‘Who will deliver me from this turbulent priest?’ How two Henrys failed to erase the memory of Thomas Becket

The story of Thomas Becket’s murder in AD 1170 still resonates after 850 years, despite the attempts of Henry VIII to eradicate all memory of the man that Henry II reportedly called ‘this turbulent priest’. Henry VIII called for the destruction of his shrine and the defacing of prayer books referring to his martyrdom. Even so, the Becket cult refused to die, and the British Museum has brought together an array of pilgrim badges and reliquaries, medals, paintings, and stained glass to show us why so many people in medieval Europe flocked to his Canterbury shrine. Current Archaeology's Chris Catling reports.

Parallels have been drawn between the Brexit debate and the arguments that raged in the 12th century over sovereignty, with Pope Gregory VII (also known as Hildebrand) seeking to assert the authority of the Church over all the secular rulers of Christendom. Fortunately, even in the most fraught discussions about whether national or EU courts should have supremacy in any post-Brexit trade deal, no politician has inflicted a fatal sword blow on an opponent. It was different in December 1170, when Henry II is said to have lost his temper on learning that Becket had excommunicated the Archbishop of York and three other bishops because they had supported the king in an escalating row over whether monks and priests should be subject to secular or ecclesiastical courts.

This well-crafted pilgrim’s badge was made in the 14th century and shows Becket on horseback returning to Canterbury after exile in France. Such souvenirs were seen as relics in their own right, with the power to heal and protect the wearer.

The king is said to have described the members of his household as ‘miserable drones and traitors’ for allowing ‘their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low- born cleric’. Later historians polished the phrase to give it greater rhetorical force. The claim that the king asked ‘Who will deliver me from this turbulent priest?’ first appears in the History of the Life of King Henry the Second (1772) by George Lyttleton, and the phrase has been associated with Becket’s murder ever since.

left Scenes from Becket’s martyrdom in a manuscript from 1184. The scene showing Becket at dinner as the knights arrive to arrest him is intended to evoke the Last Supper. Falling to the ground in the lower scene are the tip of the murderer’s sword and a piece of Becket’s skull both of which became much revered relics of the martyrdom. Alongside, pilgrims kneel and pray at a stylised version of Becket’s tomb. — Scenes from Becket’s martyrdom in a manuscript from 1184. The scene showing Becket at dinner as the knights arrive to arrest him is intended to evoke the Last Supper. Falling to the ground in the lower scene are the tip of the murderer’s sword and a piece of Becket’s skull both of which became much revered relics of the martyrdom. Alongside, pilgrims kneel and pray at a stylised version of Becket’s tomb. Image: The British Library.

From martyrdom to miracles

Whatever words the king actually used, and whether he meant them rhetorically (as he subsequently claimed) or as a subtly veiled command, Henry II was realistic enough to understand that he had lost the argument by resorting to violence, and he accepted the blame for the assassination. The Church regarded Becket’s murder as all the more heinous because it took place in the house of God. That was probably not an accident. According to the account written by Edward Grim, who witnessed the murder and published his version as Vita Sancti Thomae (Life of St Thomas, c.1180), Becket fled to the safety of the cathedral once he was aware that an attempt would be made on his life. Perhaps the Archbishop calculated that if he could not avoid martyrdom, he could at least maximise the shock value by forcing the assassins to kill him in a place of holiness and sanctuary.

From martyrdom to miracles

Related Posts