Hello, welcome to history here at the Oak National Academy.

I'm Mr. Newton, and I've got a great lesson lined up for you today.

I'm basically here to make sense of any tricky concepts we may encounter.

Right, let's get started.

During these lessons, we will be thinking about our big inquiry question.

How successfully did Henry reassert royal authority? In other words, how successful was Henry at showing he was still in control of his land? We will continue to investigate Henry II through this inquiry question.

We've previously seen that Henry became king after the Anarchy, a very chaotic period.

He began his reign trying to reassert control over the Angevin Empire.

We've also seen how he reasserted his authority over the law.

And finally, we have seen that the Church was very powerful in mediaeval society, and Henry aimed to increase his control over it.

However, he faced resistance from his close friend and Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket.

So how successful was Henry at reasserting his royal authority over the Church? By the end of this session, you will be able to describe Henry II's conflict with Thomas Becket and explain the impacts this had on Church and crown.

Before we begin, there are a few words we need to understand: excommunicated, cathedral, martyr, penance, and pilgrimage.

When someone is excommunicated, they are expelled from the Catholic Church by the Pope.

A cathedral is a large and impressive church that contains the seat of a bishop.

A martyr is someone who dies for their beliefs.

Penance is to punish yourself to seek God's forgiveness for a sin.

A pilgrimage is a religious journey usually taken to a shrine or a site of religious importance.

This lesson has two parts.

In the first part we will look at the murder of Thomas Becket, before moving on to the second part, the reaction to the murder of Thomas Becket.

Let's start with the first part, the murder of Thomas Becket.

Becket resisted Henry's Church reforms. As you will remember, Henry II appointed Thomas Becket the Archbishop of Canterbury to help him have more control over the Church.

Henry was concerned that the clergy were only required to attend the Church's own courts if they broke the law.

However, Becket resisted the reforms, because he believed that the Church should be free from the king's interference.

Eventually, Becket escaped to exile in France.

Let's continue our story with the coronation of Henry the Young King.

Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine had a son who they also called Henry.

Their son became known as Henry the Young King.

Henry II had Henry the Young King crowned as king of England early whilst Henry II was still alive.

This was to secure a peaceful succession and enabled Henry II to concentrate on ruling his wider empire.

Henry didn't want there to be another succession crisis as had happened during the Anarchy, so he decided to name his heir ahead of time.

The image on the left from a mediaeval manuscript shows the coronation of Henry the Young King.

We can see bishops either side of Henry the Young King as they crown him king of England.

However, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket, is missing.

He's still in exile.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Henry had his son crowned as king of England early, true or false? Pause the video, have a think, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was true.

But why is it true? What is your justification for that? Is it because A, this was to secure a peaceful succession, or B, this was to avoid the challenges of ruling his empire? Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was A.

This was to secure a peaceful succession.

Eventually, Becket returned to England.

Henry and Becket came to a compromise.

A compromise is an agreement in an argument in which the people involved back down a little bit in order to try to find an agreement.

So Henry and Becket came to a compromise, and in the summer of 1170, Becket was persuaded to return to England.

The image on the left shows Becket ending his exile and preparing to sail for England.

I've highlighted him in purple there, and we can see the ship waiting for him on the right.

Becket excommunicated bishops.

Immediately upon landing in Kent, Becket excommunicated bishops, meaning they were expelled from the Church.

These were all the bishops who had taken part in the coronation of Henry the Young King.

A coronation, Becket argued, was to be carried out only by the Archbishop of Canterbury and anything else was against God's will.

The image on the left shows Becket, highlighted in purple here, announcing to the bishops here that they are to be excommunicated.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why did Becket excommunicate bishops on his return to England? Was it because A, they refused to carry out Henry the Young King's coronation, B, they carried out Henry the Young King's coronation without Becket being present, C, they refused to let Becket carry out Henry the Young King's coronation? Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was B, they carried out Henry the Young King's coronation without Becket being present.

Look at the photograph on the left.

This is Canterbury Cathedral.

We can see how this impressive structure towers above the surrounding buildings.

Even though this is a modern photograph surrounded by modern buildings, we can imagine during mediaeval times, people must have been truly amazed when they caught sight of the cathedral.

This is no ordinary cathedral.

It is Canterbury Cathedral.

It contained the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

It was where Thomas Becket was based and it was where he was shockingly murdered.

After Becket took the bold action of excommunicating the bishops who had taken part in the coronation of Henry the Young King, Henry was furious.

Henry famously raged, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" The priest he was referring to was of course Thomas Becket.

He was calling Thomas turbulent.

Turbulent is when someone makes a lot of sudden changes, arguments, or violence.

Henry is frustratingly asking, why has no one rid or removed this argumentative and difficult man? So when Henry shouts, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest," what do you think Henry means? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, welcome back.

So historians often debate about what this could mean.

Maybe it was Henry ordering the murder of his once close friend, or maybe it was another example of Henry losing his temper and his words should not have been taken seriously.

Maybe he wanted Becket to be stopped in some way from ruining his plans for the Church.

Perhaps we will never know.

What we do know is what happened next.

Four knights decided to prove their worth to the king.

In other words, they decided to do something which they thought would please the king.

The four knights headed for Canterbury Cathedral, The four knights entered Canterbury Cathedral with their swords in their hands.

They found Becket in the middle of a religious service.

