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Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/; also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London, and later Thomas à Becket;(21 December c. 1119 (or 1120) – 29 December 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II, King of England, over the rights and privileges

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Thomas Becket became a bishop of Canterbury, because he and the king had been close friend. Henry II wanted someone that he would get on well with him, because of the crown always argued with the church leaders.

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As a Canterbury bishop, Thomas changed; He started argued with the king. They disagree about how clergymen should be treated if they broken the law. The king wanted to punish them in his royal courts and Thomas said they should be punished by their own courts. The arguments got worse and worse and the bishop had to go into exile in France.

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In 1170 Becket and The King Henry II met and agreed to end the quarrel but when the Canterbury bishop returned to England, he suspended a number of clergymen who were Henry’s friends. This was the beginning of the end. On the evening of 29 December 1170 the bishop of Canterbury, was murdered by four knights.

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The Church in the middle Ages had huge power over people´s life and the Pope claimed authority over all kings and bishops. The bishops were powerful landowners who acted as the king´s advisors.

Henry II was a strong king, he wanted to reduce the power of the church .And in 1164, and he introduced the constitutions of Clarendon, this was a code of 16 rules to increase the king´s influence

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Thomas attempted to restore the confiscated lands of the church of Canterbury during the reign of Geoffrey, another problem was the strategically important castle at Tonbridge was in the possession of Roger de Clare, Earl of Hertford one of the Henry´s most influential barons. Thomas excommunicated William of Eyndford, but Henry forced the archbishop to absolve him.

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Edward recognized in the incident to another clergyman called Hugh who placed his foot on the Becket´s neck and scattered the brains across the floor. He shouted to the rest that Thomas will not be getting up again. The killers were the king´s men: Reginald Fitzuse, Hugh de Morville,Willian de Tracey and Richard Brito.

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Richard Burton's BECKET | Deus in adjutorium meum intende

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The death of Saint Thomas Becket has represented, for centuries, the struggle between temporal power and spiritual power. The Archbishop of Canterbury, canonized just three years after his death, embodies the resistance of nonviolence and the acceptance of martyrdom against the temptation of wealth and the seduction of material power. The cruelty and rusthlessness of his murder wrapped his memory in a halo of legend, his transcendence was nourished by testimonies such as his secretary and biographer Edward Grim

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Edward said that the knights tried to drag him out of the cathedral but Thomas held on to pillar. Edward was not sure whether they wanted to kill Thomas outside the cathedral or if they wanted to take him out as a prisoner. So, Edward heard that Thomas called one of the knights as Reginald a disloyal fool ,after this, Reginald raised his sword, and struck him on his head then Thomas was struck two more times and he fell. Another knight sliced off the top of the bishop´s head.

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Edward Grim was injured during the murder; he said that the monks wanted to lock the doors to stop the knights getting in but Thomas ordered that the doors should be opened and when the knights entered to the cathedral Thomas did not run from them. They demanded him to stop punishing the bishops who were friends of the King. Thomas refused it. The knights threatened to kill him but Thomas replied that he was ready to die.

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"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” Matthew 6,24