Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury
martyred 1170
Below are some excellent selected TEXT/Sites concerning Thomas Becket and his murder.
http://www.loyno.edu/~letchie/becket/texts.htm
http://www.ibiscom.com/becket.htm
http://www.digiserve.com/peter/becket.htm
"Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered on December 29, 1170 in Canterbury Cathedral. Although the great struggles of Church and State in the middle ages were played out between the pope and German emperors, or the popes and French kings, the conflict between Henry II and Becket is a witness of the widespread and localized impact of the conflict.
The murder of Becket has been the subject of much discussion. W.L. Warren in Henry II (Berkeley: 1973) held that Becket welcomed martyrdom, and could have escaped if he had wanted. Once dead, Becket was hailed as a saint, and his shrine became one of the most celebrated pilgrimage sites of western Europe, and the destination of Geoffrey Chaucer's pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales....."
(click below site for complete reading)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/grim-becket.html
MURDER IN THE CATHEDRAL: by T.S.Eliot carries a very spiritual element that one won't forget.
I think the last sermon given by Becket on Christmas morning before he was martyred, is THE single and most powerful piece within the poem/play. Give that portion alone a read if you don't read anything else.
