Thomas Beckett

Saint Thomas à Becket (1118-1170) served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170. His primacy overlapped with the kingship of Henry II. Though he had been a political ally of Henry before becoming Archbishop, he is best remembered for opposing, in his capacity as the Church's primate in England, the king's attempts to curb the rights and privileges of the Church in England and bring the nation's religious institution under state control. Henry and Thomas developed a very antagonistic relationship: Henry brought serious criminal charges against Beckett, which forced the archbishop to go into exile in continental Europe for six years. While in exile, the archbishop lobbied the Pope to excommunicate Henry and interdict his considerable territories.

In 1170, the Pope appeared to be on the verge of granting Beckett's requests, and Henry capitulated to avoid excommunication. He allowed Beckett to return to England and resume his duties as primate of that kingdom. However, he soon angered the king once again when he began purging the English clergy of his political and ecclesial opponents, including three bishops who had participated in the coronation of Henry the Young King. On hearing of this, Henry II complained about Beckett to his feudal retainers, making it clear that he wanted Beckett dead without giving explicit instructions to that effect. Most often, he is quoted as having said "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" (In fact, Henry's words were most likely closer to "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric!"

At any rate, Henry's followers interpreted his words as instructions to assassinate the archbishop. They did so on December 29, 1170. Beckett was recognized as a martyr and was canonized by Pope Alexander III very soon after his death.

Literary Comment
While neither Henry nor Thomas Beckett are characters in any Turtledove work, Henry's lament and its connection to Beckett's murder are frequently mentioned in Turtledove's work.

For example, in Ruled Britannia, Richard Burbage evokes Henry II's plaintive cry when he learns that prompter Geoffrey Martin has been found murdered. When William Shakespeare emphatically denies murdering Martin, Burbage points out that Henry had not directly particpated in Beckett's murder, his words had instigated the murder, much as Shakespeare's had instigated Martin's death. It is also invoked by Abner Dowling in an attempt to talk sense into George Custer during the Great War in Breakthroughs. The obscure pearl of wisdom was completely lost on Custer, if not on most of the readers as well.