DOCSLIB.ORG

The Matter of Jerusalem: the Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, C

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Matter of Jerusalem: the Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, C University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2015 The Matter of Jerusalem: The Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, c. 1154-1216 Katherine Lee Hodges-Kluck University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Cultural History Commons, European History Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Religion Commons, Intellectual History Commons, Islamic World and Near East History Commons, Medieval History Commons, Medieval Studies Commons, Political History Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Hodges-Kluck, Katherine Lee, "The Matter of Jerusalem: The Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, c. 1154-1216. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2015. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/3304 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Katherine Lee Hodges-Kluck entitled "The Matter of Jerusalem: The Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, c. 1154-1216." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in History. Jay C. Rubenstein, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Thomas E. Burman, Jacob A. Latham, Laura L. Howes Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) The Matter of Jerusalem: The Holy Land in Angevin Court Culture and Identity, c. 1154–1216 A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Katherine Lee Hodges-Kluck May 2015 Copyright © 2015 by Katherine Lee Hodges-Kluck All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION To Mr. John Hartman, who taught me the joy of studying history, and to Bill North and Victoria Morse, who inspired me to become a medievalist. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without a great amount of personal and institutional support. I would not have begun studying the Angevin period had it not been for the suggestion of my dissertation supervisor, Jay Rubenstein. His support, mentorship, and friendship over the years have been invaluable, and I am incredibly grateful for his unfailing guidance along the way. The insightful comments of my dissertation committee members, Thomas Burman, Laura Howes, and Jacob Latham, and of my outside reader, Nicholas Paul, have helped me grow as a scholar and have taken me down many new and rewarding intellectual paths. At my side throughout this process has been my husband, Stefan Hodges-Kluck. He has spent innumerable hours reading chapter drafts, double-checking my Latin translations, listening to me talk through ideas, and providing encouragement when I needed it. Thanks are also due to my parents, Bruce and Sue Newell, and to my sister, Ellie Newell, for their support and love. I am also indebted to my colleagues at the University of Tennessee, particularly Heather Hirschfeld and Tom Heffernan for their advocacy on my behalf; Maura Lafferty for creating a vibrant community of Latinists; Vera Pantanizopoulos-Broux, Bernie Koprince, and Joan Murray for their astute organizational skills; Lauren Whitnah for confirming a manuscript reading for me at the British Library; and my fellow graduate students for their camaraderie both in and out of class. The feedback I received from the 2013–14 and 2014–15 UT Humanities Center Fellows, as well as from the participants in the 2014 Haskins Society Conference in Northfield, MN, helped me expand my conclusions about the Angevin dynastic enterprise. Allan Sterling, Grand Master and Australian Bailiff for the Order of St Thomas of Acre, kindly sent me the Order’s preliminary newsletters. I am also grateful to Diane Reed, Church Warden for St Helen’s Parish in Co. Durham, England, for generously showing me around the church in July 2014, and to Gabriel Fidler for his assistance and company on the visit. Research for this project was supported by the Galen Broeker Fellowship from the University of Tennessee History Department and the Anne Marie Van Hook Fellowship from the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. During the writing phase of the dissertation I was supported by the Marco Institute’s 2013–14 Haslam Dissertation Fellowship and the 2014–15 Graduate Fellowship from the University of Tennessee Humanities Center. Any errors in the following work are my own. All translations are by me unless otherwise noted. iv ABSTRACT This dissertation reshapes our understanding of the mechanics of nation-building and the construction of national identities in the Middle Ages, placing medieval England in a wider European and Mediterranean context. I argue that a coherent English national identity, transcending the social and linguistic differences of the post-Norman Conquest period, took shape at the end of the twelfth century. A vital component of this process was the development of an ideology that intimately connected the geography, peoples, and mythical histories of England and the Holy Land. Proponents of this ideology envisioned England as an allegorical new Jerusalem inhabited by a chosen people, and believed that England’s twelfth-century kings were also destined to rule