Today in 1170 Thomas Becket was murdered by knights of Henry II in Canterbury. The cathedral becomes the greatest pilgrim destination in England. 
Thomas Becket was born (allegedly) near the corner of Ironmonger Lane and Cheapside in the City of London, 1118. 
Thomas Becket was not a meek dude. As a teenager, and even after entering the church, he would hawk, hunt and fight about by West Smithfield, outside the city of London's walls. 
Thomas was ambitious. He rose through the household of the Archbishop of Canterbury - as sort of a right hand man & envoy - until he was made Chancellor by Henry II.
Henry II and Thomas Becket were best buddies, total bros - inseparable. When Henry went to war in 1159 to deal with some recalcitrant possessions, Thomas was right there with him, splitting heads and kicking French behinds. 
Yes, I know they're moors, I just wanted a kickarse battlescene.
Thomas Becket was made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. That's when things started to go south. Thomas started to take the church's rights & immunities seriously. 
Henry II thought that his buddy Thomas would help him claw back some of the powers of the monarch over the priesthood, such as the ability to try priests in secular courts.
Thomas Becket actually fled to France in 1164 after being found guilty of treason - is. not doing what the king was telling him to. He only came back after the Pope threatened to excommunicate Henry II.
Things got worse and worse, until one cold night, the very frustrated Henry II wondered aloud how he'd let these darn priests play him (the exact wording is heavily disputed).
A couple of knights took it as a suggestion, and headed off to Canterbury.
A couple of knights took it as a suggestion, and headed off to Canterbury.
They caught up with Becket just before evening prayers on the 29th of December, 1170. After being rebuffed when trying to take him back to Henry II, they pulled out their swords and hacked him to death. 
The Knights who killed him fled and were excommunicated. Eventually they begged for this to be lifted and headed East for Crusade.
Henry II made a great show of atonement and contrition, wearing a hair shirt, walking on his knees from the Canterbury city gates to the cathedral, and having the monks of the cathedral flog him. 
The Pope canonised Thomas Becket in 1173. His saint's cult spread across Europe, making Canterbury a huge pilgrimage centre.
A couple of centuries later, 'The Canterbury Tales', the story of pilgrims travelling to Thomas's shrine, became a masterpiece of early English.
A couple of centuries later, 'The Canterbury Tales', the story of pilgrims travelling to Thomas's shrine, became a masterpiece of early English.
So that's the tale of Thomas Becket. Bit of a refresher, for those of us it has been a long time since we learned about him in history class! FIN. 
