Archbishop Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket was born in London to parents of the merchant class and became a chancellor of England (1155–1162) and archbishop of Canterbury (1162–1170) during the reign of King Henry II (r. 1154-1189).

Thomas entered adult life as a city clerk and accountant in the service of the sheriffs. Later he was introduced by his father to Archbishop Theobald of whose household he became a member. Thomas acted as Theobald’s agent, and was sent by him to study civil and canon law at Bologna and Auxerre.

In 1154 Thomas was appointed archdeacon of Canterbury, an important and lucrative post. In 1155 he became chancellor of England. During his post as a chancellor Thomas fought a number of battles on the king's behalf, in France and elsewhere, and run a number of diplomatic embassies. Through friendship with the king and during his period as Chancellor he amassed a fortune, requiring 52 clerks to run his affairs. In 1162 Thomas was appointed archbishop of Canterbury what also added to his wealth, most of which arose from the custody he maintained over vacant bishoprics, manors and so on, all granted to him by the king.

Ones Thomas was made archbishop his allegiance shifted from the court to the Church inspiring him to take a stand against his king. Dispute between the king and him drove Thomas into exile. He fled to France and returned in 1670 after he and the king made a truce. Nevertheless, the archbishop and the king were far from a true reconciliation. Troubled by the stubbornness of the archbishop Henry spoke some words similar to “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest”. The words were taken literally by four knight who went to the Canterbury cathedral and murdered the archbishop.

It is estimated that Thomas wealth was about £20,000, representing 2.22% of net national income of £900,000. In 2010 that would be about £24.6bn.