Adviser and close friend of King Henry II who was appointed Archbishop in 1162. In a misunderstanding four of Henry's knights took it upon themselves to murder Becket while he was at prayers at the altar in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 thinking that that was what the king wanted. Becket's death served both as the cause of a great deal of trouble for Henry but eventually also as the point of his redemption.
Becket was born to Norman parents who had settled in London with the invasion of England by William the Conqueror in just half a century earlier. While in the service of the former archbishop, he attracted the King's attention, and the two became good friends with Becket—being the older—serving like a mentor. Henry appointed Becket Chancellor in 1155. In this office Becket proved himself highly capable. Henry saw a chance to clip the wings of the Church with whom he was having much trouble when the Archbishop of Canterbury died; Becket was ordained priest on 2 June 1162 and made the Archbishop the next.
There then came a about-turn in their relationship which cause/s continue to puzzle and remain a source of debate among historians. Becket quickly became a champion of the Church instead. Henry made a attempt to clarify and settle the issues between them by calling a council to meet in Clarendon (Oxford) in 1164; Becket agreed to a written statement of the settlement (known as the Clarendon Constitution) but soon regretted it. When he tried to wriggle out of his commitments to the Constitution Henry brought him to trial a few months later. Becket fled to France where he remained until 1170, when a new incident sparked the most tragic consequences for the archbishop.
The king's son, Henry III was to be crowned the new king in June. The prerogative of crowning a new king had always belonged to the Archbishop of Canterbury but, in this instance, he had kept himself in self-imposed exile. Henry II, therefore, appointed the Archbishops of York to the task. This enraged Becket who saw it as a further slap in the face by the king. He returned to England and excommunicated the archbishops of York, but also of London and Salisbury. They, in turn, complained to Henry (then in France) who flew into a rage and said something to the effect "who would get rid of this vermin for me?" which he probably never meant to be taken literally. Four knights, however, did. Taking it upon themselves to satisfy the king's pleasure they returned to England. In Canterbury a week after Christmas they found Becket praying at the altar in the Cathedral and there they killed him. Becket's murder scandalized the whole of Christendom, though the consequences were short-lived. Pope Alexander III saw an opportunity to capitalize on things and quickly canonized Becket two years later. Becket's tomb in Canterbury Cathedral quickly became a popular site of pilgrimage (hence the popularity of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales) until 1538, when Henry VIII—who declared Becket a traitor—ordered it destroyed.
©ALBERITH
200520lch512