Living Words - Projects - Medieval Realms

The death of Thomas Becket

Introduction

Sources

Becket's death

Detail of Becket's death from the Huth Psalter Murders often get reported in the news, especially when someone famous or powerful is murdered. There were no newspapers in medieval times, but there were other ways of spreading news. And just like today, big news spread very quickly.

So what was the news? In 1170 Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in his own cathedral by four knights. The Archbishop of Canterbury was the second most important person in England after the king. Who could have done such a thing?

Well, it was the King - in a way. The knights who killed Becket thought that King Henry II wanted them to kill him. The difficulty is nobody really knows exactly what happened. The evidence is confusing. Different people have interpreted it in different ways.

Some of the interpretations they have come up with are:


	Henry was a vicious and spiteful monarch. The saintly Archbishop Becket stood up for the rights of the Church and Henry had him killed as a result.
	Archbishop Becket was certainly not a saintly man. He deliberately provoked Henry II and brought his death on himself.
	The death of Archbishop Becket was the result of a tragic misunderstanding. The knights who killed Becket thought Henry wanted him killed, but Henry was just sounding off in a rage.

Your job is to look at the sources that have been used to come up with these interpretations and see which interpretation you think makes the most sense.

	First download the worksheet to guide you in your investigation.
	Then look at the sources and the story of Thomas Becket's death.