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| Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From the Carrow Psalter-Hours English (East Anglia), c. 1250 Baltimore, Walters Art Museum MS W.34, fol. 15v |
"O God, who gave the Martyr Saint Thomas Becket the courage to give up his life for the sake of justice, grant, through his intercession, that, renouncing our life for the sake of Christ in this world, we may find it in heaven."
(Optional memorial prayer for liturgies of December 29)
In any year December 29 is the feast day of an important
European saint. This year, December 29,
2020, is especially evocative. For it is
the 850th anniversary of the notorious murder in the cathedral that
catapulted this man to sainthood and to long-term importance in the secular
realm, even to our own day. As it
happens, 2020 is also the 900th anniversary of his birth (although
he may have been born as early as 1118), so it’s a doubly important date.
The man is, of course, Saint Thomas Becket, one-time
Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury.
His story is fairly well-known, especially so in modern
times. In the
20th and 21st centuries he has been the subject of
several biographies, in addition to the plays “Murder in the Cathedral”
by T.S. Eliot and “Becket” by Jean Anouilh. The Anouilh play was the source for the 1964
film “Becket” which starred two
dynamic actors, Richard Burton as Becket and Peter O’Toole as Henry II. It is their fateful clash that precipitated
the ugly murder.
Unfortunately, the Anouilh play got some very basic things
wrong, as did the film which followed it.
Becket was not a Saxon, although he was born in London. In fact, he was the son of Gilbert and
Matilda Becket, the children of Norman immigrants who came to London after the
Norman Conquest of England.* His father was
a fairly prosperous wine merchant. They
were comfortably off, though not wealthy.
One might call them striving middle class entrepreneurs. They owned a house and several other
investment properties in the center of London.
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| The Marriage of Becket's Parents From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 289v |
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| The Birth of Thomas Becket From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 290 |
Thomas received a good education and was able to obtain a clerical job with the sheriff of London. In those days, the word “clerical” did not mean just being a paper pusher. Clerical meant “clergy” because it was predominantly the clergy who could read and write. But “clergy” did not mean what it means now, that is, a person ordained and set aside to work as spiritual guides and leaders of religious congregations. There were whole ranks of minor clerical offices that have long since vanished or been declericalized, jobs such as doorkeepers, sacristans, acolytes. There were often not much in the way of requirements for these positions, beyond enough education to have the ability to read and write.
Once employed Thomas began to climb a clerical career
ladder. From working for the Sheriff of
London, he moved to the offices of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop
Theobold. Eventually, he attracted the
attention of the king of England, Henry II Plantagenet. Henry recognized his valuable skills and,
with the Archbishop’s agreement, made Becket Chancellor of England. This was an important office. The Chancellor had to record all the
important documents and laws of the realm.
He was the keeper of the Great Seal of England and no important document
could pass into law or be sent to a foreign court without the application of
the seal. This kept him at the king’s
side and the two men became friends, in spite of a discrepancy of about ten
years in their ages (Henry was the younger).
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| Thomas Becket Named Chancellor Ivory Liturgical Comb English, c. 1200-1210 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
Henry used Becket as an ambassador as well, sending him on diplomatic missions to France and elsewhere. As ambassador and in everyday life Thomas Becket was, at this time, a very worldly man, delighting in fine clothes, fine foods and many different kinds of ostentation.
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| Becket as Chancellor From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 290v |
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| Thomas Becket Installed as Archbishop of Canterbury From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 291 |
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| Consecration of Thomas Becket as Bishop Alabaster Carving English, c. 1450-1500 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| King Henry and Bishop Thomas Disputing English, c. 1307-1327 London, British Library MS Royal 20 A II, fol. 7v |
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| Thomas Becket Having a Vision of Christ From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 296 |
The specific question over which Becket and Henry came into
the most conflict was over the question of “criminous clerks” (i.e., churchmen
who had committed civil crimes). Bearing
in mind that the word “clerk” or “cleric” included many more people than it
does today, we can perhaps understand the king’s frustration in the obstacle
which their clerical status presented for his legal system, which was being
greatly developed at the time. Because
these men were “clerics” they insisted that they could only be tried for crimes
in the church courts, not in the ordinary civil courts. Church courts, which operated under canon
law, were generally more lenient with punishments than the civil courts, which
at the time were handing out savage sentences, like blinding and maiming for
what we would consider relatively minor crimes.
Small wonder then, that anyone who could claim clerical status wished to
be tried in the church courts.
