St. Thomas Becket, part 1: King Henry II and his Chancellor, Thomas Becket

'tis but a scratch: fact and fiction about the Middle Ages - A podcast by Richard Abels

Send us a textThis is the first of two episodes on the career, historical context, and "afterlife" of England's most famous--and controversial--saint and martyr, St. Thomas Becket. My co-host for both is a veteran of this podcast, Dr. Jennifer Paxton of the Catholic University of America. In this episode we set the historical scene for Becket's martyrdom. Among the topics that Jenny and I discuss are Becket's childhood and family, his service as a cleric in the household of Archbishop Theobal...