In
about 575 a monk called Gregory
saw
some young men in the Rome slave-market. He spoke to them and discovered
that these men were from England. After talking to these slaves he
was shocked to discover that there were very few Christians living
in England. Gregory was determined to change this situation and when
he became Pope he sent his friend Augustine and forty monks to England
to convert the inhabitants to Christianity.
Augustine
arrived in England in 596. He made his way to Canterbury, the home
of King Ethelbert. Within a few weeks Augustine had converted Ethelbert
and most of his household to Christianity. Pleased by his success,
the following year Pope Gregory appointed Augustine as Bishop of Canterbury,
and Archbishop of the English people.
William
the Conqueror
was a devout Christian. After he conquered the country he did what
he could to spread the Christian religion in England. William accepted
that the Archbishop of Canterbury was the leader of the Christian
Church in England, but was determined that this post should come under
his control.
In
1070 Lanfranc,
a monk from Caen in Normandy, and one of William's friends, replaced
Stigand
as
Archbishop of Canterbury. Over the next few years he rebuilt Canterbury
Cathedral on the model of St. Stephen's in Caen.
Lanfranc
was unimpressed with the quality of the English clergy and during
William's reign supported his policy of promoting foreigners to high
office in the Church. Lanfranc also ordered that in future no married
man was to be ordained as a priest. However, he allowed existing priests
to keep their wives.
When Henry
II became king
in 1154, he asked Archbishop Theobald for advice on choosing his government
ministers. On the suggestion of Theobald, Henry appointed Thomas Becket
as his chancellor. Becket's job was an important one as it involved
the distribution of royal charters, writs and letters. The king and
Becket soon became close friends. Becket carried out many tasks for
Henry II including leading the English army into battle.
In 1162, Henry
II chose Thomas
Becket
as his next Archbishop of
Canterbury. The decision angered many leading churchmen. They pointed
out that Becket had never been a priest, had a reputation as a cruel
military commander and was very materialistic (Becket loved expensive
food, wine and clothes). They also feared that as Becket was a close
friend of Henry II, he
would not be an independent leader of the church.
After being appointed
Thomas Becket began to show a concern for the poor. Every morning
thirteen poor people were brought to his home. After washing their
feet Becket served them a meal. He also gave each one of them
four silver pennies.
Instead of wearing expensive
clothes, Becket now wore a simple monastic habit. As a penance (punishment
for previous sins) he slept on a cold stone floor, wore a tight-fitting
hairshirt that was infested with fleas and was scourged (whipped)
daily by his monks.
In 1163, after a long spell
in France, Henry
II arrived back
in England. Henry was told that, while he had been away, there had
been a dramatic increase in serious crime. The king's officials claimed
that over a hundred murderers had escaped their proper punishment
because they had claimed their right to be tried in church courts.
Those that had sought the
privilege of a trial in a Church court were not exclusively clergymen.
Any man who had been trained by the church could choose to be tried
by a church court. Even clerks who had been taught to read and write
by the Church but had not gone on to become priests had a right to
a Church court trial. This was to an offender's advantage, as church
courts could not impose punishments that involved violence such as
execution or mutilation. There were several examples of clergy found
guilty of murder
or robbery who only received "spiritual" punishments, such
as suspension from
office or banishment from the altar.
The king decided that
clergymen found guilty of serious crimes should be
handed over to his courts. At first, the Archbishop agreed with Henry
on this issue but
after talking to other church leaders Thomas
Becket
changed his mind. Henry
was furious when Becket began to assert that the church should retain
control of punishing its own clergy. The king believed that Becket
had betrayed him
and was determined to obtain revenge.
In 1164, the Archbishop
of Canterbury was involved in a dispute over land.
Henry ordered Becket to appear before his courts. When Becket refused,
the king confiscated his property. Henry also claimed that Becket
had stolen £300
from government funds when he had been Chancellor. Becket denied the
charge but, so that the matter could be settled quickly, he offered
to repay the money. Henry refused to accept Becket's offer and insisted
that the Archbishop should stand trial. When Henry mentioned other
charges, including treason, Becket decided to run away to France.
The
Normans: Classroom Activities
(1)
Bede,
A History of the English Church and People (731)
Gregory saw some boys in Rome for sale, with fair complexions,
fine-cut features,
and beautiful hair. He enquired from what country they came. "They
come from the island of Britain, where all the people have this complexion."
He then asked whether the islanders were Christians, or whether
they were still ignorant heathens. "They are pagans." "Alas",
said Gregory: "how
sad that such bright-faced folk are still in the grasp of the author
of darkness. What is the name of this race?" "They are called
Angles." "That
is appropriate," said Gregory, "for they have angelic faces."
(2)
William
FitzStephen, The Life of Thomas
Becket (c. 1190)
Clad in a hair-shirt of the roughest kind
which reached to his knees and swarmed with vermin, he punished his
flesh with the sparest diet, and his main drink was water... He often
exposed his naked back to the lash.
(3)
William
FitzStephen, The Life of Thomas
Becket (c. 1190)
One day they (King Henry II and Thomas Becket)
were riding together through the streets of London. It was a hard
winter and the king noticed an old man coming towards them, poor and
clad in a thin and ragged coat. "Do you see that man? ... How
poor he is, how frail, and how scantily clad!" said the king.
'"Would it not be an act of charity to give him a thick warm
cloak." "It would indeed... my king." Meanwhile the
poor man drew near; the king stopped, and the chancellor with him.
The king greeted him pleasantly and asked him if he would like a good
cloak... The king said to the chancellor,
"You shall have the credit for this act of charity," and
laying hands on the chancellor's hood tried to pull off his cape,
a new and very good one of scarlet and grey, which he was unwilling
to part with... both of them had their hands fully occupied, and more
than once seemed likely to fall off their horses. At last the chancellor
reluctantly allowed the king to overcome him. The king then
explained what had happened to his attendants. They all laughed loudly.
(4)
Thomas Becket in conversation with Herbert of Bosham, quoted in Herbert
Bosham's Life of Thomas Becket (c. 1188)
Herbert, I want you to tell me what people
are saying about me. And if you see anything in me that you regard
as a fault, feel free to tell me in private. For from now on people
will talk about me, but not to me. It is dangerous to men in power
if no one dares to tell them when they go wrong.
(5)
Thomas
Becket
in a letter to Henry
II (1166)
There are two principles by which the world is ruled: the
authority of priests and the royal power. The authority of priests
is the greater because God will demand an accounting of them even
in regard to kings.
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