Becket
Thomas Becket (1118-1170) was an English statesman and ecclesiastic. He was born in London and received a good education includying studying for some time in Paris. In 1154 he was appointed to the post of Archdeacon of Canterbury, and in the following year King Henry II made him his Chancellor.
On the death of Theobald, Henry rewarded Becket's service by nominating him for the See of Canterbury. Becket readily agreed and resigned the Chancellorship, devoting himself exclusively to the Church of England.
It was not long, however, before Becket began to actively oppose the King's Anti-Clerical policies. In 1164 he quarrelled with Henry over the Constitutions of Clarendon, particularly on the question of making priests liable for judgement in State courts. Ultimately, by the intervention of the pope, a reconciliartion was effected allowing Becket to returned to England. A month later the Archbishop was brutally murdered in Canterbury Cathedral by some members of the royal household.
Thomas Becket was canonised in 1172, and his shrine at Canterbury would became a place of pilgrimage.
Log in or register to add and edit wiki articles | Article History
Article added: 2006-09-23 @ 7:22 am
All text within the Medieval Wiki is available under the terms of the
GNU Free Documentation
License.
Medieval Wiki Version 3.1.2