THOMAS BECKET
(c. 1118-1170), by his contemporaries more
commonly called Thomas of London, English chancellor and archbishop of
Canterbury under Henry II., was born about the year 1118 in London. His
mother was a native of Caen; his father, who came of a family of small
Norman landowners, had been a citizen of Rouen, but migrated to London
before the birth of Thomas, and held at one time the dignified office of
portreeve, although he ended his life in straitened circumstances. The
young Thomas received an excellent education. At the age of ten he was
put to school with the canons of Merton priory in Surrey. Later he spent
some time in the schools of London, which enjoyed at that time a high
reputation, and finally studied theology at Paris. Returning at the age
of twenty-two he was compelled, through the misfortunes of his parents,
to become a notary in the service of a wealthy kinsman, Osbert Huit
Deniers, who was of some importance in London politics. About 1142 a
family friend brought Thomas under the notice of Archbishop Theobald, of
whose household he at once became an inmate. He accompanied the primate
to Rome in 1143, and also to the council of Reims (1148), which
Theobald attended in defiance of a prohibition from the king. It appears
to have been at some time between the dates of these two journeys that
he visited Bologna and Auxerre, and began those studies in the canon law
to which he was in no small degree indebted for his subsequent
advancement and misfortunes. Although the bent of his mind was legal, he
never made himself an expert jurist; but he had the art of turning his
knowledge, such as it was, to excellent account. In rip he was sent to
Rome by the archbishop with instructions to dissuade the Curia from
sanctioning the coronation of Stephen's eldest son Eustace. It is said
that Thomas distinguished himself by the ability with which he executed
his commission; in any case it gave him a claim on the gratitude of the
Angevin party which was not forgotten. In 1154 he was promoted to be
archdeacon of Canterbury, after first taking deacon's orders. In the
following year Henry II., at the primate's recommendation, bestowed on
him the important office of chancellor. In this capacity Thomas
controlled the issue of royal writs and the distribution of
ecclesiastical patronage; but it was more important for his future that
he had ample opportunities of exercising his personal fascination upon a
prince who was comparatively inexperienced, and thirteen or fourteen
years his junior. He became Henry's bosom friend and was consulted in
all affairs of state. It had been the hope of Theobald that Becket's
influence would be exercised to support the extensive privileges which
the Church had wrested from Stephen. But the chancellor, although
preserving friendly relations with his old patron, subordinated the
interests of the Church to those of his new master. Under his
administration the Church was severely taxed for the prosecution of
Henry's foreign wars; and the chancellor incurred the reproach " of
plunging his sword into the bowels of his mother." Like Wolsey he
identified himself with the military aspirations of his sovereign. It
was Thomas who organized the Toulouse campaign of 1159; even in the
field he made himself conspicuous by commanding a company of knights,
directing the work of devastation, and superintending the conduct of the
war after the king had withdrawn his presence from the camp. When there
was war with France upon the Norman border, the chancellor acted as
Henry's representative; and on one occasion engaged in single combat and
unhorsed a French knight of reputation. Later it fell to his part to
arrange the terms of peace with France. He discharged the duties of an
envoy with equal magnificence and dexterity; the treaty of May 1160,
which put an end to the war, was of his making.
Continued on page two.
This article is from the 1911 edition of an
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