Map of England!
The Canterbury Tales!
1!
2!
Thomas Becket!
Becket s Big Break!
•  Born in 1118 in Normandy!
•  Father was English merchant/
former Sheriff in London!
•  Family was well off!
•  Was charming, intelligent,
diplomatic!
•  Archbishop Theobold sent
Becket to Paris to study law and
when he returned, Theobold
made him Archdeacon of
Canterbury.!
•  Was introduced to King
Henry II!
•  They became great friends!
•  Henry II named Becket his
Chancellor!
•  When Archbishop
Theobold died in 1161,
Henry II made Becket the
Archbishop of Canterbury.!
3!
4!
Do you think Henry easily imposed his
will upon the church?!
What A Scoundrel!!
•  Henry named Becket Archbishop because he saw
this as an opportunity to increase his influence
over the Church by naming his friend to the
highest church post in the land.!
•  One problem: Becket was never ordained as a
priest.!
•  NO PROBLEM: Henry invested Becket as a
priest; the next day (June 2, 1162) he was ordained
a Bishop, and that same day was made
Archbishop.!
5!
•  Nope!!
•  Becket s allegiance shifted from government to the
Church.!
•  In these days, religious clerics were tried in a church court
if they did something wrong. Henry didn t like this
because a Canon accused of murder was acquitted by a
church court. !
•  Henry set out to change the law and Becket refused to
agree to the changes in the law.!
•  Henry summoned Becket to court and demanded to know
what Becket did with a large sum of money.!
6!
Becket Sure Is Smart!!
•  Becket fled to France
because he knew
something bad was
brewing.!
•  Remained in exile for six
years.!
•  The friends seemed to
resolve their dispute in
1170 when Henry and
Becket met in Normandy.!
Uh Oh. Not Again!!
•  On Nov. 30, Becket
crossed the English
Channel to return to
his post at Canterbury.!
•  Earlier, while in France, Becket had
excommunicated the Bishops of London
and Salisbury for their support of the king. !
•  Becket refused to absolve the bishops when
he returned to Canterbury.!
•  This really made Henry mad!!
•  He supposedly said:!
7!
What sluggards, what cowards
have I brought up in my court,
who care nothing but for their
allegiance to their lord. Who will
rid me of this meddlesome
priest. !
8!
Here They Come!!
•  Henry s outrage inspired four knights to
sail to England to rid the country of Becket.!
•  They arrived at Canterbury during the
afternoon of December 29 and immediately
searched for Becket.!
•  Becket fled to the Cathedral where a service
was in progress.!
9!
The Murder!
10!
So What Happened?!
•  The knights found
Archbishop Becket at
the altar, drew their
swords, and began
hacking at their victim
finally splitting his
skull.!
•  Becket s death made King Henry mad.!
•  The knights who did the deed to curry the
king s favor, fell into disgrace.!
•  There was talk of several miracles occurring
at Becket s tomb. !
•  Pilgrims began transforming Canterbury
Cathedral into a shrine.!
11!
12!
The Canterbury Cathedral!
13!