Year 7 History Exam Revision

For people in England, there was always the real problem- do you obey the king or the pope? In fact, this was rarely a problem as both kings and popes tended to act together as both wanted to remain powerful. On this occasion they fell out - involving the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket.

     In 1162, Henry II, king of England, appointed Thomas Becket, as Archbishop of Canterbury. This was the most important religious position in England. No one was surprised by Henry’s choice as both he and Thomas were very good friends. They enjoyed hunting, playing jokes and socialising together. Becket was known to be a lover of wine and a good horse rider. Henry II loved to ride as well but his personality was troubled by his fearsome temper. He tried to keep his temper under control by working very hard as it distracted him from things that might spark his temper.

       Henry II also controlled a lot of France at this time. William the Conqueror had been his great-grandfather and he had inherited his French territories as a result of this. When Henry was in France sorting out problems there, he left Becket in charge of England - such was his trust in him. Becket became Henry’s chancellor - the most important position in England after the king. When the Archbishop of Canterbury died in 1162, Henry saw the chance to give his close friend even more power by appointing him Archbishop of Canterbury - the most important church position in England. Why would Henry do this?

       In Henry’s reign, the Church had its own courts and any member of the Church could decide to be tried in a Church court rather than a royal court. Church courts usually gave out easier punishments to churchmen who had done wrong. Henry believed that this undermined his authority. As king, he was concerned that England was becoming too lawless - there was too much crime. He believed that Church courts did not set a good example as they were too soft on offenders. For example, a royal court would blind or cut off the hand of a thief; a Church court might send a thief on a pilgrimage.

     Henry hoped that by appointing his good friend Becket, he might have more of a say in how the Church punished offenders. He hoped that Becket would do as he wished and toughen up the sentences passed out by Church courts. Becket did not want the job. As chancellor, he was as powerful as he wished to be. He also had an excellent relationship with Henry, and he did not want to spoil this. In fact, on being offered the post, Becket wrote to Henry that "our friendship will turn to hate." However, Henry persuaded Becket and he agreed in 1162 to the appointment. His letter was indeed to become prophetic.

     The post of Archbishop changed Becket. He dropped his luxurious lifestyle; he ate bread and drank water, he had a luxury bed but preferred to sleep on the floor; he wore the rich clothes of an archbishop, but underneath the fine tunics he wore a horse hair shirt - very itchy and unpleasant to wear. He gave his expensive food to the poor.

    In 1164, the first sign of a split between Henry and Thomas occurred. The Constitutions of Clarendon represent an attempt by Henry II to exert state control over the Church in England. During the turmoil of the Civil War the church had extended its sphere of influence, and Henry was doing his best to reverse that trend. Constitutions were composed of 16 articles, which laid out the extent of papal influence in the realm and the degree to which church members were subservient to the crown and English legal custom. The majority of the Constitution was simply a restatement of English custom and practice, but severe controversy erupted over two clauses which made "criminous clerks" (i.e. clerics accused of a crime) answerable to the legal authority of crown courts rather than ecclesiastical courts, and prevented appeals to the church in Rome without royal permission.

The church leaders in England, including Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas a Becket, reluctantly agreed to the provisions. When Pope Alexander condemned the agreement, Becket reversed his field and also condemned the Constitutions.

This led to bitter conflict between Becket and Henry and knowing of Henry’s temper, he fled abroad for his own safety. It took six years before Becket felt safe enough to return to England. However, they quickly fell out again when Becket asked the pope to excommunicate the Archbishop of York who had taken sides with the king. This was a very serious request and a very serious punishment for someone who could claim that he was only being loyal to the king.

Henry was furious when he found out what Becket had done. He is said to have shouted out "will no-one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four knights heard what Henry had shouted and took it to mean that the king wanted Becket dead. They rode to Canterbury to carry out the deed. The knights were Reginald FitzUrse, William de Tracey, Hugh de Morville and Richard le Breton. On December 29th 1170 they killed Becket in Canterbury Cathedral. After killing him, one of the knights said "Let us away. He will rise no more." Becket’s body was still on the cathedral floor when people from Canterbury came in and tore off pieces of his clothes and then dipped these pieces in his blood. They believed that they would bring them luck and keep evil away.