the terrestrial kingdom of Jerusalem in the Holy Land. Drawing upon biblical history, local legends, crusading ideology, and eschatological beliefs, twelfth-century English writers strove to associate England with the Holy Land not only through the crusade movement, but also in the greater scope of Christian and mythic history. The prime movers behind these developments were attached to the courts of the so-called Angevin kings of England— Henry II (r. 1154–89) and his sons Richard I (r. 1189–99) and John (r. 1199–1216)—who were also counts of Anjou in France (hence, Angevin). While historians have long recognized these rulers’ contributions to the development of government institutions such as the exchequer and common law, I call attention to a crucial ideological movement that underlay these bureaucratic innovations in England. Ultimately, I argue that the Angevins’ active participation in the wider political and intellectual movements of twelfth-century Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East was essential to the creation of a unified English identity. v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 The Holy Land and the Becket Affair .................................................................... 18 CHAPTER 2 England’s Kings and the Call for Crusade ........................................................... 74 CHAPTER 3 Roman Britain and the Relics of Christ .............................................................. 115 CHAPTER 4 A Bridge Perilous from Avalon to Zion .............................................................. 158 CHAPTER 5 Prophecy, Apocalypse, and the Third Crusade ............................................... 219 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 278 LIST OF REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 288 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................................................ 314 VITA ............................................................................................................................................................ 323 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Saladin captures the True Cross from King Guy ............................................ 315 Figure 2. Reliquary of the True Cross and the bones of several saints, c. 1180 ............ 315 Figure 3. Kelloe Cross cross head, St Helen’s Church .................................................. 316 Figure 4. Kelloe Cross upper panel, St Helen’s Church ................................................ 317 Figure 5. Kelloe Cross middle panel, St Helen’s Church .............................................. 318 Figure 6. Kelloe Cross lower panel, St Helen’s Church ................................................ 319 Figure 7. Constantine the Great, York Minster. ............................................................. 320 Figure 8. Marginal detail of Cambridge, Corpus Christi College MS 139, f. 175r ....... 321 Figure 9. The coronation mantle of Roger II of Sicily, c. 1134. .................................... 321 Figure 10. Joachim of Fiore’s seven-headed dragon of the Apocalypse ....................... 322 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum CTB The Correspondence of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Alpine Ice and the Annual Political Economy of the Angevin Empire, from the Death of Thomas Becket to Magna Carta, C
    Antiquity 2020 Vol. 94 (374): 473–490 https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2019.202 Research Article Alpine ice and the annual political economy of the Angevin Empire, from the death of Thomas Becket to Magna Carta, c. AD 1170–1216 Christopher P. Loveluck1,* , Alexander F. More2,3,4 , Nicole E. Spaulding3 , Heather Clifford3 , Michael J. Handley3 , Laura Hartman3, Elena V. Korotkikh3 , Andrei V. Kurbatov3 , Paul A. Mayewski3 , Sharon B. Sneed3 & Michael McCormick2 1 Department of Classics and Archaeology, University of Nottingham, UK 2 Initiative for the Science of the Human Past and Department of History, Harvard University, USA 3 Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, USA 4 School of Health Sciences, Long Island University, USA * Author for correspondence: ✉ [email protected] High-resolution analysis of the ice core from Colle Gnifetti, Switzerland, allows yearly and sub-annual measurement of pollution for the period of highest lead production in the European Middle Ages, c. AD 1170–1220. Here, the authors use atmospheric circulation analysis and other geoarchaeological records to establish that Britain was the principal source of that lead pollution. The comparison of annual lead deposition at Colle Gnifetti displays a strong similarity to trends in lead production docu- mented in the English historical accounts. This research provides unique new insight into the yearly political economy and environmental impact of the Angevin Empire of Kings Henry II, Richard the Lionheart and John. Keywords: Colle Gnifetti, Britain, Angevin, ice core, geoarchaeology, lead, silver, Pipe rolls Introduction Twenty years ago, Brännvall et al.(1999) published the first high-resolution evidence dem- onstrating that the largest-scale lead pollution in Northern Europe prior to the modern era occurred between c.
