29 DECEMBER 1170: Thomas Becket is murdered in Canterbury

Knights loyal to Henry II rid him of the “low-born cleric”

- DANNY BIRD

The chanting of vespers had barely begun when four knights clattered into Canterbury Cathedral, swords unsheathed. “Where is Thomas Becket, traitor to the king and the kingdom?” they cried. There he stood, defenceless.

The cleric, once Henry II's trusted lord chancellor, had become archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, devoting himself to defending the church's independence. Accused of corruption and contempt for the king, in 1164 Becket fled to France, where he was protected by Louis VII. Finally, Pope Alexander III brokered a reconciliation, and Becket returned to England in late 1170 - though not before performing an act that reignited the feud.