Tour of Thomas Becket: murder and the making of a saint exhibition | #BritishMuseumTours

The murder of Thomas Becket shook the Middle Ages. On 29 December 1170, Becket was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral by four knights with close ties to King Henry II, an act that left Medieval Europe reeling. Becket was one of the most powerful figures of his time, serving as royal chancellor and later as Archbishop of Canterbury. Initially a close friend of King Henry, the two men became engaged in a bitter dispute that culminated in his violent and public death, causing an immense political fallout. Marking the 850th anniversary of his brutal murder, this special exhibition presents Becket’s tumultuous journey from a merchant’s son to an archbishop, and from a revered saint in death to a ’traitor’ in the eyes of King Henry VIII more than 350 years later. Get up close to the man, the murder and the legend through an incredible array of objects associated with Becket; from illuminated manuscripts, some of which include eyewitness accounts of the murder, to jewellery and sacred reliquaries. The exhibition