Richard de Brito: The Forgotten Killer; and a very Dangerous Friend
De Brito Coat of Arms
The Road to the Great Rebellion, Part 8
In legend he struck the final blow; in fiction, he will cause a torrent of trouble for his friend William FitzErneis in Lady of Lincoln.
When Archbishop Thomas Becket was cut down before the altar of Canterbury Cathedral in December 1170, the man who delivered the fatal stroke was Richard de Brito—sometimes styled le Breton. His sword, witnesses said, split Becket’s skull so deeply that the blade snapped on the flagstones.
Unlike the other knights, de Brito cried out as he struck:
“Take that for the love of my lord William FitzEmpress!”
The words stunned those who heard them. He was killing the archbishop not in Henry II’s name, but in that of Henry’s brother—the late William FitzEmpress, Henry II’s brother.
A Knight of the FitzEmpress Household
Richard de Brito came from the south-western shires—probably Somerset or Devon—where his family held modest estates. In his youth he served under William FitzEmpress, the king’s younger brother and a celebrated soldier of the early 1160s. After William’s death in 1164, many of his knights, including de Brito and William FitzErneis (one of Nicola’s love interests) passed into royal or princely service, some eventually attaching themselves to Henry the Young King.
That background explains de Brito’s shouted dedication at Canterbury. He saw himself avenging his dead lord’s honour, still part of a loyal brotherhood of FitzEmpress men.
The Murder at Canterbury
When Henry II’s angry words—
“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?” (we don’t know the exact words, but this is the most famous iteration)
reached his household, four knights set out for Canterbury: Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, and Richard de Brito.
Eyewitness Edward Grim recorded the sequence of blows:
FitzUrse struck first, grazing Becket’s head.
De Tracy followed with a heavier cut.
De Brito then delivered the mortal blow, cleaving the archbishop’s skull so deeply that brain and blood spattered the floor.
It was a soldier’s act of grim finality—precise, deliberate, and sanctioned, he believed, by loyalty to his fallen patron.
Aftermath and Silence
Like the others, de Brito fled to Knaresborough Castle under Hugh de Morville’s protection. For months they lived there unmolested, the king maintaining a careful public distance. In 1171 Pope Alexander III excommunicated them all and demanded penance in Rome.
Chroniclers claim the knights were condemned to serve fourteen years in the Holy Land, fighting as soldiers of Christ in reparation for their sin. De Brito’s trail vanishes soon after: one account places his death overseas; another hints he never left England. Either way, he was erased from record—the killer no chronicler cared to redeem.
Why This Matters for Lady of Lincoln
In Lady of Lincoln, William FitzErneis—once a comrade in that same FitzEmpress household—carries the burden of that friendship. He remembers the campaigns and camaraderie of his youth, the association with one of the most disgraced knights in Christendom puts his position and chance for favour from Henry II in jeopardy.
Find out what happens in Lady of Lincoln, and how this leads to the events of 1173, when rebellion erupts and tears Nicola’s world apart.
Next in the series: Medieval Succession: When Henry II’s Empire Imploded