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MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL! KING HENRY II AND THOMAS BECKET

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"My name is Edward Grim, a priest and I was a witness of Thomas Becket's murder.
On the day of the murder, I was visiting the cathedral I heard that some monks tried to persuade Thomas to bar the doors of the cathedral as protection against the attack that they expected but Becket refused.
I was the only person who stayed with Thomas throughout his last moments.
Four armed knights strode into the cathedral demanded to know where they could find Becket, at which the archbishop refused to stay hidden and stepped forward to meet the knights.
They demanded that he absolved those people whom he had excommunicated, but he refused to do so.
Knights attacked Becket, the first sword blow cut off the top of the Becket’s head and also cut off my arm because I was trying to protect him, another blow injured my arm so severely that I was forced to let go, after which I could only watch as further blows rained down on Becket".

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"My name is Gervase of Canterbury, a monk. I was also a witness of Thomas Becket’'s murder. On the day of the murder, many of the monks including me, had received information about a threat  received by Becket. It was known that knights called Reginald Fitzurse, Huge The Movilier, William The Tracey and Richard Brito were coming in order to confront him. Due to that warning, we asked Becket  for going away as far as possible, with our eyes full of tears. However, he refused to go and told us he was ready to confront the knights so he decided to leave the doors of the cathedral  opened. When the knights arrived, they treated the archbishop with violence, they were armed with swords, hatchets and an axe. After obliging Becket to leave the cathedral and realizing that he would avoid it, the knights inflicted several wounds, they tortured him to death. Finally, they escaped shouting out loud that they were king’s knights and that Thomas Becket was dead".

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Place of murder: Canterbury church

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REPORT ABOUT THOMAS BECKET’S MURDER AND ITS RELATION WITH HENRY II BLAME

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REPORT ABOUT THOMAS BECKET’S MURDER AND ITS RELATION WITH HENRY II BLAME

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We are going to talk about the murder of Thomas A. Becket, a well known archbishop whose decision to face the warnings of being killed lead him to death. The purpose of this report is to determine Henry II’s blame for the murder of the Archbishop. In order to find the correct answer we will take into account the information provided by two witnesses at the time of the murder and historic facts which clarify that terrible tragedy.

Information provided by the witnesses

The first witness was called Edward Grim. He was a priest who had arrived in that place on december, 29th. He heard by chance that some monks were trying to persuade the archbishop to bar the doors of the Catedral in order to avoid an oncoming attack. When he was inside the Cathedral  four knights demanded the presence of Thomas Becket. They requested Thomas for absolving those people whom he had excommunicated. However, he stood still and refused to do so. Due to his action, Becket was injured and also Edward, who tried to protect him. After being forced to go, Edward was able to see how the knights made many blows on Becket’s head.

The second fitness was Gervase of Canterbury. He was a monk who belonged to that cathedral. He had information about the threat of death related to Becket’s life. Not only Gervase but also the rest of the monks which worked with Becket, tried to persuade him to escape from the attack. Therefore, Becket decided to stay. The tragedy began as soon as four knights identified as: Reginald Fitzurse, Huge The Movilier, William The Tracey and Richard Brito went to confront the archbishop, who received them  without any kind of violence. They were armed with swords, hatchets and an axe. Becket spoke to them peacefully but they started attacking him and also causing wounds that lead him to death.

Neither Edward Grim nor Gervase of Canterbury mentioned explicitly any type of connection with Thomas Becket’s murder and King Henry II revenge.

History facts

The data gathered from those times reflected that Thomas Becket and Henry II were close friends for a long time before Becket took his religious role and Henry was a king. They respected each other. It is not a coincidence  that Henry II had chosen him as a new archbishop. Becket's administrative skills, his charm, intelligence and diplomacy propelled him forward that charge, although he was not an ecclesiastic. Henry’s idea was to control the church by the realm, he believed that he could easily impose his will upon this powerful religious institution. However, he was sadly mistaken. Becket got deeply involved in his role and advocated to the church and its administrative organization. This decision led him to trouble with his friend and king Henry II. It created a distance between them. Of course Henry II still appreciated him as a friend and he was unable to murder him. However, in an act of rage, on Christmas Day, he shouted out loud in front of his court "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?". Obviously, his knights were present and some of them considered his saying as a will. After his knights complied with such demand four days later, Henry became unnerved with them. He had not intended to kill his friend. Due to that, he had to follow a process of repentance in order to show his regret because of the incidental damage he had caused. In an act of penance, the king donned a sack-cloth walking barefoot through the streets of Canterbury while eighty monks flogged him with branches. Henry II capped his atonement by spending the night in the martyr's crypt.

Conclusion

The consider that King Henry II never thought of murdering his close friend Thomas A. Becket. Although he was not guilty, he was responsible for not measuring the nefast consequences that his words could produce.