Cold Open

It’s spring 1153, at Malmesbury Abbey in Wiltshire, England.

20-year-old Henry Plantagenet bangs his fist against the abbey entrance and demands entry. The large, wooden door opens a crack to reveal the pale face of a monk, who pleads with Henry to guarantee the safety of the people inside. Soldiers rustle impatiently behind Henry, stepping closer to the monk.

Twelve years ago, England was plunged into a civil war, which will come to be known as The Anarchy. Henry’s mother, Matilda, claimed she was the rightful monarch and that the throne had been usurped by Henry’s uncle, Stephen. Now, Henry’s here with an army to seize Malmesbury—but the town’s men are loyal to King Stephen, and they’ve taken refuge in the abbey.

Henry ignores the monk’s pleas and pushes the door open, standing back as his soldiers charge into the abbey with swords in their hands. Henry draws his own sword and follows them into the abbey, but the men of Malmesbury are unarmed and offer no threat. The two groups eye each other warily…

…until the tension is broken by one of Henry’s soldiers, who steps forward and plunges his sword into the chest of a nearby townsman.

The killing begins a mass slaughter as Henry’s soldiers attack the townsfolk. Even the monks who enter the fray and beg for mercy are killed.

The last surviving men of Malmesbury try to make a desperate rush for the exit, but it’s of no use. Every last one of them are cut down by Henry's soldiers and blood covers the abbey floor.

The massacre at Malmesbury Abbey breaks a long-held convention in medieval warfare: that the consecrated ground of a church should not be the location of violence. The brutality of Henry’s troops will horrify England’s clergy—but it will not prevent Henry ascending to the throne as the country’s next king.

And as king, Henry will once again become embroiled in a killing on church property. Seventeen years after the massacre in Malmesbury, Henry will be forced to defend his reputation after four knights claim to be acting on royal orders when they kill Archbishop Thomas Becket in his own cathedral on December 29th, 1170.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is December 29th, 1170: The Brutal Killing of Thomas Becket Shocks England.

Act One

It’s December 19th, 1154, at Westminster Abbey in London, eighteen months after the massacre at Malmesbury Abbey.

Henry Plantagenet sits on a throne in full view of the English nobility and clergy. He raises his chin slightly as Theobald of Bec, the Archbishop of Canterbury, approaches holding the English crown. With great reverence, Archbishop Theobald lowers the crown onto Henry’s head. The culmination of a ceremony that formalizes Henry as the new King of England.

Henry’s coronation marks the end of the civil war between his mother and uncle. One year ago, in response to the slaughter at Malmesbury Abbey, Archbishop Theobald persuaded both sides to negotiate an end to the fighting.

During these talks, 34-year-old archdeacon Thomas Becket steered the warring factions to a compromise. Under Thomas’s direction, Henry’s mother, Matilda, and his uncle, Stephen, struck a deal: Matilda would renounce her claim and Stephen would remain king in his lifetime. But Stephen would not be succeeded by his own son. Instead, the next king would be Matilda’s son, Henry.

And two months ago, the wheels of succession started to turn. King Stephen suddenly died—and in accordance with the deal that ended the civil war, Henry Plantagenet is now King Henry II. But not everyone is happy with their new ruler.

After the coronation is completed, Henry summons the nobility and insists that they swear allegiance to him. Henry is aware that many would prefer Stephen’s son to be the new king, and he wants to make sure they don’t turn against him.

If too many nobles break their oaths and back a rival, Henry could be deposed and even killed. If his reign is going to last, Henry must therefore keep the nobility on his side—and the best way to do that is to prove himself a popular and capable ruler by rebuilding the country after 15 years of fighting.

To achieve his aim, Henry gathers the most capable advisers he can find. Nobody comes more highly recommended than Thomas Becket, the church administrator who aided the peace talks that ended the civil war. Eager to involve the archdeacon in his new regime, Henry summons Thomas and appoints him as Lord Chancellor—the highest-ranking official in the king’s government.

