Thomas Becket Research Paper

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Thomas Becket Thomas Becket was born in the year 1120. Well educated, he was the son of a merchant ("Thomas Becket(c. 1120 - 1170)"). He went to school in Paris and went from there to England. While he was in England, he was in the house of Theobold, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He excelled in his status in the house, soon becoming Archdeacon of Canterbury. In 1154, Becket 's life would be changed, that was the year Theobold introduced him (Becket) to King Henry ll ("The Murder of Thomas Becket, 1170"). The pair became cordial almost immediately. They shared common views and grew fond of each other; Henry soon declared Becket his Chancellor. The two had such a close bond that when Theobold died in 1161, King Henry ll devised a plan to make Becket the new Archbishop of Canterbury. The only problem was that he (Becket) was busy at court and was never ordained. To fix the problem, he (Becket) was first made a priest; the following day Becket was ordained as Bishop, and that afternoon he was finally announced Archbishop of Canterbury ("The Murder of Thomas Becket, 1170"). As Becket was Archbishop, he became very concerned with his new role in society. He was became very religious and he stood up for the church as opposed to …show more content…

Thus, he went to France, where he stayed for the next six years of his life. In 1170, it seemed that the two had resolved their differences when they met eachpther in Normandy. Although, there the Archbishop "cut off ties" with the Bishops of London and Salisbury for their support behind the king. The news of this event infuriated King Henry, saying something along the lines of how he wished someone would rid him of this meddlesome priest, ("The Murder of Thomas Becket,1170"). Disturbed by the annoyance of the king, four knights from his court set out to seek justice for their king. They looked for the Archbishop and one day, on December 29, 1170, the Knights found