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28 Dec, 4 tweets, 2 min read
OTD 850 years ago (Mon 28 Dec 1170) The four knights arrive in England after an untroubled sea crossing, two of them landing at Winchelsea and two at Dover. They make their way to Ranulph de Broc at Saltwood Castle to hatch their plan for tomorrow #Becket850 #Becket2020 Saltwood Castle, Kent, 19th C engraving
The knights and de Broc decide to surround Canterbury with garrison troops, and thus force Becket to yield to the king's demands. One of de Broc's servants slips away to tell Becket of the plot, to which the archbishop, shaken, replies 'these are dreadful threats'.
Another citizen of Canterbury, having heard of the arrival of the knights, also comes to warn Becket of the danger. Becket replied: 'They shall find us ready to suffer pain and death for God's name. Let them do what they want.'
Becket does his customary rounds of the Cathedral, hearing Mass, invoking the saints, and doing penance, confessing his sins to Thomas of Maidstone. In the evening he asks his clerk if it would be possible to get to the port of Sandwich before dawn, but then dismisses the notion.

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John Jenkins Profile picture
29 Dec
OTD, and at this hour, 850 years ago (Tues 29 Dec 1170) Thomas Becket dresses for the cold wintry day, his hair shirt covered by white underclothes, a black tunic, two lambskin mantles with a longer one on top, a fine white tunic, and a long black cloak #Becket850 #Becket2020
He attends the morning Morrow Mass in the cathedral, celebrated by the monks, and confesses to his personal confessor. Afterwards the monks claimed that he was scourged three times for his sins by his confessor this morning, in a none-too-subtle echo of Christ's passion.
Meanwhile, at Saltwood Castle, the four knights (FitzUrse, Morville, Bret, and Tracy) ride out, accompanied by their numerous followers and attendants, together with Ranulph de Broc, the castle garrison, and other local knights summoned 'to come and avenge the shame of the King!'
Read 70 tweets
John Jenkins Profile picture
27 Dec
OTD 850 years ago (Sun 27 Dec 1170) Becket's envoys to the pope and King of France leave Canterbury, and there are many tearful farewells. One of King Henry's servants, sympathetic to Becket, arrives and gives him a note warning him of the danger he is in #Becket850 #Becket2020
(It's worth pointing out that Becket's hagiographers make the ending seem far more inevitable than it was by scattering doom-laden warnings and premonitions through the final month. It's not really possible to tell which are real and how much they were believed at the time)
(Even at this point, the knights on their way to Canterbury are planning to arrest Becket, not kill him. Being at loggerheads with the King was pretty normal for an archbishop at this point all over Europe. There's no reason to think that Becket's in immediate mortal danger)
Read 4 tweets
John Jenkins Profile picture
2 Dec
OTD 850 years ago (Weds 2nd Dec 1170) Thomas Becket arrives at Canterbury, returning to his cathedral church for the first time in over six years. (Badge mould depicting Becket on horseback on his return from exile, BM 1890,1002.1)
News of his arrival at Sandwich had travelled ahead, so the cathedral church was suitably decorated and bellringers stood ready to mark his entrance into the city. Becket rode the 12 miles with his large retinue, including Alexander Llewellyn his crossbearer going before him.
His route was lined by the inhabitants of Kent, who came out to greet him with their parish priests. Becket's route took him through Ash, Wingham, Littlebourne (his own archiepiscopal manors) and he would have seen the cathedral from the top of St Martin's Hill
Read 13 tweets
John Jenkins Profile picture
1 Dec
OTD 850 years ago (Tuesday 1 December 1170) Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, lands at Sandwich on his return from exile in France, the first time he had set foot in England in over 6 years. He was three weeks short of his 50th birthday, and four weeks away from his death
The Return of St Thomas was an important feast in the monastic calendar of (as far as we know) two places - Canterbury Cathedral and Arbroath Abbey, although at Canterbury it was celebrated on the 2nd Dec when he arrived at the Cathedral rather than when he landed.
Tuesdays were very important in the cult of St Thomas Becket, and in late medieval England they were decreed as sacred to him, so it's great that #Becket2020 maps on to the weekdays in 1170! His return from exile was the fifth wonderful thing that happened to him on a Tuesday.
Read 8 tweets
John Jenkins Profile picture
17 Jul 19
You might have seen our reconstructions of the sites associated with Thomas Becket in @No1Cathedral, but over the last year we (@CandCYork) also made this - a digital model of the city of Canterbury in the mid-15th century. So I thought I'd do a thread on some of the highlights /
The Cathedral dominates the city, and is vastly bigger than anything else within the walls. We wanted to show how, like the city itself, it was for most of the 15th C a building site - Bell Harry and the Martyrdom chapel are under construction and under scaffold /2
The view from the Bullstake - the Sun Inn is under construction (the inn sign is a bit of a conceit here!). Christchurch gate has not been built, but evidence suggests the previous gate would have been much like that at Gloucester, so we used a version of that 3/
Read 13 tweets

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