Immediately upon receiving his new role, Thomas sets to work reasserting the authority of the king and returning the English economy to prosperity. During The Anarchy, many nobles constructed castles to protect their land. Thomas insists that these unauthorized structures are demolished to prevent any individual noble from becoming a threat. Thomas then re-establishes bureaucratic systems that broke apart during the civil war, and he appoints new local officials to oversee his interests. Law courts hear cases about areas of land that were fought over during the civil war. And with the ownership of property settled, Henry’s officials collect taxes from the rightful owners. The church is also ordered to resume paying the duties and taxes it owes the king.

And within a few years, Henry’s position on the throne is secure. His government functions smoothly and his treasury is growing. Neither Stephen’s son nor any other rival dares challenge Henry. And Thomas—the man responsible for rebuilding England—is no longer just Henry’s subject. He’s also Henry’s friend. Thomas travels with the king on his journeys around England and becomes the monarch’s most trusted adviser and confidante. But after five years as Lord Chancellor, Thomas’s role changes.

In April 1161, King Henry receives word that Archbishop of Canterbury Theobald of Bec has died. Although Henry mourns the loss of England’s premier clergyman, he also recognizes that Theobald’s death is an opportunity to increase royal influence in the church.

For hundreds of years, English kings have had a complicated relationship with the church. As a crowned monarch, the Kings of England expected the church to be subservient to them. But the English clergy did not answer only to the king—they also served the pope, God’s representative of the church on Earth. On occasions when the wishes of the king and the pope came into conflict, a power struggle often followed. Now, Henry wants to alter this balance of power to give the crown primacy over the church.

After Theobald’s funeral, Henry nominates Thomas to be the new Archbishop of Canterbury. Henry assumes that Thomas will serve Henry’s royal interests as head of the church in England, just as he did when he was Lord Chancellor. But Henry misjudges the character of his friend and ally.

Thomas will take the role of Archbishop of Canterbury seriously, and his loyalty will be to God and the Pope—not to King Henry. As Thomas and Henry clash over differing priorities, their relationship will turn into a rivalry, pitting them against each other in a conflict that will threaten to return England to turmoil.

Act Two

It’s October 8th, 1164, at Northampton Castle, two years after Thomas Becket was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury.

Thomas enters a large chamber and bows to King Henry II. The king responds only with a dark stare. Disconcerted with Henry’s reaction, Thomas takes a seat along several nobles. But they all shuffle away from him. All of a sudden, Thomas feels ominously isolated and fearful of what’s about to happen in this royal council.

For the past two years, Thomas has acted against the king’s wishes. Much to Henry’s disdain, Thomas has enthusiastically championed the independence of the church, and Henry’s patience is wearing thin.

Ten months ago, Henry called together the senior English clergy and had them agree to the Constitutions of Clarendon—a set of edicts that reduced the rights of the church and increased the king’s authority over the clergy. But Thomas refused to agree to the edicts and accused the king of undermining the autonomy of the church. Thomas suspects that today’s council is the king’s latest attempt to pressure him into submission.

As Thomas waits in silence, a royal official rises and declares that an investigation has uncovered evidence of crimes that Thomas committed when he was Lord Chancellor. As a result, Thomas is charged with embezzling money from the royal treasury. The seriousness of the allegations shock Thomas. If he’s found guilty, the punishment could be death.

Sure of his innocence, Thomas suspects that the charges are an attempt to intimidate him to agree to the Constitutions of Clarendon. But he refuses to back down and compromise his principles. The king insists that Thomas goes to trial—and when he does the jury finds him guilty.

Thomas is ordered to remain in Northampton, where his punishment is decided. But he has no intention of letting the king decide his fate. Instead, Thomas escapes the castle in disguise and flees abroad, seeking sanctuary in a French abbey. Unable to punish Thomas, King Henry harasses Thomas’s allies in England instead, seizing their property and imposing punitive fines on them. Thomas responds by threatening to excommunicate the king and his supporters.

Only after four years and the arbitration of the Pope is this quarrel between King Henry and Archbishop Thomas resolved. Thomas returns to England and is pardoned of the trumped-up charges. He and Henry have an emotional reconciliation at a private meeting, and the former friends propose to work together in the future.

