"altar of the sword's point" Canterbury Things to Do Tip by doug48

one of the most famous persons in british history is thomas a' becket. pictured is the memorial at the site of his murder. in 1162 king henry II appointed thomas a' becket the archbishop of canterbury after the death of archbishop theobald. king henry believed that becket would draw the independant and powerful catholic church into subjection to the crown. however, becket took an opposing track. in 1164 he refused to sign the constitutions of clarendon which would give the king more power over the church. things got so bad for becket he fled england for six years and lived under the protection of pope alexander II. he returned to canterbury in 1170. one evening king henry made a comment to a gathering of knights, "can none of the cowards eating my bread free me of this turbulent priest ?" four knights took henry literally and journeyed to canterbury and killed becket. becket was considered a christian martyr and thousands made pilgrimages to the site of his murder. these pilgrimages were described by geoffrey chaucer's "canterbury tales". an important religious and historical site to visit in england.

Address: canterbury cathedral
Directions: central canterbury.
Website: http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org