• 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.

Thomas Becket


One of the earliest known depictions of Becket's assassination, c. 1175–1225

Church: Latin Church
Archdiocese: Canterbury
Appointed: 24 May 1162
Term ended: 29 December 1170

Personal details
Born: 21 December c. 1119; Cheapside, London, Kingdom of England
Died: 29 December 1170 (aged 50 or 51); Canterbury Cathedral, Kent, Kingdom of England
Buried: Canterbury Cathedral
Denomination: Catholicism


Attributed arms of Saint Thomas Becket: Argent, three Cornish choughs proper, visible in many English churches dedicated to him. As he died 30 to 45 years before the age of heraldry, he bore no arms.

Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then notably as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death in 1170. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the King in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was canonised by Pope Alexander III. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

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Legacy

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• Modern works based on the Becket story include: T. S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral, adapted as the opera Assassinio nella cattedrale by Ildebrando Pizzetti); Jean Anouilh's play Becket, where Becket is not a Norman but a Saxon, adapted for the screen in 1964, and starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton; and Paul Webb's play Four Nights in Knaresborough, which Webb adapted for the screen, selling the rights to Harvey and Bob Weinstein. The power struggle between Church and King is a theme of Ken Follett's novel The Pillars of the Earth, where a late scene features the murder of Becket. An oratorio by David Reeves, Becket (The Kiss of Peace), was premièred in 2000 at Canterbury Cathedral, where the event had occurred, as a part of the Canterbury Festival, and a fundraiser for the Prince's Trust.

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