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| Henry II and Becket Disputing From Abrégé des histoires divines French (Picardy), c. 1300-1310 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 751, fol. 113v |
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| Thomas Becket Disputing with King Henry From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 291v |
Without getting into the details of the steps by which the king and the archbishop went from friends to bitter enemies I will just summarize by saying that by the third year of Becket’s tenure as archbishop, their relationship had completely broken down. Becket resigned the chancellorship and concentrated on his duties as archbishop.
Indeed, the relationship was so badly broken that Becket decided to leave England and go into exile in France where he remained for several years.
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| Thomas Becket Leaving for Exile From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 292 |
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| Master of the Cité des Dames, Becket Going into Exile From Le Miroir historial by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1400-1410 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 72 A 24, fol. 233r |
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| Thomas Becket Being Welcomed by the Abbot of Pontigny From the Queen Mary Psalter English (london), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 295v |
During his time in exile he continued to oppose the king, appealing to the Pope for support and, to some extent, receiving it.
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| Thoms Becket Resigning the Chancellorship in Front of the Pope From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 294v |
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| Thomas Becket Dining with the Pope From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 295 |
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| Thomas Becket Received by the Pope Embroidered Orphrey Panel English, c. 1380-1410 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Master François, Becket Before Pope Alexander III From Le Miroir historial by Vincent of Beauvais French (Paris), c. 1400 Chantilly, Musée Condé MS 722, fol. 345v |
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| Becket Received by the Pope Alabaster Carving English, c. 1450-1500 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
For his part, the king proved both intransigent and vindictive. At one point he dispossessed all of Becket's relations and sent them to follow their brother into exile.
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| Thomas Becket's Relatives Banished from England From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 292v |
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| Thomas Becket's Family Going into Exile From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 293r |
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| Thomas Becket Welcoming and Blessing his Family From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 294r |
In 1170 a reconciliation was attempted, with the intercession of the Pope and the king of France.
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| Thomas Becket Reconciled to King Henry From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 296v |
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| Thomas Becket Landing at Sandwich Alabaster Carving English, c. 1450-1500 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
When the irate bishops arrived in Normandy, where the king
was spending the Christmas season, they ignited a tremendous explosion. Henry II was known for his short fuse and for
the wildness of his anger when provoked.
Hearing the complaints of the bishops and of Becket’s enthusiastic
reception in England, Henry flew into one of these towering rages. It was during this period of wild anger that
he is supposed to have uttered words that have traditionally been reported as “Will
no one rid me of this meddlesome priest!”
I suspect he did say something like this, but I also suspect that what he said was far
more explosive and crude than this.
Whatever he did say, four knights of his household decided
to take it as a command to eliminate the problem. They crossed the channel and arrived in
England on December 28. They headed
straight for Canterbury and arrived there on December 29. Becket was at the episcopal residence next to
the cathedral when they burst in. A
nasty confrontation took place, with a great deal of name calling on both
sides. However, as the knights were not
armed, no actual violence took place.
The knights left, promising to return and take the archbishop prisoner.
What happened next is attested to by several eye witnesses. It is probably the best documented medieval event we have. Five of the members of the archbishop’s household that had remained with him described the events that now took place. His household were very alarmed by the knights and they urged the archbishop to leave, to go into hiding, even trying to pull him into hiding. He refused and resisted. Instead, he went about his duties and as dusk settled he went into the cathedral to preside at Vespers (evening liturgy of prayer). His staff begged him to at least lock the cathedral doors during the service. He refused, saying that the doors of God’s house should not be locked during prayer and that, if the knights sought his life, he was ready to die for the freedom of the Church.
The knights returned, fortified with their weapons (and probably some alcohol). They confronted the archbishop in the church, in the presence of all the monks of Canterbury, the archbishop’s household and the townspeople attending Vespers. They attempted to take him prisoner so as to murder him outside the church itself. He resisted, at one point locking his arms around one of the columns of the cathedral to prevent them from removing him. Swords were raised. When they descended one of them sliced through the arm of a monk who had attempted to intercept the blow aimed at Becket by using the processional cross. The other sword found its target and sliced off the top of the archbishop’s head. The other knights also found their targets. Within seconds, the primate of England was a bloodied corpse on the floor, his brains spilling out onto the pavement and mingling with his blood. The knights ran.
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| The Murder of Thomas Becket From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 298r |
After their departure the monks and townspeople cautiously approached the body. Some people dipped clothes or clothing in the blood, acknowledging by their actions that they were already thinking of him as a martyr and saint. That night the monks quietly buried his body in the cathedral crypt.
