The Rise of Thomas Becket

 When you hear the name Thomas Becket, you naturally think of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s fatal dispute with King Henry II, his one time friend. In this post, we’ll take a brief look at Becket’s life before he rose to real prominence before concluding with a brief overview of his relationship with Henry II. Born in London, Becket’s parents were Gilbert and Matilda who were described by Gervase Of Canterbury as being “of middle rank in life.” Thomas was tall and handsome with, as you may expect, a sharp mind. From his mother in particular, religious devotion was driven into Becket and, as such, he was known to be charitable, aiding beggars with a “full heart.”

With a good education behind him, Becket was soon making a name for himself with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Bec, recognising his obvious potential. Gervase of Canterbury says that Becket was on good and even close terms with Theobald and this statement is supported by the obvious trust the Archbishop placed in him. Becket was frequently sent to Rome and elsewhere on behalf of Theobald and the English church to conduct important business. Almost without fail, Becket brought his dealings to a successful conclusion.

Having trained in both Canon and Civil law, Becket was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury in 1154. Not long after this latest development in his life, England would find itself with a new king. The previous year, young Henry, Duke of Normandy was made the designated heir to King Stephen after a long and painful struggle between Stephen and Henry’s mother Matilda. Stephen died in October 1154 with Henry arriving back on English shores in December of that year.

Henry was an impressive young man with boundless energy. To help govern his kingdom,he would need like minded individuals who were both vigorous as well as intelligent. Becket was one such individual and, with Theobald’s recommendation, Becket was appointed Chancellor of England. It was a shrewd move as Henry and Becket helped steer England out of the gloomy days of the reign of Stephen and into a “new spring time.” Law and order was restored to a recently corrupted land whilst the mercenaries who had been brought into the country by Stephen, a lingering reminder of the troubles, were removed swiftly. The country, it seemed, could look ahead to a new enlightened age.

There was one problem. Henry, a great law giver and determined to bring order to all four corners of his kingdom, knew the English church had been left in a bit of a state by Stephen with the clergy full of crooks and scoundrels. This would have to be dealt with in time. That time, Henry sensed, may have come when Archbishop Theobald died in 1161. Henry had the perfect candidate to succeed him; Chancellor Becket. Well versed in Church matters, hard working and conscientious, Becket was better placed than any other man in England to fill the now vacant see.

But Becket was reluctant. He had, in Gervase’ words, won great favour with Henry and wished to keep things that way. And, obviously, he was right to have those doubts. After he finally accepted the position, Becket’s and Henry’s relationship was altered forever. Becket, rightly or wrongly, would stand steadfast in his determination to protect the Church from Royal interference, famously to Henry’s fury. As a successful chancellor and Henry’s friend, Becket had been placed in charge of the King’s son and heir, another Henry. Once the feud between King and Archbishop broke out, Prince Henry was removed from Becket’s care.

The fiery feud between Henry and Becket has gone down in History, not least because of the disastrous scenes in Canterbury Cathedral in the last days of 1170 where Becket was murdered brutally by four knights acting, as they thought, on Henry’s orders. The King was horrified at Becket’s death, as was the rest of Christendom. From afar, the death of Becket still looks appallingly tragic. Henry II was a great king whilst Becket a man of equally great talent. Had their relationship remained harmonious, who knows what greatness they could have achieved together?