Thomas Becket was making his way slowly towards the High Altar, or perhaps towards St Augustine's Chair in which he had been consecrated Archbishop some 8 years earlier.
The Archbishop knew he was being followed by his attackers and he knew he was about to be killed. He calmly reached the transept containing the altar of St Benedict where the knights and the clergyman with them attempted to drag him from the cathedral, but he simply said: "I will not leave; here shall you work your will and obey your orders."
The knights then struck him several times with their swords (some accounts say there were four strokes to his head) and he fell first to his knees and then onto his face, his hands stretched out and joined as if praying. In this position he died, the top of his skull cut off.
When Thomas Becket came back to England, he refused to forgive the King's followers and excommunicated them (banished them from the Church).
He excommunicated them, then sent them on a pilgrimage for 14 years to the Holy Land.
Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, famously excommunicated several bishops and clergy who supported King Henry II during their conflict over the church's authority. The most notable figure he excommunicated was Bishop Roger of Essex. This act was part of Becket's broader struggle to maintain ecclesiastical independence from royal influence.
After Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170, Pope Alexander III condemned the act and excommunicated those involved in the assassination. He later canonized Becket as a saint in 1173, elevating him to martyr status and strengthening the conflict between the church and the English monarchy. The pope also encouraged the establishment of Becket's shrine in Canterbury, which became a significant pilgrimage site.
No, Thomas Becket was not a missionary.
Thomas Becket was born on December 21, 1118.
Canterbury cathedral was the location of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket.
Becket ran away to France because he excommunicated every one in the church who was loyal to Henry II.
Thomas Becket's middle name was Edward.
Thomas Becket was born on December 21, 1118.
Thomas Becket was not called Thomas à Becket during his own lifetime. He was called Thomas à Becket, by people who wrote about him much later, possibly in imitation of the name Thomas à Kempis, who was another medieval monk. Also Thomas Becket was commonly known as "Thomas à Becket", although this form seems not to have been contemporaneous, but a post-Reformation adornment, possibly in imitation ofThomas à Kempis.
Thomas Becket was born in Cheapside, London around 1118