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| Burial of Thomas Becket From a Psalter English, c. 1200-1225 London, British Library MS Harley 5102, fol. 17 |
Word of the shocking deed spread
rapidly. The murder of an archbishop before the altar of his own cathedral church was an unheard of sacrilege. Before long anger grew and
turned upon not only the knights who had done the murder, but on the king who
had presumably ordered it. Within days
word had reached the king in Normandy and, a few days later, the pope in
Rome. A letter dated in early 1171 from
the pope to Archbishop William of Sens outlines the killing and lists the names
of the four knights: William de Tracy,
Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Moreville and Richard Brito. In the letter the pope also compares the king
to some well-known names of evil rulers and villains from the Bible and from history: Ahab, Herod, Nero, Julian the Apostate and Judas
and claims that Henry’s guilt exceeds theirs.
This reaction was general across Europe, even from other kings.
King Henry himself was horrified by what his rash words had
done. Faced with mounting waves of horror
as the news traveled from England to France and then to the rest of Europe, he
found himself isolated. There was a
rebellion in his own territories. The
Pope threatened excommunication. No
doubt reacting both to his own remorse and to the external threats Henry
undertook a remarkable public penance.
He went to Canterbury where he stripped to his waist and allowed every
monk and all the prelates of England to scourge him. Then he spent the night praying at Becket’s
tomb (the 1964 film reproduces these events fairly accurately, although the king’s
inner dialogue with the dead archbishop is, of course, invented).
The knights who had done the killing found themselves
without the thanks they had anticipated and, because their names were now well-known,
outcasts in society. They appealed to
the Pope for a penance to atone for their deed.
The penance they were given was to serve ten years each in the service
of the Cross in the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem.
They went east. Within a few years
all of them had been killed, fighting in the Holy Land. The king, from whom they had expected reward,
disinherited their heirs.
In the immediate aftermath of Becket’s death, miracles began to occur at his tomb. Within three years the Pope had declared him to be a saint. His remains were removed from the tomb in the crypt and placed in a beautiful reliquary shrine chest in the church.
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| The Body of Thomas Becket Lying in State From the Queen Mary Psalter English (London), c. 1310-1320 London, British Library MS Royal 2 B VII, fol. 298v |
Pilgrims began to come to visit this shrine from all over the Christian
world. The pilgrimage to Canterbury
became one of the most popular pilgrimages of the middle ages, second only to
the pilgrimage to Compostela and to Rome.
Some of the flavor of the pilgrimage can be found in “The Canterbury
Tales”, the fourteenth century poem of Geoffrey Chaucer that stands as
the first great narrative poem of the developing English language.
The cathedral of Canterbury and the town of Canterbury grew rich with the money spent by the pilgrims. Museums around the world have mementos of this journey in the form of pilgrim badges. These were souvenirs sold to pilgrims when they reached their destination. They functioned as proofs of the pilgrimage journey, a reminder of the event and as a kind of third class relic if they had been touched to the actual relics of the saint. The badges from Becket’s shrine are among the most diverse I have seen.
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| Pilgrim Badge in the Shape of the Becket Reliquary English, c. 1250-1400 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Pilgrim Badge, Showing Becket Returning from Exile in France English, 14th Century London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Pilgrim Badge English (Canterbury), 14th Century London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
The shrine
itself was decorated with gold and precious jewels. It must have been an amazing sight. Smaller shrines or reliquary boxes for items of cloth stained in
his blood were distributed throughout the Christian world.
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| Master Alpais, Reliquary French (Limoges), c. 1180 Paris, Musée du Louvre |
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| The Becket Reliquary French (Limoges), c. 1180-1190 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Reliquary French (Limoges), c. 1200 Hereford, Cathedral Treasury |
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| Reliquary Pendant with an Image of Thomas Becket as Archbishop English, 15th Century London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
This all came to a halt in England in 1538. The king in that year was another Henry, the Eighth. He had recently had himself made Supreme Head of the Church in England by manipulating Parliament. And, after engineering the deaths of many who refused to accept his title, one of his actions was to undo Becket as a possible source of opposition. The shrine at Canterbury was demolished so completely that nothing of it remained. Becket’s remains were removed and (presumably) burnt and scattered into a nearby river. The gold and jewels, the accumulated offerings of people over a period of 400 years went into the coffers of the king. Today the only reminder in the cathedral it once ornamented is an inscription on the floor memorializing the location of the shrine.
