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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.
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.
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.
THE life of St. Thomas of Canterbury is exceptionally well known. More than seven hundred years have elapsed since he died, and yet his history stands out before us with a distinctness and minuteness that is extremely rare among the records of great men. The witnesses to the facts are both numerous and trustworthy. They wrote of matters of which they had personal knowledge, and their writings were in the hands of those who were the most capable of judging of their truthfulness. The universal and vehement interest taken in all that concerned St. Thomas, while later on it may have caused an embroidery of legends to be attached to his name, would ensure attention to the minutest details while the story was yet fresh, and this is a guarantee for accuracy and care. The substantial agreement of several writers, evidently independent of one another, is a further assurance of fidelity. The personal character of the writers is above suspicion, and their ability manifest; and lastly, all that skilful editing can do for them has happily been done, and that too at the public expense. Benedict, a Inonk of Christ Church, Canterbury, is said by the editor of the Quadrilogue (about 1220) to have been on the day of the martyrdom among the Saint's more intimate friends, and to have recorded those things of which he was an ear or eye witness. He wrote only of the martyrdom and of the subsequent miracles. No copy of his narrative of the martyrdom exists, but considerable fragments have been preserved in the Quadrilogue. The miracles are now in six books. Of these the last two art: by another hand, as events are there related which happened after Benedict's death. He died in 1193 or 1194 at Peterborough, of which house he was made abbot in 1177. The fourth book of miracles is of about the date of Benedict's election as Abbot of Peterborough, for it mentions the great fire at Rochester, which occurred in the April of that year. But the work is not in strict chronological order, for after the passage relating to the fire, a letter is inserted addressed to Odo as Prior of Canterbury; but Odo was made Abbot of Battle, and Benedict himself became Prior of Canterbury in 1175. The first three books of miracles, according to Mr. Magnusson, formed the original volume, and all that is related in them happened during the seventeen months that fol1owed the martyrdom. In July, 1172, William was charged to record the miracles in addition to Benedict, who had fulfilled that office from the beginning. By this fact Mr. Magnusson ingeniously dates not Benedict only but Fitzstcphcn. For Fitzstephen says that there was a Codex which was read in the Chapter at Canterbury, which related the miracles wrought in England, and he adds that those in France, Ireland, and elsewhere had as yet no historian. This Codex was Benedict's volume, ending then with the third book; and Mr. Magnusson concludes that Benedict's three books were written before Fitzstephen's Life of St. Thomas; and further that Fitzstephen wrote before William of Canterbury began, that is within the first seventeen months. The argument is pressed perhaps a little too closely, as there would be but one Codex until William had made some progress with his work. Afterwards Gervase speaks of two volumes of miracles, Benedict's and Williams and the mention of one by Fitzstephen may fairly be taken to mean that there then was but one.
This historical biography examines the life and legacy of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of King Henry II of England. Drawing on accounts from Becket's contemporaries and later writers, the authors provide a vivid portrait of a complex figure who was both a respected scholar and a political lightning rod. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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.