The Shadow of Becket: How a Murder Shook the Kingdom
The Road to the Great Rebellion, Part 4
The Murder of Thomas Becket
On a cold December evening in 1170, four knights clattered into Canterbury Cathedral, swords drawn. Their quarry was not a foreign invader, nor an outlawed baron, but the Archbishop of Canterbury—Thomas Becket, once Henry II’s closest friend.
By the time the candles guttered out, Becket lay bleeding on the flagstones before the altar. His killers had done what few in Christendom dared: they had murdered God’s anointed.
From Friendship to Fury
When Becket first entered Henry II’s service, he was everything the king admired—clever, ambitious, and loyal. As Henry’s chancellor, he rode beside him in battle and shared in his triumphs. The king called him a brother.
But when Henry made Becket archbishop in 1162, expecting him to be an ally in church reform, their friendship shattered. Becket transformed overnight from royal servant to defender of the Church’s independence. He refused to let royal courts try clergy accused of crimes and resisted the king’s authority over bishops.
Henry, who brooked no defiance, felt betrayed.
The Road to Canterbury
For years, the quarrel raged. Becket fled to France in 1164, finding refuge with King Louis VII—the same Louis who still burned with resentment against Henry II for marrying Eleanor of Aquitaine. The dispute became as much about politics as faith: two monarchs using one archbishop as a pawn.
In 1170, Henry and Becket made a fragile peace. The archbishop returned to England to cheers from the faithful. But within weeks, their conflict flared again when Becket excommunicated bishops loyal to the crown.
It was then, in a moment of fury, that Henry uttered the words chroniclers would never forget—perhaps not verbatim, but in essence:
“Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”
Four knights took him at his word.
The Shock of a Kingdom
Becket’s murder sent shockwaves through Europe. Churches fell silent. Pilgrims flocked to Canterbury to pray at the site of his martyrdom, where miracles were soon reported. Henry II’s reputation collapsed overnight: from the mightiest ruler in Christendom to a king branded as a blasphemer.
To atone, Henry walked barefoot to Becket’s shrine in 1174, letting monks scourge him as he wept and prayed. His act of penance helped restore his standing—but the political damage endured. His enemies saw weakness. His sons and wife saw opportunity.
Within three years of Becket’s death, the Great Rebellion would erupt.
Why This Matters for Lady of Lincoln
The murder of Thomas Becket did more than divide Church and Crown—it undermined the moral authority of Henry II’s rule. For nobles and knights like those in Lady of Lincoln, it raised dangerous questions: if a king could be condemned by God, could he still command loyalty?
By 1173, the kingdom was still haunted by Becket’s ghost. That shadow fell across Lincolnshire too, where local loyalties would soon be tested in rebellion and war.
Next time in The Road to the Great Rebellion series: Reginald FitzUrse: The Bear Knight Who Slayed a Saint