The art that developed during the middle ages and later tended to focus on the moment of Becket’s martyrdom. It comes from all over the Christian world, not only from England, and takes virtually all the forms of medieval art: illumination, wall painting, ivory carving, embroidery, stained glass, sculpture.
Depictions of the event begin surprisingly early, within a few years of the event. Early images frequently include the figure of Edward Grim, one of Becket's entourage who stayed with him through the horrifying encounter and tried to intervene as the first sword blows fell. Grim nearly lost his arm in the attempt.
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Martyrdom
of Saint Thomas Becket From a Picture Bible French (St. Omer), c. 1190-1200 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 5, fol. 28v |
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| Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Psalter English, c. 1200-1225 London, British Library MS Harley 5102, fol. 32r |
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| Murder of Thomas Becket Ivory Liturgical Comb English, c. 1200-1210 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
,%20c.%201275-1300_Paris,%20Bibliotheque%20nationale%20de%20France_MS%20Nouvelle%20acquisition%20francaise%2016251,%20fol.%2081r.jpeg) |
Murder of Thomas Becket From the Images de la vie du Christ et des saints Flemish (Hainaut), c. 1275-1300 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Nouvelle acquisition francaise 16251, fol. 81r This image is rather unusual for including only one assailant. However, it is clearly labeled as "S. Thomas de Cantorbire". |
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Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From the Huth Psalter English (Lincoln or York), c. 1275-1300 London, British Library MS Additional 38116, fol. 13r |
,%20c.%201300-1325_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%20183,%20fol.%20195v.jpg) |
| Master of the Roman de Fauvel, Murder of Thomas Becket From a Vie des saints French (Paris), c. 1300-1325 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 183, fol. 195v |
,%20c.%201323-1326_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Latin%2010483,%20fol.%20118r.jpg) |
| Jean Pucelle and Workshop, Murder of Thomas Becket From a Breviary French (Paris), c. 1323-1326 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Latin 10483, fol. 118r This image is quite unusual. It does not depict Becket as a contemporary bishop or Grim as a contemporary cleric, even though the assassins are depicted as contemporary knights. Rather, it depicts both Becket and Grim as if they were earlier martyrs, uniting them figuratively with their early Christian forebears. However, there is no doubt that this murder is Becket's. It was placed at the bottom of the page in the Breviary that included specific references to the feast day and Grim's action of attempting to wield the processional cross is a clear reference to the actual event. One of the knights even holds a shield with the heraldic image of a bear. This may well be a reference to Reginald FitzUrse, whose family name derives from the Latin word for the bear "ursus/ursa". |
,%20c.%201325-1350_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20FRancaise%20185,%20fol.%2087r.jpg) |
| Richard de Montbaston, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Vie des saints French (Paris), c. 1325-1350 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 185, fol. 87r This image of the event is interesting in that it depicts three of the assassins as individual knights, not just a sort of armed mob. Not only is each of the knight shown separately, but each also bears a coat of arms. Whether these are the actual arms of three of the assassins I don't know, but it is an interesting detail, not found elsewhere. |
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| Ivory Plaque with the Coronation of the Virgin and the Murder of Thomas Becket French, c. 1330-1350 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Ivory Plaque with the Murder of Thomas Becket German (Cologne), c. 1360-1380 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Murder of Thomas Becket Embroidered Orphrey Panel English, c. 1370-1390 London, Victoria and Albert Museum |
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| Martyrdom of Thomas Becket Possibly English, c. 1400 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cloisters Collection |
By the fifteenth century the image had become somewhat standardized, almost suggesting that there was a single source model available.
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| Boucicaut Master. Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours French (Paris), c. 1412-1416 Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André MS MJAP-MS 1311, fol. 24v |
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| Master of Guillebert de Mets, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours Flemish (Ghent), c. 1415-1425 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 46, fol. 25v |
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| Murder of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1425-1450 London, British Library MS Harley 2982, fol. 13v |
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| Murder of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours French (Rouen), c. 1430-1440 London, British Library MS Harley 2900, fol. 56v |
However, a few artists imagined it differently.
