St. Thomas Becket, Patron Saint of Tourist Traps

As we begin to move past the General Prologue and into the Tales themselves I thought it might be helpful to provide some deeper social and historical context on the significance of Thomas Becket. Not only was he at odds with his own church and his king during his tenure as a religious figure, but many aspects of his career, death and legacy make him easily relatable to Chaucer’s pilgrims.

Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 at Canterbury Cathedral for opposing Henry II’s attempts to bring the clergy under civil law. Despite being a controversial and often extremely polarizing figure in his own time, he was made a saint within three years of his death and a small niche economy grew up surrounding the trade in Becket merchandise. Canterbury Cathedral soon boasted a world-class collection including pieces of Becket’s clothing and body, and monks were selling his blood in small vials to pilgrims as a cure-all. Because of the religious frenzy that developed around Becket’s persona after his death, many common pilgrims would not have been aware that he was not originally a member of the clergy, but rather a lay courtier with a background in law in the king’s service who had ascended to his position as Archbishop through political maneuvering. Despite having won the king’s favor earlier as an enforcer of tax collection and a loyal ally in matters of church-state relations, the relationship between Becket and Henry II quickly soured as Becket sought to strengthen the Anglican Church (and increase his own power) against the ever-encroaching influence of the monarchy.

Though Becket was officially declared a martyr by both the Anglican and Catholic churches, his death had as much to do with politics as it did with religion. Despite his willingness to die for his church, he was also risking death by defying a king. And his personal life and previous career had allowed him to amass both political influence and personal wealth. He was just as human and imperfect a figure as any of the clergy represented among Chaucer’s pilgrims. The swift exploitation of his death for economic gain by the church is perhaps his greatest legacy. Not only did it breed a sizeable market for clippings of his hair and vials of his blood, but it generated a tourist attraction that continues to attract both religious and secular pilgrims to this day. Canterbury Cathedral today offers full-service catering, specially priced packages for large tour groups and an on-line shop featuring everything from Christmas ornaments to cufflinks featuring images of St. Thomas Becket and other religious iconography.

Given Chaucer’s own career as a courtier of English kings, he would have certainly been aware of the more human side of Becket. It is fitting that his pilgrims, given all their imperfections, are making the pilgrimage to Canterbury. This pilgrimage gained in popularity because it provided extensive opportunities for social networking and religious indulgence at a fraction of the cost of a more expensive pilgrimage to Jerusalem or even continental Europe. Becket himself would most likely have welcomed the transformation of his cathedral into an attraction as it provided a boost to the prestige and influence of the Anglican Church. Despite the passage of time between Becket’s life, Chaucer’s writing, and our own class, the same themes of imperfection and disparity continue to dominate the legacy of St. Thomas Becket and the famous pilgrimage to his tomb.