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After six years in exile in France, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was back in England and headed once more for his cathedral. His flock rejoiced at his homecoming, lining the road before him with their cloaks and crying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
A month later, the fragile peace he had reached with his rival, King Henry II, was already unraveling. It seemed inevitable that the competing authorities of church and throne would continue to clash. Becket’s excommunication of several bishops who sided with the king, along with nobles who held church lands unlawfully, made Henry and his barons furious.
Four barons decided to take action, once and for all, to rid England of this man. On Tuesday, December 29, 1170, they confronted Becket in the Archbishop’s palace and ordered him to absolve the bishops or leave the kingdom. “Never,” Thomas replied. “Once I behaved like a timid priest and left England. I have not come back in order to flee. If I am allowed to perform the duties of the priesthood in peace, I shall be glad; if not, God’s will be…
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