Thomas Becket
Born: December 21, 1118, Assassinated: December 29, 1170
how he died.....
A sword's crushing blow extinguished the life of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
Who was to blame.. ?
Public opinion of the time and subsequent history have laid the blame for the murder at the feet of Becket's former close personal friend, King Henry II.
What led up this murder? ...
King Henry and Becket became very close friends. After archbishop Theobold died, he insisted that Becket take his place because he wanted power in both the church and government. But he was very wrong as Becket had his own views and decided to go his own path.
and what happens next... ?
after Becket does not wish to go along with the kings orders, "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest."
and what the king says goes...
The king's exact words have been lost to history but his outrage inspired four knights to sail to England to rid the realm of this annoying prelate. They arrived at Canterbury during the afternoon of December 29 and immediately searched for the Archbishop. Becket fled to the Cathedral where a service was in progress. The knights found him at the altar, drew their swords and began hacking at their victim finally splitting his skull.
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The death of Becket unnerved the king. The knights who did the deed to curry the king's favor, fell into disgrace.
in his memory.... <3
Hordes of pilgrims transformed Canterbury Cathedral into a shrine. Four years later, in an act of penance, the king donned a sack-cloth walking barefoot through the streets of Canterbury while eighty monks flogged him with branches.
where i found all this information from ....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^They also made a movie of his story.
The burial of becket
Where Becket died quickly became a place of pilgrimage. The pope quickly made him a saint. Henry II asked the pope for forgiveness and he walked bare foot to Canterbury to pray at the spot where Becket was killed.
People left valuables at the spot of his death. It became a shrine to him and people claimed that a visit to the shrine left them free of illness and disease. No-one dared to touch the valuables there until Henry VIII shut it down and the churches and took away any valuables he wanted.