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 starter activity
Listen to the
account of a
murder. How
similar is this
fifteenth century
image to the
original 12th
century account?
Who was responsible
for Becket’s death?
 Aims
To analyse reasons for differing accounts of
Becket’s death
To study the key events leading to his murder
To produce an account of the death from a
biased perspective
Henry & Becket as friends
Henry & Becket as friends



1154 Henry becomes king
Becket becomes chancellor (chief adviser)
Work together to ensure country is run well and barons
administer justice fairly
Church courts
Church courts

Church courts were being lenient towards priests and
monks
Becket becomes archbishop
Becket becomes Archbishop



Henry appoints Becket as Archbishop of Canterbury in
1161
Becket goes through a character transformation
He becomes pious and takes the job very seriously!
Constitutions of Clarendon
Constitutions of Clarendon



Henry passes a law, Constitutions of Clarendon in 1164
Church court cases must now be held in king’s courts
Becket agrees, but then changes his mind
Becket flees the country
Becket flees the country



Realizing he is danger, Becket flees England
Seeks exile at Pontigny Abbey, France
Henry is furious!
Coronation of Henry’s son
Coronation of Henry’s son



Henry asks Archbishop of York to crown his son
This was Becket’s job
Becket is furious!
Reconciliation
Reconciliation



Becket & Henry meet in France in July 1170
Becket returns to England
Henry remains in Normandy to deal with matters in his
lands
Becket breaks Henry’s trust
Becket breaks Henry’s trust


Within days of his return, Becket excommunicates all
barons & bishops who had supported Henry
Asks Pope to punish the Archbishop of York
Henry loses his patience
Henry loses his patience


One bishop tells Henry, “While Thomas lives, you will
not have peace and quiet, nor see good days”
Henry cries out “Are you all cowards? Will no one rid
me of this troublesome priest?”
Four knights overhear Henry
Four knights overhear Henry


Four knights, led by Reginald FitzUrse decide to speak
to Becket on Henry’s behalf
Henry sent a messenger, but he was too late!
 Your task
Role cards
Learn about the stormy relationship of Becket
and Henry II. Work in groups of 4 or 5
maximum to recreate the events of their
relationship using tableaux.
You have 10 minutes to prepare and then you
will perform your tableaux to the class and they
must guess which part of the story is being
represented.