November 30, 1170 - Thomas Becket Enters England, Assassinated Four Weeks Later

When Henry II was king of England in the 1100s, he began to limit the clergy’s power and pull away from Rome and the Pope’s influence. He held a conference known as the Constitutions of Clarendon on sixteen articles designed to enact restrictions on the church. He managed to have all of the English clergy agree except for Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket hid from King Henry in France until Becket crossed the English Channel on November 30, 1170. Four weeks later, King Henry’s men assassinated Becket. Annual pilgrimages to Becket’s grave gave rise to Chauncer’s The Canterbury Tales and an Oscar-winning movie starring Peter O’Toole and Richard Burton titled Becket.