    [Show full text]
  • INFORMATION to USERS This Manuscript Has Been Reproduced
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from aiy type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photogrq>hs, print bleedthrou^ substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photogr£q)hs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for aiy photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI A Bell & Howell Information Com pany 300 North Z eeb Road. Ann Arbor. Ivll 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Order Number 9517109 Unofficial histories of France in the late Middle Ages. (Volumes I and n) Zale, Sanford C., Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three Minor Revisions
    Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1-1-2001 The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions John Donald Hosler Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Recommended Citation Hosler, John Donald, "The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions" (2001). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 21277. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/21277 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Retrospective Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The reign of King Henry II of England, 1170-74: Three minor revisions by John Donald Hosler A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major: History Major Professor: Kenneth G. Madison Iowa State University Ames~Iowa 2001 11 Graduate College Iowa State University This is to certify that the Master's thesis of John Donald Hosler has met the thesis requirements of Iowa State University Signatures have been redacted for privacy 111 The liberal arts had not disappeared, but the honours which ought to attend them were withheld Gerald ofWales, Topograhpia Cambria! (c.1187) IV TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION 1 Overview: the Reign of Henry II of England 1 Henry's Conflict with Thomas Becket CHAPTER TWO.
    [Show full text]
  • Elizabeth Thomas Phd Thesis
    'WE HAVE NOTHING MORE VALUABLE IN OUR TREASURY': ROYAL MARRIAGE IN ENGLAND, 1154-1272 Elizabeth Thomas A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2010 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2001 This item is protected by original copyright Declarations (i) I, Elizabeth Thomas, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September, 2005 and as a candidate for the degree of Ph.D. in September, 2005, the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2005 and 2009. Date: Signature of candidate: (ii) I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of supervisor: (iii) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby.
    [Show full text]
  • Late-Medieval France
    Late-Medieval France: A Nation under Construction A study of French national identity formation and the emerging of national consciousness, before and during the Hundred Years War, 1200-1453 Job van den Broek MA History of Politics and Society Dr. Christian Wicke Utrecht University 22 June 2020 Word count: 13.738 2 “Ah! Doulce France! Amie, je te lairay briefment”1 -Attributed to Bertrand du Guesclin, 1380 Images on front page: The kings of France, England, Navarre and the duke of Burgundy (as Count of Charolais), as depicted in the Grand Armorial Équestre de la Toison d’Or, 1435- 1438. 1 Cuvelier in Charrière, volume 2, pp 320. ”Ah, sweet France, my friend, I must leave you very soon.” Translation my own. 2 3 Abstract Whether nations and nationalism are ancient or more recent phenomena is one of the core debates of nationalism studies. Since the 1980’s, modernism, claiming that nations are distinctively modern, has been the dominant view. In this thesis, I challenge this dominant view by doing an extensive case-study into late-medieval France, applying modernist definitions and approaches to a pre-modern era. France has by many regarded as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the club of nations and has a long and rich history and thus makes a case-study for such an endeavour. I start with mapping the field of French identity formation in the thirteenth century, which mostly revolved around the royal court in Paris. With that established, I move on to the Hundred Years War and the consequences of this war for French identity.
    [Show full text]
  • Charters: What Survives?
    Banner 4-final.qxp_Layout 1 01/11/2016 09:29 Page 1 Charters: what survives? Charters are our main source for twelh- and thirteenth-century Scotland. Most surviving charters were written for monasteries, which had many properties and privileges and gained considerable expertise in preserving their charters. However, many collections were lost when monasteries declined aer the Reformation (1560) and their lands passed to lay lords. Only 27% of Scottish charters from 1100–1250 survive as original single sheets of parchment; even fewer still have their seal attached. e remaining 73% exist only as later copies. Survival of charter collectionS (relating to 1100–1250) GEOGRAPHICAL SPREAD from inStitutionS founded by 1250 Our picture of documents in this period is geographically distorted. Some regions have no institutions with surviving charter collections, even as copies (like Galloway). Others had few if any monasteries, and so lacked large charter collections in the first place (like Caithness). Others are relatively well represented (like Fife). Survives Lost or unknown number of Surviving charterS CHRONOLOGICAL SPREAD (by earliest possible decade of creation) 400 Despite losses, the surviving documents point to a gradual increase Copies Originals in their use in the twelh century. 300 200 100 0 109 0s 110 0s 111 0s 112 0s 113 0s 114 0s 115 0s 116 0s 1170s 118 0s 119 0s 120 0s 121 0s 122 0s 123 0s 124 0s TYPES OF DONOR typeS of donor – Example of Melrose Abbey’s Charters It was common for monasteries to seek charters from those in Lay Lords Kings positions of authority in the kingdom: lay lords, kings and bishops.
