed him. The population of England was scarred by this cruel murder. Becket’s tomb became a place of dedicated, religious pilgrimage. The Pope idolized him and for a long period of time, he was the most admired of the English saints. After this tragedy, Becket then became a martyr and a saint. Thomas Becket being honored as a martyr and a saint by Pope Alexander III resulted in the shrine of St. Thomas of Canterbury becoming a holy place of
pilgrimage. His shrine at Canterbury was the most meaningful place for pilgrims to visit in the country. After Becket was murdered, local citizens supposedly gathered pieces of cloth soaked in his blood. There were such rumors that if people were touched by this cloth, it would cure them of epilepsy, leprosy, and blindness. After this rumor spread, it was only a short period of time until the monks at Canterbury Priory started to sell little glass bottles of his blood to visitors. Pilgrims would also receive a metal badge with the symbol of the shrine stamped on it. They received this from the keeper of the shrine. Because the monks were scared that Becket's body might be stolen, they placed his marble coffin in the crypt of the cathedral. Another method of prevention was the monks building a stone wall in front of the tomb. The monks made two gaps in the wall so that the pilgrims could place their heads inside and kiss the tomb. Becket's bones were relocated behind the high altar in 1220 to a new and improved bejeweled and gold-plated shrine. The shrine was set on an elevated platform supported by columns. Due to Canterbury’s religious history, it had always received a large number of pilgrims. However, Thomas Becket’s death increased the number of pilgrims that visited the town. Works Cited “Pilgrimage to Canterbury.” Spartacus Educational Publishers, Ltd., 2016. http://spartacus-educational.com/NORpilgrimCanturbury.htm. Accessed 2 November 2017. “Thomas Becket.” n.p. n.d. http://www.lordsandladies.org/thomas-becket.htm. Accessed 2 November 2017.
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