But this new harmony doesn’t last long. Henry and Thomas soon fall out again over the coronation of Henry’s son, who was crowned as co-ruler and heir in a ceremony conducted by the Archbishop of York. The privilege of crowning an English monarch is reserved only for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas is so angered by the slight on his authority that he excommunicates the Archbishop of York and two other bishops involved in the coronation.

When news of this action reaches Henry, the exasperated king criticizes Thomas aloud for breaking his word and continuing to spoil the relationship between crown and church. But unknown to Henry, four of his knights overhear his rebukes—and they interpret the king’s words as a desire that Thomas be killed.

A few days later, on December 29th, 1170, these four knights barge into Canterbury Cathedral and confront Thomas. After exchanging angry words, the knights leave uttering loud threats. Fearing for the safety of their archbishop, the monks who live in the cathedral cloisters try to lock the door, less the knights return, but Thomas insists that they do not bar entry to a house of prayer.

A few minutes later, the knights do return with swords drawn. They try to drag Thomas out of the cathedral by force, but Thomas clings to a stone pillar. Frustrated, the knights attack Thomas with their swords inside the cathedral. They hack at him as he falls to the floor, severing the top of his head. Even though the wound is clearly fatal, one of the knights then uses the point of his sword to scatter the archbishop’s brain across the cathedral floor.

The brutality of Thomas’s murder—and the fact that it occurred within the consecrated ground of Canterbury Cathedral—will send shockwaves throughout England. The four knights will be excommunicated by the Pope. Thomas will be turned into a martyr of the church, and his tomb will become a destination for pilgrims who want to pray before the body of a man who is acclaimed as a saint by the church. Meanwhile, King Henry will be forced to defend himself against allegations that he caused the death of the archbishop. And despite his best efforts, the king’s royal authority will crumble.

Act Three

It’s July 12th, 1174, in Canterbury Cathedral, three years after the murder of Thomas Becket.

A large wooden door swings open to admit a middle-aged man dressed in a simple robe. He limps barefoot through the entrance, leaving bloody footprints on the stone floor. The monks of Canterbury Cathedral are used to worshippers traveling to pray at the tomb of their martyred archbishop, but this is no ordinary pilgrim. It’s King Henry II himself, and the soles of his feet are cut and torn after a humiliating three-mile trek through the streets of Canterbury.

Since Thomas was killed, Henry has lost his grip on power. The King of Scotland has invaded from the north; Henry’s sons and wife have risen in rebellion; and there are rumors of another invasion from the east. This twist of fate is so jarring that Henry feels he is being punished by God for his sins. So, today, he’s here to perform an extraordinary act of penance in the hope that God will forgive him, and his fortunes will turn.

Henry limps down a staircase into the cathedral crypt. There, eighty monks wait in silence. Henry removes his robe and kneels before Thomas’s tomb wearing only an undergarment. He places his forehead on the cold floor and prays.

While Henry is prostrate, a monk steps forward holding a birch rod. He swings it and strikes the king on his back. Henry grimaces but makes no sound. The monk raises his arm and swings again, then a third time, before stepping back. While Henry remains bowed, another monk steps forward to lash the king, and his brethren shuffle into an orderly line, waiting to take their turn. Each monk is authorized to deliver three lashes. The king grits his teeth as more than 200 blows land.

After this humiliating penance though, the Scottish invasion will be defeated and Henry will come to terms with his rebellious wife and sons. But the underlying tensions that caused the uprisings will remain, and Henry’s family will rise up against him a second time nine years later. Though Henry will stay on the throne and die a natural death in 1189, his reputation will never recover from the stain left after four knights claimed they were acting on his orders when they killed Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29th, 1170.

Outro

Next on History Daily. January 1st, 1892. Ellis Island opens as an immigration station, welcoming the first wave of the 12 million immigrants that will pass through its doors.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Mollie Baack. 

Music by Lindsay Graham.

This episode is written and researched by Scott Reeves.

Executive Producers are Alexandra Currie-Buckner for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.