Considering the circles in which he would later find himself, Thomas Becket rose from relatively humble origins – his father was a merchant in London. Although his family came from Normandy, the young Becket was raised very much as an Englishman, not a very stylish thing to be in the first half of the 12th century.
He was a bright boy and rose quickly, becoming clerk to Theobald, the archbishop of Canterbury, in 1142, at the age of 24. It was in this position that he first got to know the future Henry II, who was 15 years his junior. Despite this difference in ages, they became boon companions, hunting and roistering together like schoolboys. Henry appointed Becket as his chancellor, one of the most prestigious (and powerful) positions in England – and a great privilege for someone who emphasised his Englishness.
In 1162, when Theobald died, Henry decided to have 'his' man succeed him, and Becket was duly consecrated (after a swift ordination as priest the day before). But almost immediately Becket and Henry clashed. There was something in the new archbishop's personality that made him adopt new roles with the enthusiasm of the most fervent convert. Very much the king's servant and friend when he was chancellor, Becket now tried to become the perfect cleric: excessively devout and extremely wary of any attempt to reduce the power of the Church.
Henry was, at first, confused and then enraged at what he soon saw as his former friend's treachery. When Becket insisted that all members of the clergy – religious and lay – be tried only in ecclesiastical courts, Henry issued the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164), which set out the future relationship between secular and canon law (and in which the former took precedence). Initially, Becket signed these, then retracted his agreement. Henry issued trumped-up charges against him and Becket fled to France.
In 1170, Henry arranged for his son and heir Prince Henry to be crowned as king of England, giving himself imperial power. Because Becket was in exile, the archbishop of York carried out the coronation. This infuriated Becket and he threatened to excommunicate the king and everyone else connected with the rite. However, a shaky reconciliation resulted from the dispute and Becket returned to Canterbury with the promise that he could re-crown the prince.
As he stepped ashore at Sandwich in Kent, Becket was as inflexible as ever, and soon created problems by excommunicating the bishops who had been involved in the coronation. When they reported this to Henry, he is said to have asked for someone to deliver him from this 'lowborn', 'troublesome', 'meddlesome' or 'turbulent' priest (sources differ). Four of the knights present thought they knew how to do this and set out for Canterbury. On 29 December 1170, they brutally attacked and murdered Becket inside his cathedral.
Almost immediately there were reports of miracles occurring at the spot, and Becket was declared a saint little more than two years after his martyrdom. Henry was forced to perform great acts of repentance, but he actually gained from Becket's death, the Church losing much of its power.
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 Thomas Becket: Playing a role
www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/hi
story/a-b/becket.html
Thorough biography of the 'turbulent priest', emphasising his life before the murder in Canterbury Cathedral.
Thomas Becket
www.loyno.edu/~letchie/becket/
Website dedicated to Thomas Becket, featuring texts concerning his murder, a Becket bibliography and a pictorial tour of Canterbury Cathedral.
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Thomas Becket by Frank Barlow (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2000)
This biography, based on original sources and informed by the most recent scholarship, provides an interpretation of the life of Becket – worldly courtier, zealous prelate and, finally, martyr.
Get this book
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 Canterbury Cathedral
Right in the centre of Canterbury, Kent. There is a charge to get into the cathedral.
This magnificent building is well worth seeing just for itself. However, in the north-west transept, you can still locate the spot where Thomas Becket fell at the hands (and swords) of the knights. But while you can locate it, you can't see it, as it has been covered by stone slabs in a modern commemoration of the martyrdom. There is no sign of Becket's original tomb in the eastern crypt, or the magnificent gold- and jewel-encrusted shrine that once stood in the Trinity Chapel. That disappeared in 1538 during Henry VIII's reign, part of his destruction of the Roman Catholic establishment that included the dissolution of the monasteries. However, a candle in the middle of the chapel floor indicates where the shrine once stood, and there is a groove that was worn into the stone by all the pilgrims who knelt there.
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