Biography

Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury during the reign of King Henry II. He was born to Norman parents in London, and worked his way through the ranks of the Catholic Church before becoming elected to the position of Archbishop by the King. The two had a strained relationship due to Thomas's rejection of secular law and power in favor of the church. A legendary misunderstanding led to the murder of Thomas Becket, in which four knights of King Henry believed he wanted the Archbishop assassinated. He became a Saint and a martyr in the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. WHS mentions wishing that he could visit the cathedral in France that Becket was exiled to in a letter from 1859 addressed to FMS.