Thomas Becket

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 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.NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Kansas City Star Bloomberg Best Read Thomas Becket by John Guy For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Kings can be dangerous and uncertain friends Thomas More, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, knew as much A close political and personal adviser to the king, he harboured no illusions about their relationship, telling Will Roper, his son in law, that If my head would win him a castle in France, it should not fail to fall His head did fall, though not over a castle in France So, too, in a way, did the head of Thomas Becket, the martyr Archbishop of Canterbury, who was murdered for defying th Kings can be dangerous and uncertain friends Thomas More, Lord Chancellor under Henry VIII, knew as much A close political and personal adviser to the king, he harboured no illusions about their relationship, telling Will Roper, his son in law, that If my head would win him a castle in France, it should not fail to fall His head did fall, though not over a castle in France So, too, in a way, did the head of Thomas Beck...Professor Guy has written a very good biography of one of the iconic churchmen in English history He paints a fascinating picture of both Becket and Henry II The author traces Becket s rise from the son of a middle class merchant to the 2nd most powerful man in England as Henry s Chancellor and to then how he becomes the Kings implacable enemy when he is Henry s choice as the Archbishop of Canterbury over the objections of most of England s bishops In addition to tracing Becket s rise and fal Professor Guy has written a very good biography of one of the iconic churchmen in English history He paints a fascinating picture of both Becket and Henry II The author traces Becket s rise from the son of a middle class merchant to the 2nd most powerful man in England as Henry s Chancellor and to then how he becomes t...Thomas Becket Whether that name makes you think of Canterbury, martyrs, or Richard Burton it regardless is a powerful name Prolific biographer historian and husband of fellow biographer Julia Fox , John Guy opens the door to explore who Becket truly was in Thomas Becket Warrior, Priest, Rebel The format of Thomas Becket may catch some readers off guard as the work is not a typical biography simply following a note figure from birth to death Instead, John Guy exposes various elements a Thomas Becket Whether that name makes you think of Canterbury, martyrs, or Richard Burton it regardless is a powerful name Prolific biographer historian and husband of fellow biographer Julia Fox , John Guy opens the door to explore who Becket truly was in Thomas Becket Warrior, Priest, Rebel The format of Thomas Becket may catch some readers off guard as the work is not a typical biography simply following a note figure from birth to death Instead, John Guy exposes various elements and roles in Becket s life in order to understand the true meanings behind his actions The beginning of the book resembles a biography, as it starts with a description of Becket s family ancestry and childhood This is rather slow and tedious, filled with much speculation and light statements Further, instead of truly focusin...Excellent biography of Thomas Becket which draws on a wide range of sources While there are one or two minor historical nit pick errors, the main drive of the narrative is well researched It s a balanced view that doesn t make Becket a saint, but is sympathetic in bias Henry II has the gloss stripped away from him and does come over as a controlling tyrant And do you know what I think having been researching Henry II for a while now I think Guy gets as close to the truth as anyone in his Excellent biography of Thomas Becket which draws on a wide range of sources While there are one or two minor historical nit pick errors, the main drive of the narrative is well researched It s a balanced view that doesn t make Becket a saint, b... The surest way to my heart is to teach me something, and, if that something is rooted in history, the odds are favorable that I won t soon forget the teacher Persistence helps, too, because I m not the quickest filly to the water So, it is with deep appreciation that I give a shout to Clem, an engineer turned medieval art historian who volunteers at Canterbury Cathedral.I had been wandering the cathedral half heartedly, and an older gentleman with a yellow sash called out to me to ask him The surest way to my heart is to teach me something, and, if that something is rooted in history, the odds are favorable that I won t soon forget the teacher Persistence helps, too, because I m not the quickest filly to the water So, it is with deep appreciation that I give a shout to Clem, an engineer turned medieval art historian who volunteers at Canterbury Cathedral.I had been wandering the cathedral half heartedly, and an older gentleman with a yellow sash called out to me to ask him anything It was my second visit to the cathedr...Half way through, and one thing is clear Becket was a