Becket, Thomas a

bek'et, Thomas a (1117-1170), Archbishop of Canterbury. He was educated at Oxford, London, and Paris. In the service of King Henry II, he rose from poverty to be lord high chancellor and the king's favorite adviser in war as well as in peace. Henry had him appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, expecting in all controversies with the church to have Becket on his side. Becket was no sooner confirmed as archbishop, however, than he abandoned his frivolity and riotous living, and became the most decorous of prelates, zealous for the dignity of the church. He was soon engaged in a quarrel with the king, relative to certain privileges of the clergy, and the wicked doings of some of the nobility whom Becket proceeded to excommunicate. The trouble between Henry and his archbishop rose to such a pitch that the exasperated monarch is said to have exclaimed, "Have I not about me one man of spirit enough to rid me of a single insolent prelate?" Three of his followers took the hint and repaired to Canterbury, where they slew Becket at the foot of the altar. The pope took up the matter. King Henry was required to do penance at the saint's tomb. The populace regarded Becket as a hero, a friend of the common people, and a martyr. Pilgrimages to Canterbury to the shrine of so holy a person were quite the fashion and are described in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. See Canterbury