Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1170

Growing up in Kent, England, I was familiar with parts of the Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury. This leads to the site of the medieval shrine of Thomas Becket, a former Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 850 year ago today, 29 December 1170 by 4 of King Henry II's knights. The knights believed they were doing what the king wanted by getting rid of the man King Henry II had described as "this turbulent priest".

Thomas Becket was a friend of King Henry II but defended the independence of the Church against the King's wish to have more monarchical control of the church in England. The disagreement over authority, fuelled perhaps by personality clashes, lasted for years. For more on the story leading up to the murder (or assassination) take a look at Richard Barber's article, 'The unholy feud that killed Thomas Becket'.

Thomas was neither the first nor last Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered, but he was the only one murdered in his own cathedral while engaged in prayer, probably saying Vespers since it was dusk.

Becket's shrine in the Trinity Chapel of Canterbury Cathedral became a popular and international pilgrimage destination during medieval times. Becket's shrine was dismantled by order of Henry VIII in 1538 and its treasures confiscated. Nowadays, a candle on the floor of Trinity Chapel marks the site of Becket's shrine.

The site of Becket's death is in the north-west transept where there is a simple altar, shown below in my photo. On the altar is a rose placed there by a friend.