    [Show full text]
  • XIX.—Reginald, Bishop of Bath (Hjjfugi); His Episcopate, and His Share in the Building of the Church of Wells. by the Rev. C. M
    XIX.—Reginald, bishop of Bath (HJJfUgi); his episcopate, and his share in the building of the church of Wells. By the Rev. C. M. CHURCH, M.A., F.8.A., Sub-dean and Canon Residentiary of Wells. Read June 10, 1886. I VENTURE to think that bishop Eeginald Fitzjocelin deserves a place of higher honour in the history of the diocese, and of the fabric of the church of Wells, than has hitherto been accorded to him. His memory has been obscured by the traditionary fame of bishop Robert as the "author," and of bishop Jocelin as the "finisher," of the church of Wells; and the importance of his episcopate as a connecting link in the work of these two master-builders has been comparatively overlooked. The only authorities followed for the history of his episcopate have been the work of the Canon of Wells, printed by Wharton, in his Anglia Sacra, 1691, and bishop Godwin, in his Catalogue of the Bishops of England, 1601—1616. But Wharton, in his notes to the text of his author, comments on the scanty notice of bishop Reginald ;a and Archer, our local chronicler, complains of the unworthy treatment bishop Reginald had received from Godwin, also a canon of his own cathedral church.b a Reginaldi gesta historicus noster brevius quam pro viri dignitate enarravit. Wharton, Anglia Sacra, i. 871. b Historicus noster et post eum Godwinus nimis breviter gesta Reginaldi perstringunt quae pro egregii viri dignitate narrationem magis applicatam de Canonicis istis Wellensibus merita sunt. Archer, Ghronicon Wellense, sive annales Ecclesiae Cathedralis Wellensis, p.
    [Show full text]
  • VWR Circulators and Chillers
    VWR Circulators and Chillers Superior Temperature Control Equipment Clockwise from top left: 13721-200, 13721-172, 13721-138, 13721-082 Controllers Table of Contents. Page Product Features. 2-3 Precise Controllers Controllers . 4-5 Choice of four controllers. From state-of-the-art program- VWR Signature` mable designs that provide Refrigerated/Heating ultimate control, to the analog Circulating Baths. 6-10 design that is perfect for less demanding applications. How To Choose A Chiller . 11 VWR Signature Recirculating Chillers . 12-13 VWR Signature Heating Immersion Circulator. 14 Durable Design VWR` Open Bath Systems . 15 Immersed parts and reservoirs are made of corrosion-fighting VWR Signature stainless steel. The exterior Heating Circulating Baths . 16-17 surface is a tough powder coating for easy clean-up. VWR Refrigerated/Heating Circulating Baths. 18-21 VWR Immersion & Flow-Through Coolers . 22 VWR Ambient Bath Cooler. 22 Double Safety VWR Heating Recirculator . 22 Your equipment and work are protected with redundant over VWR Heating Immersion Circulators . 23 temperature and low liquid cutoff standard on all circula- VWR Heating Circulating Baths . 24-25 tors. 60Hz models are CSA approved, 50Hz models carry Accessories . 26 the CE mark. At-a-Glance Chart . 27 Environmentally Responsible VWR Refrigerated Circulators and Chillers use R-134a refrigerant, and no ozone- depleting CFC’s are used in the manufacturing process. All instruments are manufactured in an ISO 9001 accredited facility. 2 To order, call 1-800-932-5000 or visit vwr.com Controllers Time Savers Advanced refrigeration sys- tems and high wattage heaters respond quickly to temperature changes. You'll have minimum waiting time for your circulator to stabilize.