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| The Fastolf Master, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From the Hours of William Porter French (Rouen), c. 1415-1430 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 105, fol. 46r |
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| Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From Legenda aurea by Jacobus de Voragine Flemish (Bruges), c. 1445-1465 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 672, fol. 58r |
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Jean le Tavernier and Follower, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From the Hours of Philip of Burgundy Flemish (Oudenaarde), c. 1450-1460 The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliotheek MS KB 76 F 2, fol. 259v
|
,1455_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%20311,%20fol.%20281v.jpg)
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| Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian I, Murder of Thomas Becket From the Hastings Hours Flemish (Ghent), c. 1480 London, British Library MS Additional 54782, fol. 55v |
,%20c.%201480-1490_Paris,%20BNF_MS%20Francais%20244,%20fol.%2029bis%20v.jpg) |
| Jacques de Besancon, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From Legenda aurea of Jacobus de Voragaine French (Paris), c. 1480-1490 Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France MS Francais 244, fol. 29bis v |
The later images also tend to transpose the timing of the event to the celebration of Mass, rather than to a service of Vespers. This is evidenced by the presence of a chalice and sometimes of a host on the altar at the moment of the murder. In some images, Becket is actually shown being struck down at the elevation. These images make what was already a gravely sacrilegious event even more so.
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| Willem Vrelant and Workshop, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours Flemish (Bruges), c. 1455-1465 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 387, fol. 80v |
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| Murder of Thomas Becket From a Book of Hours Flemish, c. 1500 London, British Library MS King's 9, fol. 38v |
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| Martyrdom of Thomas Becket From a Breviary French, c. 1506-1516 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M 8, fol. 23v |
Running alongside the images of his martyrdom were images of Becket as a saint, often in the company of other saints.
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| Saints Stephen, Thomas Becket and Nicholas of Bari Italian, c. 1200-1250 Subiaco, Church of San Benedetto, Upper Church |
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| Saints Thomas Becket and Martin of Tours From a Psalter German, c. 1208-1228 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS G 8, fol.54v |
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| Saint Thomas Becket English, Stained Glass, Reconstructed in 1919 from fragments of 13th Century Glass Canterbury, Cathedral |
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| Painted Screen with Saints English, c. 1300-1310 National Trust, Kingston lacy (UK) |
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| Andrea di Bonaiuto da Firenze, Virgin and Child with Ten Saints Detail with Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Mary Magdalene M and Thomas Becket Italian, c. 1365-1370 London, National Gallery |
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| Wenceslaus Hollar, Vera Effigies Sta. Thomae Archi-Episcopi Cantauriensis et Martyris Czech, 1647 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Benjamin West, Saint Thomas Becket Design for Window in St. Mary's, Bristol American, 1798 London, Fulham Palace |
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| Stephen Reid, Consecration of the Church at Reading Abbey by Thomas Becket, 19 April 1165 English, 1920 Reading (UK), Reading Museum & Town Hall |
There is a hiatus of image production in England following the destruction of the shrine in 1538. However, on the continent interest in the subject continued, often in the form of book illustrations, and became more diverse in its interpretation.
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| After Niccolo Circignani, Murder of Thomas Becket From Ecclesiae Anglicanae Trophaea Italian, 1584 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Gregoire Huret, Murder of Thomas Becket From S. Thomas of Canterburie his life French, c. 1635-1650 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Benedetto Lutti, Murder of Thomas Becket Italian, c. 1690-1724 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Sebastien Leclerc, Murder of Thomas Becket From Fleury's Histoire ecclesiastique, Vol. 15 French (Paris), c. 1710 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket French, 1748 New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art |
A revival of interest seems to have occurred in England around the end of the eighteenth century. This dating is significant. It is during this period that the first stirrings of the modern view of religious freedom began to emerge, as did a rising movement toward loosening and eventually abolishing the restrictive Penal Laws against Catholics in England and Ireland. By the middle of the nineteenth century the subject became at least mildly popular in England once again.
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| John Opie, Martrydom of Thomas Becket English, c. 1793 Canterbury (UK), Canterbury Museums and Galleries |
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| _Thomas Stothard, Martyrdom of Thomas Becket English, c. 1800 Canterbury (UK), Canterbury Museums and Galleries |
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| After Charles Benazech, Murder of Thomas Becket From Lyttleton's History of England English, 1802 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| William Fowler, Murder of Thomas Becket After a window at Christ-Church Cathedral, Oxford English, 1808 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| After Sir John Gilbert, Thomas Becket Encounters His Assassins From L'Univers Illustré, Sept 3, 1864 English, 1864 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum |
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| Cyril Power, Murder of Thomas Becket English, c. 1931 London, © The Trustees of the British Museum and Estate of the Artist |
Interest seems to have peaked in the 1930s, which is the period in which the play by T. S. Eliot appeared. Interest increased as the 850th anniversary of the murder (today) approached. A major exhibition at the British Museum had been scheduled for this year and was to include Becket's actual blood-stained tunicle, on loan from the Vatican where it has reposed since 1485.** Due to the pandemic it has been postponed to April of next year. Whether it will actually open at that time remains to be seen, of course.
