FREE ESSAY ON BECKET

BECKET

Becket
Both church and state have both been large parts of the English culture for great amounts
of time. But not only in England but also through out Europe itself. Dividing church from
state would be difficult at the times of Becket and King Henry II. The pope seemed more
powerful then some kings. Yet some kings believed they were the power that ruled all. 
That was the problem that came between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England.
Neither one knew which had more power. King Henry believed that he was king, so he had
all the power in the world. Becket might not have believed that he was all-powerful but
he did know that he was the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most powerful religious
position in England at the time. King Henry and Becket were good friends in the
beginning. King Henry called him "my valet" when Becket wiped him dry in the beginning.
Becket answered " I am your servant, that all." Meaning that he loved his king and wanted
to help him in every way that he could. King Henry secured Becket's places after Theobald
of Bec; the archbishop of Canterbury helped him out first. 
Neither Thomas Becket nor King Henry were completely correct. Therefore, one would have
to side with King Henry. King Henry helped Becket start his career by making Becket his
chancellor. Becket was a Saxon, Henry's grandfather had taken over Becket's people and
most Norman's didn't like the Saxons much. Becket being chancellor gave Becket the seal
of England. The seal of England meant that Becket would be loyal to King Henry. King
Henry trusted Becket. Henry says "I never did anything without your advice anyway. Nobody
knew it, now everybody will, that's all." King Henry believed in almost everything that
Becket says because he thought that Becket was wise. 
When Henry and Becket are told of the archbishop of Canterbury death while they were in
France, King Henry is quite happy about it. Henry comes up with the idea of making Becket
the next Archbishop of Canterbury. When Henry pitches the idea to Becket, the reaction of
Becket is one of amazement. When Becket becomes the archbishop and devotes his life to
god instead of his friend this started the feud between Becket and King Henry. The pain
of having the seal of England returned to Henry hurt him so much because to Henry it
meant that his "friend" didn't love him anymore. 
When Becket became the archbishop of Canterbury his love for god overcame his love for
King Henry. But King Henry always thought in his head that no one loved him except for
Becket. That caused him to split his love into both hate and love. He still had a great
amount of love for Becket but never showed it to Becket. He only showed Becket the hate
that he had for him. Henry wrote up the Constitution of Clarendon, which was used to
control the church. The constitution only resulted in more problems between him and
Becket. 
King Henry's idea for making Becket the archbishop of Canterbury was an idea for him to
unite church with state more. Henry was hoping that if he succeeded in this he could
power church with state. This way he would have all power. Yet, Henry did not succeed
because Becket didn't think that the state should have power over the church. Being the
archbishop of Canterbury went to Becket's head. Ending a wonderful friendship and the
death of a man with no other thought from Becket.
All that King Henry wanted was to have Becket by his side as a friend and a trustee. But
Becket never allowed it; Becket wanted the church to be equal with state. Not in the
beginning though. Becket says, " in the hazards of seafaring, the instinct of
self-preservation has always told men that there must be one and only one master on board
ship." Meaning that he believed and was loyal to the king. Becket feels pity for the king
but never shows it till his death at the end when he says " Poor Henry." Henry had no
choice but to have Henry killed or the pain would of kill Henry first.