December 29th is the feast day of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury.
He was assassinated in 1170 by four knights of King Henry II of England. This is because Thomas Becket and the King had a long standing difference on clergy and secular punishment. The feud escalated with the king seizing lands and Becket excommunicating three bishops who crowned the junior king, Henry the Young, in Westminster Cathedral. This was a breach of Canterbury's privilege of coronation.
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| Thomas รก Becket rose |
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| The Murder of St. Thomas Becket |
