29 December 1170
Murder of Thomas Becket

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Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, is murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. Becket, formerly one of Henry II's closest confidants, annoys the king by backing the Church's legal independence instead of agreeing that clerics should be subject – along with everyone else – to a common justice system. After a period of exile in a French monastery, where he continues his propaganda war, Becket is allowed home. He still refuses to dance to Henry's tune, and four knights are dispatched – possibly without Henry's knowledge – to arrest him. In Canterbury Cathedral, Becket refuses to go quietly and is hacked to death. His tomb soon becomes a shrine, and is visited four years later by a penitent Henry.

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