Thomas A’ Becket

Thomas a' Becket

Thomas a' Becket was a chancellor of England and archbishop of Canterbury, who became a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. He was made archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II of England in 1162. Becket resisted Henry’s attempts to control the affairs of the Catholic Church. Over time their conflicts grew bitter. Four of Henry’s knights, acting on their own, murdered Becket. Shortly thereafter the Catholic Church in Rome declared Becket a saint.

Thomas was destined by his parents for the church and was educated at Merton Priory in Surrey, then one of the leading schools of London, and later in Paris. On his return to England he served as secretary to the lord of Pevensey, who inducted him into the life of a gentleman, hunting with hawk and hounds. Because his father had suffered financial reverses, Thomas worked for three years as a clerk and auditor in the City. Then, when he was 25 years old, he determined to apply for a place in the household of the archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald of Bec, a distant relative. There he entered the world of power and policy. He accompanied the archbishop to the papal council held at Reims in 1148, made several trips to Rome, and was sent to study law at Bologna, Italy.

Thomas’s life changed again in 1154, when the new king, Henry II, appointed him his chancellor. Theobald and other bishops had recommended him, hoping that the church would find in him a protector and defender at the king’s right hand. The eight years of his office as the king’s principal minister were a time of unstinting service. In return, Thomas was rewarded with great wealth, which he displayed in unprecedented magnificence of ceremony. Churchmen grumbled that the chancellor gave little heed to the interests of the church. Yet his biographers say that he preserved his chastity amid the promiscuous court; that he was personally sparing of food and drink despite the plenitude of his official hospitality; that he prayed often at night and attended masses at dawn; and that he employed clerks to scourge him as penance for his sins. When Theobald died in 1161, the king decided to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, the most important ecclesiastical officer