Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Author: John Guy

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-07-03

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 0679603417

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A revisionist new biography reintroducing readers to one of the most subversive figures in English history—the man who sought to reform a nation, dared to defy his king, and laid down his life to defend his sacred honor NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KANSAS CITY STAR AND BLOOMBERG Becket’s life story has been often told but never so incisively reexamined and vividly rendered as it is in John Guy’s hands. The son of middle-class Norman parents, Becket rose against all odds to become the second most powerful man in England. As King Henry II’s chancellor, Becket charmed potentates and popes, tamed overmighty barons, and even personally led knights into battle. After his royal patron elevated him to archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, however, Becket clashed with the King. Forced to choose between fealty to the crown and the values of his faith, he repeatedly challenged Henry’s authority to bring the church to heel. Drawing on the full panoply of medieval sources, Guy sheds new light on the relationship between the two men, separates truth from centuries of mythmaking, and casts doubt on the long-held assumption that the headstrong rivals were once close friends. He also provides the fullest accounting yet for Becket’s seemingly radical transformation from worldly bureaucrat to devout man of God. Here is a Becket seldom glimpsed in any previous biography, a man of many facets and faces: the skilled warrior as comfortable unhorsing an opponent in single combat as he was negotiating terms of surrender; the canny diplomat “with the appetite of a wolf” who unexpectedly became the spiritual paragon of the English church; and the ascetic rebel who waged a high-stakes contest of wills with one of the most volcanic monarchs of the Middle Ages. Driven into exile, derided by his enemies as an ungrateful upstart, Becket returned to Canterbury in the unlikeliest guise of all: as an avenging angel of God, wielding his power of excommunication like a sword. It is this last apparition, the one for which history remembers him best, that will lead to his martyrdom at the hands of the king’s minions—a grisly episode that Guy recounts in chilling and dramatic detail. An uncommonly intimate portrait of one of the medieval world’s most magnetic figures, Thomas Becket breathes new life into its subject—cementing for all time his place as an enduring icon of resistance to the abuse of power.

The Lives of Thomas Becket
The Lives of Thomas Becket

Author: Michael Staunton

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2001-12-07

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 9780719054556

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Through the eye-witness and contemporary biographical accounts, this book provides valuable insight into the late-12th century world. The extracts, many previously untranslated, expose one of the most controversial figures of the Middle Ages. Written as the shock of Becket's murder in 1170 reverberated around Europe, the accounts provide vivid testimony to the most dramatic events of his life. They show how he became champion of the church and enemy of the king, fled into exile to lead a life of asceticism and political agitation, and returned to face martyrdom before the altar of his own cathedral.

Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Canonized by Pope Alexander III, AD 1173)
Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury (Canonized by Pope Alexander III, AD 1173)

Author: James Craigie Robertson

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-11-15

Total Pages: 627

ISBN-13: 1108049257

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This seven-volume work, published 1875-85, brings together all Latin materials concerning the life and fall of Thomas Becket (c.1120-70). Volume 1 contains the collection of miracles compiled by William of Canterbury, who was present at the scene of Becket's murder.

Murder in the Cathedral
Murder in the Cathedral

Author: T. S. Eliot

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2014-02-25

Total Pages: 86

ISBN-13: 0547542607

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T. S. Eliot's most famous drama, a retelling of the murder of the archbishop of Canterbury Murder in the Cathedral, written for the Canterbury Festival in 1935, was one of T. S. Eliot’s first dramatic achievements, and it remains one of the great plays of the century. It takes as its subject matter the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, depicting the events that led to his assassination, in his own cathedral church, by the knights of Henry II in 1170. Like Greek drama, the play’s theme and form are rooted in religion, ritual purgation and renewal, and it was this return to the earliest sources of drama that brought poetry triumphantly back to the English stage at the time. "The theatre is enriched by this poetic play of grave beauty and momentous decision." —The New York Times

Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Author: Father John S. Hogan

Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor

Published: 2020-09-18

Total Pages: 378

ISBN-13: 1681925834

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Who was Thomas Becket? The answer is as complex as he was. Deacon; priest; archbishop; sometime royal chancellor; friend of the king; troublemaker; penitent; exile; turbulent enemy of the king; unyielding, ungrateful wretch; shepherd; martyr; saint; enigma. Thomas Becket: Defender of the Church reintroduces this enigmatic saint and invites us to consider his background, his influences, his progress in ambition and office, and his personal struggle for holiness. Fr. John S. Hogan transports us to twelfth-century Europe, the era that formed Thomas - times full of grandeur and chaos, complex relationships and political intrigue, sinfulness and virtue. Along the way, this biography reveals the relevance Thomas's life and struggle have to our own day. As secularism seeks to destroy faith, Catholics can turn to Saint Thomas for help. His is the story of every Christian; though the time and circumstances may differ, the struggle remains the same. Nine hundred years after his death, Saint Thomas Becket remains a man and a saint for our times. Ambition's servant The king's servant Servant of Christ

Life of Thomas à Becket
Life of Thomas à Becket

Author: Henry Hart Milman

Publisher: DigiCat

Published: 2022-06-03

Total Pages: 104

ISBN-13:

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"Life of Thomas à Becket" by Henry Hart Milman is a biography. Becket was also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London, and later Thomas à Becket (1119 or 1120 – 1170). He was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. 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.

Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Author: Frank Barlow

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1986

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 9780520071759

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A new interpretation of the Protestant Reformation provides an alternate perspective on the faith's core idea about individuals having direct access to God without the need for priest and institutional mediation, in an account that traces five centuries of Protestant influence.

Thomas Becket and His Biographers
Thomas Becket and His Biographers

Author: Michael Staunton

Publisher: Boydell Press

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13:

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Examining the major sources for the life and death of Thomas Becket, this book analyses the biographers' treatment of the major themes in Thomas's life - conversion, conflict, trial, exile and martyrdom - in the light of contemporary hagiographical, historical and theological writing and canon law.

Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury

Author: William Holden Hutton

Publisher:

Published: 1910

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13:

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Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury by William Holden Hutton, first published in 1910, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.

The Cult of St Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, C.1170-c.1220
The Cult of St Thomas Becket in the Plantagenet World, C.1170-c.1220

Author: Paul Webster (Medievalist)

Publisher: Boydell & Brewer

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1783271612

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The extraordinary growth and development of the cult of St Thomas Becket is investigated here, with a particular focus on its material culture. Thomas Becket - the archbishop of Canterbury cut down in his own cathedral just after Christmas 1170 - stands amongst the most renowned royal ministers, churchmen, and saints of the Middle Ages. He inspired the work of medieval writers and artists, and remains a compelling subject for historians today. Yet many of the political, religious, and cultural repercussions of his murder and subsequent canonisation remain to be explored in detail. This book examines the development of the cult and the impact of the legacy of Saint Thomas within the Plantagenet orbit of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries - the "Empire" assembled by King Henry II, defended by his son King Richard the Lionheart, and lost by King John. Traditional textual and archival sources, such as miracle collections, charters, and royal and papal letters, are used in conjunction with the material culture inspired by the cult, toemphasise the wide-ranging impact of the murder and of the cult's emergence in the century following the martyrdom. From the archiepiscopal church at Canterbury, to writers and religious houses across the Plantagenet lands, to thecourts of Henry II, his children, and the bishops of the Angevin world, individuals and communities adapted and responded to one of the most extraordinary religious phenomena of the age. Dr Paul Webster is currently Lecturer in Medieval History and Project Manager of the Exploring the Past adult learners progression pathway at Cardiff University; Dr Marie-Pierre Gelin is a Teaching Fellow in the History Department at University College London. Contributors: Colette Bowie, Elma Brenner, José Manuel Cerda, Anne J. Duggan, Marie-Pierre Gelin, Alyce A. Jordan, Michael Staunton, Paul Webster.