Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket (c. 1118 – December 29, 1170) was a prominent English cleric, serving first as Chancellor to King Henry II and later as Archbishop of Canterbury. Initially a close confidant of the King and a staunch supporter of his policies, he transformed into a fervent defender of the rights and liberties of the Church upon his appointment as archbishop. This shift in loyalty led to a direct conflict with Henry II, who sought to assert royal authority over the clergy. The climax of their dispute was Becket's refusal to submit to the Constitutions of Clarendon. Exiled for seven years, he returned to England but the conflict persisted. He was brutally murdered in his own Canterbury Cathedral by knights loyal to the king, an act that shocked Christian Europe. Rapidly canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1173, he became a revered martyr saint, and his tomb at Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site until its destruction under Henry VIII.