pompous, childish, jerk He s a martyr to the flaws in his own personality The second half wasinteresting both Becket and Henry II becamealive The quarrel between Henry and Becket waspersonal than political, as Guy concludes Henry, yes, wanted what his Tudor namesake took a channel church, with fealty to King not Pope But he also was incredulous that Thomas, a commoner Henry himself had elevated to state council, th Half way through, and one thing is clear Becket was a pompous, childish, jerk He s a martyr to the flaws in his own personality The second half wasinteresting both Becket and Henry II becamealive The quarrel between Henry and Becket waspersonal than political, as Guy concludes Henry, yes, wanted what his Tudor namesake took a channel church, with fealty to King not Pope But he also was incredulous that Thomas, a commoner Henry himself had elevated to st...A great addition to the corpus of literature on this fascinating figure Guy is a biographer, first and foremost, yet he is not unaware of the historical and hagiographical implications of Becket s legacy While at times a bit grasping in his search to uncover some dirt in Becket s youth or in his career as Chancellor prior to being named Archbishop, Guy is nonetheless very adept at reading between the historical lines Though nearly always arguable, and sometimes downright conjecture, Guy s ana A great addition to the corpus of literature on this fascinating figure Guy is a biographer, first and foremost, yet he is not unaware of the historical and hagiographical implications of Becket s legacy While at times a bit grasping in his search to uncover some dirt in Becket s youth or in his career as Chancellor prior to being named Archbishop, Guy is nonetheless very adept at reading between the historical lines Though nearly always arguable, and sometimes downright conjecture, Guy s analysis of character and motive is generally quite helpful in elucidating some of theobscure moments of the history The book doubles as a fascinating portrait of the early years of Henry II, a tyrant par excellence, and certainly a key figure for the English in the eventual devolution of the theory of divine righ...I purchased John Guy s superb new biography of Thomas Becket as the Archbishop was central to my MTh dissertation Uniquely, Guy uses the first third of the book to unravelling the complexity and egocentricity of Henry II s court I was struck at how similar some institutions operations are today Guy builds upon Barlow s very strong revolutionary academic work on Becket from some 15 years ago but covers the historic background in much greater detail and utilises this information in informin I purchased John Guy s superb new biography of Thomas Becket as the Archbishop was central to my MTh dissertation Uniquely, Guy uses the first third of the book to unravelling the complexity and egocentricity of Henry II s court I was struck at how similar some institutions operations are today Guy builds upon Barlow s very strong revolutionary academic work on Becket from some 15 years ago but covers the historic background in much greater detail and utilises this information in informing Barlow s research and well as developing his arguments This is useful because it provides a reasonable and well argued explanation for the change in Beckets behaviour after his ordination to Archbishop, the central question in understanding Beckets construction as a man Superbly researched and ...The early parts of the book did not come alive for me Only when, nearly half way through, the conflict between Becket and Henry II gets going did the book becomeinteresting.The story of Thomas Becket, St Thomas of Canterbury fame, is one of the formative myths of the English nation and I use the term myth deliberately, because whilst most people hopefully know something of the story of Thomas Becket and his martyrdom, I suspect the history behind the story is much less well known And yet it is hard to overstate the importance of Thomas Becket in English history not just in his struggles against the over mighty Henry II but in the place his cult and shrine The story of Thomas Becket, St Thomas of Canterbury fame, is one of the formative myths of the English nation and I use the term myth deliberately, because whilst most people hopefully know something of the story of Thomas Becket and his martyrdom, I suspect the history behind the story is much less well known And yet it is hard to overstate the importance of Thomas Becket in English history not just in his struggles against the over mighty Henry II but in the place his cult and shrine at Canterbury came to occupy in the minds of his countrymen in the centuries after his murder In many ways St Thomas became the personal saint of the English royal family, displacing the position St Edward the Confessor had held in the years previously.One of the most interesting aspects of this book are the parallels between Henry II and Henry VIII, the latter obviously so much better known both dominant, bullying figures, intent on establishing entire control of the...

• English
• 20 October 2017
John Guy
• Hardcover
• 448 pages
• 1400069076
• John Guy
• Thomas Becket