Thomas Becket - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Thomas Becket write by John Guy. This book was released on 2012-07-03. Thomas Becket available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. A revisionist new biography reintroducing readers to one of the most subversive figures in English history—the man who sought to reform a nation, dared to defy his king, and laid down his life to defend his sacred honor NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY KANSAS CITY STAR AND BLOOMBERG Becket’s life story has been often told but never so incisively reexamined and vividly rendered as it is in John Guy’s hands. The son of middle-class Norman parents, Becket rose against all odds to become the second most powerful man in England. As King Henry II’s chancellor, Becket charmed potentates and popes, tamed overmighty barons, and even personally led knights into battle. After his royal patron elevated him to archbishop of Canterbury in 1162, however, Becket clashed with the King. Forced to choose between fealty to the crown and the values of his faith, he repeatedly challenged Henry’s authority to bring the church to heel. Drawing on the full panoply of medieval sources, Guy sheds new light on the relationship between the two men, separates truth from centuries of mythmaking, and casts doubt on the long-held assumption that the headstrong rivals were once close friends. He also provides the fullest accounting yet for Becket’s seemingly radical transformation from worldly bureaucrat to devout man of God. Here is a Becket seldom glimpsed in any previous biography, a man of many facets and faces: the skilled warrior as comfortable unhorsing an opponent in single combat as he was negotiating terms of surrender; the canny diplomat “with the appetite of a wolf” who unexpectedly became the spiritual paragon of the English church; and the ascetic rebel who waged a high-stakes contest of wills with one of the most volcanic monarchs of the Middle Ages. Driven into exile, derided by his enemies as an ungrateful upstart, Becket returned to Canterbury in the unlikeliest guise of all: as an avenging angel of God, wielding his power of excommunication like a sword. It is this last apparition, the one for which history remembers him best, that will lead to his martyrdom at the hands of the king’s minions—a grisly episode that Guy recounts in chilling and dramatic detail. An uncommonly intimate portrait of one of the medieval world’s most magnetic figures, Thomas Becket breathes new life into its subject—cementing for all time his place as an enduring icon of resistance to the abuse of power.
The Lives of Thomas Becket
The Lives of Thomas Becket - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook The Lives of Thomas Becket write by Michael Staunton. This book was released on 2001-12-07. The Lives of Thomas Becket available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Through the eye-witness and contemporary biographical accounts, this book provides valuable insight into the late-12th century world. The extracts, many previously untranslated, expose one of the most controversial figures of the Middle Ages. Written as the shock of Becket's murder in 1170 reverberated around Europe, the accounts provide vivid testimony to the most dramatic events of his life. They show how he became champion of the church and enemy of the king, fled into exile to lead a life of asceticism and political agitation, and returned to face martyrdom before the altar of his own cathedral.
Thomas Becket
Thomas Becket - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Thomas Becket write by Lloyd De Beer. This book was released on 2021-06. Thomas Becket available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Marking the 850th anniversary of his dramatic murder, this major exhibition and book presents Becket's tumultuous journey from a merchant's son to Archbishop of Canterbury, and from a revered saint in death to a 'traitor' in the eyes of Henry VIII over 350 years later. The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 changed the course of history. Becket was one of the most powerful figures of his time, serving as royal Chancellor and later as Archbishop of Canterbury. Initially a close friend of King Henry II, the two men became engaged in a bitter dispute that culminated in Becket's shocking murder by knights with close ties to the king. Becket was quickly canonized a saint by the Pope and his shrine at Canterbury became a major center of European pilgrimage. Becket's international popularity endured for centuries until Henry VIII attempted to eradicate his cult as part of his reforms of the Church in England. Featuring an incredible array of objects associated with Becket, including medieval stained glass, manuscripts, jewellery and sacred reliquaries, Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint explores his dramatic life, death and legacy. This unique and fascinating story reveals the political and religious landscape of medieval Europe, demonstrating the formation and endurance of his cult. In death, Becket remained a figure of opposition to power and came to be seen as a defender of rights of the Church. An extraordinary number of miracles were recorded in the immediate aftermath of his death, leading to his rapid canonization and the development of his cult. Images of Becket are found across Latin Christendom, from Germany and Spain, to Italy and Norway and Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral became one of the most significant pilgrimage sites in Europe. A dedicated section will delve deeper into the Miracle Window of stained glass from Canterbury Cathedral. Here, new research from Professor Rachel Koopmans (York University, Toronto) examines the creative complexity of the windows, shedding light on the recent discoveries that led to the re-evaluation of some of the panels which were previously thought to be modern replacements.
Life of Thomas À Becket
Life of Thomas À Becket - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Life of Thomas À Becket write by Henry Hart Milman. This book was released on 1860. Life of Thomas À Becket available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
Life and Times of Thomas Becket
Life and Times of Thomas Becket - read free eBook in online reader or directly download on the web page. Select files or add your book in reader. Download and read online ebook Life and Times of Thomas Becket write by James Anthony Froude. This book was released on 1878. Life and Times of Thomas Becket available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle.
