Thomas á Becket and the Catholic Context

Thomas á Becket and the Catholic Context

The tragedy of Thomas á Becket and his relationship with Henry II was symptomatic throughout the Europe of the day. The Church/State power struggle that plagued a back and forth match between the two institutions, finding harmony only in mere glimpses, was one of the largest sources of divine and royal troubles. If the emperor had too much power, the Pope would attempt to assert dominance. If a Pope had too much power, then the emperors would seek to depose and replace him. Central to this dilemma is the case of the English king and the Archbishop of Canterbury, but playing in the backdrop, on a much larger scale is the case of the German Emperor and the Pope. Overwhelmingly similar are the cases of Henry II and Becket compared to Barbarossa and Alexander III.

Thomas á Becket was born circa 1118 (some sources claim 1120) in London to a wealthy merchant, Gilbert Becket and Roesa or Matilda of Caen, of Norman roots. Becket, with this wealthy background of a father who was even sheriff for some time, was well educated at Merton Priory, and Paris. Becket became proficient in hunting and hawking

Some topics in this essay:
Henry II, Catholic Church, Papacy William, Becket Archbishop, Louis VII, Becket Toulouse, Archbishop Canterbury, Pope Pope, Emperor Emperor, Theobald Archbishop, henry ii, archbishop canterbury, alexander iii, louis vii, becket archbishop, german princes, á becket, thomas á, thomas á becket, royal court, henry ii becket, germanic lands, replace deceased theobald, personal control church,