Thomas Becket and His World

In this beautifully fluent new biography, Michael Staunton brings out the challenges and contradictions running through the controversial life and death of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury. We see a man who was, by turns, worldly, aloof and, ultimately, exasperatingly intransigent and unafraid to die for his beliefs. Blending smart storytelling with clever nuance, this is a genuine pleasure to read. * Jonathan Phillips, Professor of Crusading History, Royal Holloway, University of London, and author of The Life and Legend of the Sultan Saladin *
Splendidly illustrated and a fascinating read, Michael Staunton brings to life the personal and political contexts that propelled the “lowborn clerk”, son of immigrant parents, to the positions of royal chancellor, archbishop of Canterbury, and finally the martyred victim of “the murder in the cathedral” and saint. * Anne J. Duggan, Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, King’s College London *
Michael Staunton’s Thomas Becket and His World achieves what historical novels only dream of attaining. It is a masterful account of one of the most famous figures of the Middle Ages, written with the clarity and confidence one might expect of a leading authority in the Angevin world. By interweaving a close study of the original texts and a nuanced consideration of their historical context, the book provides a persuasive reading of the martyred archbishop of Canterbury and the twelfth century he inhabited. Yet the Thomas Becket that emerges from these pages is not a distant medieval churchman, but a complex and conflicted human being, seemingly more alive than most people we know today. Torn between his duty to serve his king (and onetime friend) and his duty to serve his Church, Thomas experiences in his own life the tension between political and ecclesiastical authority that dominated so much of medieval history. By the time we reach the thrilling crescendo of the last chapters, the book has become a meditation on the complexities of heroic virtue. Succinct but thorough, restrained but passionate, this is a perfect book. * Karen Sullivan, Irma Brandeis Professor of Romance Literature and Culture, Bard College *
This compelling account of the life of Thomas Becket is an enthralling story of the saint’s life set within the wider context of the world in which he lived and died. Michael Staunton wears his scholarship and erudition with a lightness of touch which is awe-inspiring. The book is a triumph. * Stephen Church, Professor in Medieval Studies, University of Lincoln *