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Michael A. Stecker
Places Index
Thomas a Becket |
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Thomas a Becket was born on December 21,
1118, the son of Gilbert à Becket,an English merchant and at one time
Sheriff of London. He was educated at Merton Priory in Surrey and was
later sent to Paris to study. After five years in Paris, Thomas returned
to England where he joined the staff of the then Archbishop of Canterbury,
Theobald. However, he did not remain in England for long and the
Archbishop sent him abroad again to study law. Following his return to
England, Thomas was made Archdeacon of Canterbury because of his skills at
administration. After the death of King Stephen in 1154, it was Archbishop
Theobald who recommended Thomas to the new King, Henry II (formerly Henry
of Anjou) as Chancellor which was quite an increase in status. Apparently,
the two men, Henry and Thomas, took an instant liking to each other and
this could well have been based on the fact that they were both forthright
and hot tempered. Archbishop Theobald died in 1161 and the King chose his
friend, Thomas, to be the new Archbishop. It was probable that Henry
believed that with his friend in the highest office in the Church in
England there would be an easy alliance between Church and State. However,
when Henry amended laws to place the State in a position to take charge of
cases involving the clergy, the trouble started. Thomas originally agreed
to the changes but subsequently changed his mind and did penance to show
that he had been wrong in his original decision. This act, in those days,
was considered a considerable 'slap in the face' for Henry. As a result,
Henry called Becket to Northampton and asked him to account for sums of
money that had passed through his hands while he was chancellor and then
later as the Archbishop of Canterbury. The conflict caused by these
accusations was extreme and Thomas, already well liked by the general
populous, was helped in October, 1164, to flee England for France. Thomas
remained in exile in France for six years. In 1169, while still in France,
he excommunicated the Bishops of London and Salisbury who had stood
against him and supported the King. In 1170 Thomas returned to England.
Meanwhile, back in France, the most ardent opponent of Thomas, who was
Archbishop Roger of York had the ear of the King. Archbishop Roger, who,
as Archbishop of York, would have been number two in the hierarchy of the
Church in England, suggested to Henry that, 'while Thomas lives, you will
have neither quiet times nor a tranquil kingdom'. This threw Henry into
one of his rages and he was supposed to have exclaimed one of the
following: |
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