PrintDecember 29, 2010
Murder or Mediocrity in the Cathedral: Thomas à Becket's Medieval Lesson for Today
On December 29, 1170, four knights, servants of England's King Henry II, stormed into Canterbury Cathedral and cut down Thomas à Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury. The knights explained their action as a response to the king, who had reportedly inquired, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Understanding their duty as lying first to king and then to God, the four knights saddled up and headed from London to Canterbury.Almost immediately after the killing, the life and death of Becket became the stuff of legend. Canterbury, already the most important religious site in England, became the destination for countless pilgrims. One of the great works of English literature, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, follows a group of these pilgrims en route to Becket's shrine. A scant three years after his death, Pope Alexander III canonized St. Thomas à Becket.For an event that took place 840 years ago, the killing of Thomas à...(Read Full Article)
