HST2041 - Murder in the Cathedral: The Beckett Affair

HST2041: Murder in the Cathedral: The Becket Affair

20 credits (Semester 1)

Module Leader: Dr Danica Summerlin (2024-25)

Module Summary

On 29 December 1170, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was brutally murdered in his cathedral by four knights of his King and one-time friend, Henry II. Born into a tradesman’s family in London, Becket ended his life as theoretically the most powerful cleric in England, and one of the most powerful men in the kingdom. Clever and ambitious, he was one of Henry II’s chief advisors, appointed in 1162 to the critical link between the King and the Church as a sign of royal favour. At a time when religious and political elites overlapped, Becket’s role was to support Henry’s policies and act as a bridge between the ruler and the sometimes recalcitrant bishops who acted as spiritual guides for the population. Instead, he underwent a Pauline conversion, becoming the Church’s ardent defender and a consistent and vocal critique of Henry’s politics and policies. In the space of ten years, a close friendship had been ruined, and Thomas’ stubbornness, flight to France, and untimely death created additional tensions for the English king.

This document option investigates events surrounding Thomas’ death and the emergence of his cult. It asks how a minor squabble became a continent-wide cause célèbre, forcing Henry into an act of ritual humiliation to clear his name while ensuring that Thomas’ memory lived on. Using sources written and produced by contemporaries, we will consider the politics and religious history of England in the mid-twelfth century, asking how the needs of kingdom and religion intertwined and why the dispute escalated, before investigating how and why Henry felt so compelled to clear his name when accused of complicity in Becket’s violent and sacrilegious death. Finally, we will use a range of sources, from letters and written narratives to images of precious objects, to trace Becket’s legacy and its development from a fast-emerging religious cult to a modern mythology that has inspired the poet TS Eliot and the actor Richard Burton amongst others.

Teaching 

The module is taught via 11 weekly lecture workshops, and 11 weekly seminars

Assessment

Please see this page for assessment details: Level 2 assessment

Module Aims

• This course uses the rich source material concerning the life, death, and cult of St Thomas Becket to analyse the political, social and religious environment in England in the third quarter of the twelfth century.

• Becket’s murder in 1170 provides a single moment around which the course pivots, but students will be encouraged to ask broader questions about the relationship of church and state, the ideas underlying medieval religion and politics, and to investigate contemporary religious belief through critical engagement with a variety of sources, from hagiographical accounts of Becket’s life written shortly after his death to delicately enamelled reliquaries, and from copies of letters and laws associated with the dispute to the architectural traces of Becket’s cult in churches across Europe.

• The module will provide students with the opportunity to develop their confidence in analysis, group work, and in expressing their ideas.

• Becket was a divisive figure whose cult expanded exponentially, bearing little relationship to his import in the perception of his principle adversaries, and whose memory lives on into the present as a mythologised figure. This document option will therefore use the copious contemporary sources to develop students’ capacity to critically interrogate original source material.

Suggested Reading

• Michael Clanchy, England and its rulers, 1066-1272 (Various editions, e.g. 4th edn, London, 2014) 

• Robert Bartlett, England under the Norman and Angevin Kings (Oxford, 2000)

• David Carpenter, The Struggle for Mastery: Britain, 1066-1284 (London, 2003)

• Anne Duggan, Thomas Becket (London, 2004)

• Frank Barlow, Thomas Becket (London, 1986)

• ‘Becket’ – 1964 film, Dir. Peter Glenville. [available on the library resource ‘Box of Broadcasts’]

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the unit, a candidate will...

• Have a broad knowledge of the events of the ‘Becket Conflict’, how they reflect wider contemporary religious and political trends, and how they affected contemporary religious, diplomatic, and political events and practice.

• Be comfortable interpreting, analysing and evaluating a range of primary sources, both text and via visual sources.

• Use the sources and wider reading to demonstrate a deeper understanding of the relevant historiographical and contemporary debates concerning the personality and impact of Thomas Becket.

• Be able to construct and present reasoned arguments and have confidence critically evaluating source material and scholarly arguments and hypotheses, both orally and in writing.

• Be able to work together with others to present ideas in a structured, well-informed and sophisticated manner.