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.

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: William Urry

Publisher: Sutton Publishing

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13:

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Focusing on the last month of Becket's life after his return to Canterbury, the author describes the dispute that broke out with renewed ferocity culminating in his murder in the Cathedral by four of the King's knights and concludes with an Epilogue reviewing his reputation in the centuries since his death.

Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket

Author: Lloyd De Beer

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780714128382

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Marking the 850th anniversary of his dramatic murder, this major exhibition and book presents Becket's tumultuous journey from a merchant's son to Archbishop of Canterbury, and from a revered saint in death to a 'traitor' in the eyes of Henry VIII over 350 years later. The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 changed the course of history. Becket was one of the most powerful figures of his time, serving as royal Chancellor and later as Archbishop of Canterbury. Initially a close friend of King Henry II, the two men became engaged in a bitter dispute that culminated in Becket's shocking murder by knights with close ties to the king. Becket was quickly canonized a saint by the Pope and his shrine at Canterbury became a major center of European pilgrimage. Becket's international popularity endured for centuries until Henry VIII attempted to eradicate his cult as part of his reforms of the Church in England. Featuring an incredible array of objects associated with Becket, including medieval stained glass, manuscripts, jewellery and sacred reliquaries, Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint explores his dramatic life, death and legacy. This unique and fascinating story reveals the political and religious landscape of medieval Europe, demonstrating the formation and endurance of his cult. In death, Becket remained a figure of opposition to power and came to be seen as a defender of rights of the Church. An extraordinary number of miracles were recorded in the immediate aftermath of his death, leading to his rapid canonization and the development of his cult. Images of Becket are found across Latin Christendom, from Germany and Spain, to Italy and Norway and Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral became one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in Europe. A dedicated section will delve deeper into the Miracle Window of stained glass from Canterbury Cathedral. Here, new research from Professor Rachel Koopmans (York University, Toronto) examines the creative complexity of the windows, shedding light on the recent discoveries that led to the re-evaluation of some of the panels which were previously thought to be modern replacements.

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

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.

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.

The Quest for Becket's Bones
The Quest for Becket's Bones

Author: John R. Butler

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 1995-01-01

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9780300068955

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In January 1888, workmen excavating in the eastern crypt of Canterbury Cathedral discovered the bones of a skeleton many believed to be that of the martyred archbishop, Thomas Beckett. This book traces the full history of `Beckett's bones', from their alleged destruction by Henry VIII's commissioners during the Reformation to the present day. Includes fascinating observations, such as the unexpected discovery by workmen in 1865 of Dante's bones concealed in a wooden box a short distance from his empty tomb.