The Betrayal of Thomas Becket

"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!"

These words supposedly uttered by a King over 800 years ago set in motion a chain of gruesome events, and sparked cult-like devotion across the world.

Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis consider Becket's meteoric rise in status to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury, his increasingly fractious relationship with King Henry II, the vicious murder itself and finally, how the cult of St Thomas of Canterbury spread across the European continent.

But how did Thomas Becket first rise to power and prominence? Professor Michael Staunton joins Eleanor to unwrap the enigma and get to the heart of who Thomas Becket was, and whether his fate was truly inescapable.

MORE

Henry II & Thomas Becket: A Doomed Friendship

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The Murder of Thomas Becket

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

The Cult of Becket

Listen on Apple

Listen on Spotify

Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editors are Ella Blaxill and Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.

Gone Medieval is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(528)

The First Troubadours

How could a love song become a political weapon? How were scandals, wars and crusades turned into some of the most influential poetry ever written?The songs of the troubadours - celebrities in their d...

29 Touko 47min

Foolish Medieval Fatalities

Who survives when medieval deaths are turned into Top Trumps? In this riotous made up game of Foolish Fatalities, Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis rank the most ridiculous ends of the Middle Ages, fr...

26 Touko 1h 8min

Fatimid Dynasty: Descendants of Prophet Muhammad

How did the Fatimids build one of Islam's most powerful medieval empires? What can the rise of this dynasty reveal about power, culture, tolerance, and women’s authority?Stretching across North Afric...

22 Touko 41min

The Merovingian Dynasty: France's First Kings

Long-haired rulers, dynastic bloodshed, secret letters, and a kingdom built in the aftermath of empire; Dr. Eleanor Janega and Dr. James Palmer dive into the wild, Roman-adjacent world of the Meroving...

19 Touko 57min

After Agincourt: Henry V's French Campaigns

What happened after the Battle of Agincourt? How did Henry V's victory turn into a seven-year struggle of sieges, diplomacy, ambition, murder and missed destiny?Matt Lewis is joined by W.B. Bartlett t...

15 Touko 52min

Matilda of Canossa: Medieval Italy's Iron Countess

What if one medieval woman could outwit emperors, shape popes, and force Henry IV to stand barefoot in the snow?Dr. Katherine Harvey joins Dr. Eleanor Janega to tell the astonishing story of Matilda o...

12 Touko 43min

Battle of the Eras: Medieval vs Early Modern

What if the medieval world did not end with a bang, but with a messy argument over who gets to define history itself? Matt Lewis spars with Not Just The Tudors' host Professor Suzannah Lipscomb to spa...

8 Touko 55min

Cadaver Synod: Trial of a Dead Pope

What could drive a pope to put a corpse on trial?In 897, Rome staged one of the Middle Ages’ strangest spectacles: the Cadaver Synod, where Pope Stephen VI exhumed his predecessor and put his body on ...

5 Touko 55min