So, what are we to make of this anniversary? Does it matter that on this date in 1170, a group of knights murdered an archbishop at the altar of his own cathedral? Is it relevant to us? The answer, I think is, yes.
Henry VIII was no fool.
He understood the implications of Becket’s life and of his murder. The struggle between king and archbishop had
never been just about the trials of criminal clergy nor the rights to
performing the coronation ceremony. As had
been the case in the preceding one hundred years, there had been larger
underlying issues about the proper roles of Church and State. Becket’s stand had been for the freedom of
the Church from political influence and the king’s had been for subordination of
the Church to control by the State for its own purposes. In 1538 Henry VIII had just won a complete
victory in the latest battle in that struggle, which is real and never
ending. It ebbs and flows constantly,
for the Church is not just an earthly institution. It forms the kingdom of God on earth, partly
in time and partly outside time. It
looks beyond the world to eternity.
Since Henry VIII’s spectacular, though hollow, victory the independence
of the Church from State control has been enshrined in many laws, in many countries,
but it is not often easy to determine where the boundaries lie. In recent years the Church has suffered a
profound loss of confidence following the revelations surrounding lax handling
of sex abuse, its recognition, reporting and discipline and has been required
to involve the civil authorities. This
makes sense as the earthly crime is heinous and the appropriate earthly punishment
one which the state can administer more easily than the Church. But this is hardly the only issue in which
there is the potential for conflict.
In the present day the same struggle continues. It can be seen in many places and in many
guises. Some of them are as mundane as the recent Supreme Court decision in favor of the diocese of Brooklyn which denies the State of New York the power to dictate closure of churches or synagogues during the current pandemic. However, some of the conflicts have led to deaths. Indeed, within my own lifetime I
have seen the very same martyrdom as Becket's repeated over and over. In 1980 Saint Oscar Romero suffered a near identical martyrdom in his cathedral.
Priests have been killed all over the world, from France, to Poland, to
Iraq and points in between, many times in their churches during Mass. The Little
Sisters of the Poor have fought for years against being compelled to fund
abortions in the healthcare plans they offer their lay employees. And, in spite of several Supreme Court
rulings in their favor, they are still under attack. Christian laypeople of many denominations have
been punished for following the principles of their faith. They may not be required to lose their lives,
but they may lose their livelihoods.
And, in some places, they have lost both. December 29, 1170 is as long ago as 850 years
and as recent as December 29, 2020.
 |
| Thomae Cantua-Archiepi, Mart. Unknown, 17th Century London, British Museum |
Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, pray
for us.
© M. Duffy, 2020
* There is no truth to the charming story, invented in the fourteenth century, that Gilbert Becket was a crusading knight who, in the Holy Land, fell in love with the daughter of a Muslim emir. According to the story, he returned to England, convinced of the impossibility of their love. She, however, ran away from home and followed him to London, the only English word she knew. There she was recognized by one of his servants and brought to him. She converted to Christianity, was baptized, married him and became the mother of a saint. This fable was no doubt invented to supply a more romantic parentage than really existed in order to account for Becket's noble qualities.
** See: Thomas Becket’s bloody tunic returns to Canterbury 850 years after he died (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/04/thomas-becket-canterbury-saint-martyr-murder-cathedral-rome-pope-relic-pepinster)
See also: Has St. Thomas Becket's Personal Copy of the Psalms Been Found?
For information about Becket’s life see the following:
Anne Duggan, Thomas Becket. New York, Oxford University Press, 2004.
John Guy, Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim:
a 900-year-old story retold. New
York, Viking, 2012.
See also:
J. Craigie Robertson, et al., Material for the History of
Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (canonized by Pope Alexander III, A. D.
1173), Vol. VII. London, Longmans,
1885. (Available online through the New
York Public Library and the Hathi Trust.)
T. S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral. New York, Harcourt, Brace and World, 1963.
Jean Anouilh, Becket: or, The Honor of God, a Play in
Four Acts. Translated by Lucienne Hill. New York, Coward-McCann, 1960.
