Becket controversy

The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel between Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England from 1163 to 1170.[1] The controversy culminated with Becket's murder in 1170,[2] and was followed by Becket's canonization in 1173 and Henry's public penance at Canterbury in July 1174.[3]

Manuscript illustration. The central man is wearing robes of blood and a mitre and is facing the seated figure on the left. The seated man is wearing a crown and robes and is gesturing at the mitred man. Behind the mitred figure are a number of standing men wearing armor and carrying weapons.
14th-century depiction of Becket with King Henry II

The dispute concerned the respective rights of crown and church. The king attempted to reassert royal prerogatives and the archbishop resisted. A significant point of contention was jurisdiction over criminal cases regarding clerics, even if only in minor orders. The matter dragged on for a number of years as both sides appealed to the pope, who attempted to bring the parties to a negotiated settlement, but to no avail. Both sides resorted to actions that escalated the dispute with the king confiscating property and the archbishop issuing excommunications.

  1. ^ Bartlett England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings pp. 401–402
  2. ^ Huscroft Ruling England pp. 140–141
  3. ^ Barlow Thomas Becket pp. 269–270