    [Show full text]
  • Westfield Public Schools Ancient and Medieval
    March 19, 2018 Attachment # 2 WESTFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOLS Westfield, New Jersey Office of Instruction Course of Study ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL TRADITIONS – 4670 School .................................. Westfield High School Department ....................................... Social Studies Length of Course ...................................... Full Year Credit ..................................................................... 5 Grade Level .......................................10, 11, and 12 Prerequisite ...................................................... None Date ........................................................................... I. RATIONALE, DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE This full year Social Studies elective explores the period from the birth of civilization to the end of the Middle Ages through the window of historical, textual, and visual learning. Students probe, investigate, and study the roots and subsequent development of Western and Middle Eastern cultural traditions and heritage. Students also trace the causes of the rise and fall of each civilization and connect them to modern issues facing contemporary society. In Ancient and Medieval Traditions, students are encouraged to develop and expand their understanding of history as a discipline as well as how cultures, religions, and economic systems interact. Students are exposed to the origins, development, achievements, and influence of Ancient Near Eastern civilizations. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval European, and Islamic civilizations provide the lens through
    [Show full text]
  • Digests of Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United
    c I United States General Accounting Office GAO Office of General Counsel April 1991 i. of the Comptrolier G.eneral of the United States I Current GAO Officials Comptroller General of the United States Charles A. Bowsher Deputy Comptroller General of the United States Vacant Special Assistant to the Comptroller General Milton J. Socolar General Counsel James F. Hinchman Deputy General Counsel Vacant Page i - Contents Preface Table of Decision Numbers - Digests Appropriations/Financial Management 1 Civilian Personnel 7 Military Personnel 12 Miscellaneous Topics 16 Procurement 17 Page ii Preface This publication is one in a series of monthly pamphlets entitled “Digests of Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States” which have been published since the establishment of the General Accounting Office by the Budget and Accounting Act, 1921. A disbursing or certifying official or the head of an agency may request a decision from the Comptroller General pursuant to 31 U.S. Code 0 3529 (formerly 31 U.S.C. $5 74 and 82d). Decisions concerning claims are issued in accordance with 31 U.S. Code 9 3702 (formerly 31 U.S.C. 3 71). Decisions on the validity of contract awards are rendered pursuant to the Competition in Contracting Act, Pub. L. 98-369, July 18, 1984. Decisions in this pamphlet are presented in digest form. When requesting individual copies of these decisions, which are available in full text, cite them by the file number and date, e.g., B-229329.2, Sept. 29, 1989. Approximately 10 percent of GAO’s decisions are published in full text as the Decisions of the Comptroller General of the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Becket
    Thomas Becket “Thomas a Becket” redirects here. For other uses, see Thomas a Becket (disambiguation). Thomas Becket (/ˈbɛkɪt/; also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London,[1] and later Thomas à Becket;[note 1] 21 December c. 1118 (or 1120) – 29 December 1170) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion. He engaged in conflict with Henry II of England over the rights and privileges of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. Soon after his death, he was Stained glass window of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral canonised by Pope Alexander III. small landowner or a petty knight.[1] Matilda was also of 1 Sources Norman ancestry,[2] and her family may have originated near Caen. Gilbert was perhaps related to Theobald of Bec, whose family also was from Thierville. Gilbert be- The main sources for the life of Becket are a number gan his life as a merchant, perhaps as a textile merchant, of biographies that were written by contemporaries. A but by the 1120s he was living in London and was a prop- few of these documents are by unknown writers, al- erty owner, living on the rental income from his prop- though traditional historiography has given them names. erties. He also served as the sheriff of the city at some The known biographers are John of Salisbury, Edward point.[1] They were buried in Old St Paul’s Cathedral.
    [Show full text]
  • St Thomas Becket and London, but Some Background Information May Be Helpful
    25 February 2020 Thomas Becket and London Professor Caroline barron Introduction This lecture is about St Thomas Becket and London, but some background information may be helpful. Thomas Becket was born in London in 1120, the son of Gilbert and Mathilda Becket whose families had come from Rouen in the wake of the Norman Conquest. Gilbert Becket was a rich and successful Londoner who seems to have made his money by owning and dealing in property. He lived in the small central parish of St Mary Colechurch on the north side of Cheapside. As yet there were no elected mayors of London (this privilege came by a royal charter in May 1215), but the city was allowed to elect its own sheriffs and Gilbert seems to have held this office in the 1130s. The Becket family fortunes were seriously affected by a fire (there were many such fires in early medieval London) which destroyed much of Gilbert’s property. In about 1140 young Thomas entered the employment of the sheriff, Osbert Huitdeniers (Eightpence) and became, in effect, a civil servant. He must have had a good education, possibly in one of the schools which we know existed in London at this time. From acting as a clerk to the sheriff, Thomas moved in 1143 to join the prestigious household of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury (1138-1161). Although in minor clerical orders, Thomas enjoyed the ‘extravagant and ostentatious’ lifestyle of a successful young courtier and he attracted the attention of the king, Henry II who appointed him as his chancellor in 1155.
    [Show full text]