They approached him, angry words were exchanged, and the knights attacked Becket with their swords and brutally murdered him, almost separating his head from his body.

One eyewitness reported that the knights then scattered his brain and blood over the pavement before leaving the cathedral.

If you look at the manuscript on the left, it shows Becket on his knees praying.

One knight is kicking him to the floor.

The Archbishop's hat is falling to the ground, and the knights are slashing their swords at his head, which cracked his skull and his brains are spilling onto the cathedral floor.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Why did the four knights murder Thomas Becket? Was it because A, they wanted to show the king how loyal they were, B, they were ordered to kill Becket by Henry II, C, they wanted to make Becket a martyr? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, welcome back.

Well done if you knew it was A, they wanted to show the king how loyal they were.

Okay, let's move on to task A.

Give a written account of the murder of Thomas Becket.

The account should include Becket's return from exile, Becket's actions that upset the king, the king's reported words, and then what's happened in the cathedral.

Pause the video and have a go at the task.

Okay, welcome back.

Now, there are many ways you could have written that account, but here's my example.

Thomas Becket returned to England from exile and excommunicated the bishops that had taken part in the coronation of Henry the Young King.

Henry was outraged and shouted, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four knights decided to prove their worth to the king and headed for Canterbury Cathedral.

The knights brutally murdered Becket and scattered his brain on the cathedral floor.

Okay, well done.

We've now reached the second part of the lesson, reaction to the murder of Thomas Becket.

Thomas Becket became a saint and martyr.

The reaction to the murder was initially shock throughout England and Europe.

Becket became a martyr for the Christian faith, and the Pope went on to make him a saint.

Look at the image on the left.

We can see the halo.

That's the white light that surrounds Thomas Becket's head.

This shows that Becket was now a saint.

This is a person who the Church have officially named for having lived a good and holy way.

He has been made a saint because he died a martyr.

He died for his beliefs.

He died protecting the Church against Henry II.

We can see the way he died has been shown on the image with a sword through Becket's skull.

This is the imagery that would've swept across Europe.

It would've earned great support for Becket and the Church and would've turned people against Henry II.

Henry could not believe that the knights had acted as they did.

He never intended for Becket to be killed.

Henry knew that this horrific act had damaged his kingdom, which he had spent years rebuilding after the Anarchy.

The full powers of the Pope and the Church were set against the king.

Henry's wife and sons also began plotting against him.

Eventually, under intense pressure, Henry performed a public act of penance.

What does this mean? So Henry reached an agreement with the Pope in 1172 when he promised to remove the most controversial points from the Constitutions of Clarendon and to respect the Church.

In 1174, Henry performed a public act of penance.

He punished himself to seek God's forgiveness.

So what type of penance did Henry carry out? Firstly, he walked barefoot to Becket's shrine in Canterbury Cathedral.

And here I've highlighted the shrine on the image.

So a shrine is a holy place for prayer, because it is connected with a holy person or object.

So this shrine is connected to St.

Thomas Becket.

At Becket's shrine, the king of England undressed and knelt down.

He then allowed himself to be whipped by the clergy.

Here we can see the whip being held by the clergy.

It would have been a shocking sight for all those present to see this hot-tempered king who had faced down enemies in every corner of his empire publicly seeking forgiveness for his soul.

This reveals the power that religion and the Church held across mediaeval Europe.

Henry, with all his royal power, felt the need to reverse his reforms and publicly show regret in this way.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

How did Henry react to the murder of Becket? Select two correct answers.

A, he demanded that the Church respect the crown and close all Church courts; B, He removed some points from the Constitutions of Clarendon and promised to respect the Church; C, he performed a public act of penance and allowed himself to be whipped by the clergy; D, he performed a public act of penance and demanded respect from the clergy.

Select two correct answers and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was B, he removed some points from the Constitutions of Clarendon and promised to respect the Church, and C, he performed a public act of penance and allowed himself to be whipped by the clergy.

Okay, let's have another check here.

What does Henry's reaction to the murder show about the power of the Church? A, it was not a concern to Henry because he ruled a powerful empire; B, it was not enough to pressure Henry to reverse his reforms and publicly show regret; C, it was enough to pressure Henry to reverse his reforms and publicly show regret.

Pause the video, have a think, and come right back.

Okay, welcome back, and well done if you knew it was C, it was enough to pressure Henry to reverse his reforms and publicly show regret.

Okay, let's continue the story.

Perhaps surprisingly, Becket's murder and Henry's reaction to it led to Henry's increased control over the English Church.

Initially it looked like a victory for the Church against the crown.

The Church gained a saint in Thomas Becket and Canterbury Cathedral became an internationally important site of pilgrimage.

People from across the world would make the journey to visit Becket's shrine because it held religious importance to them.

Again, these pilgrimages would've showed great support for the Church.

However, it seems that the long-term impact of the murder actually increased Henry's control over the English Church.

No bishop was likely to oppose the king's will again.

They would not want to be murdered as had happened to Thomas Becket.

Furthermore, the Pope's support after 1172 strengthened Henry's position.

An example of Henry's increased authority happened in 1173.

He wrote to a group of monks in Winchester.

He said, "I order you to hold a free election, but nevertheless, I forbid you to elect anyone except Richard, my clerk." Henry still believed he should have power over the clergy.

Okay, let's check your understanding.

Fill in the missing words.

Use the words below to complete the text underneath.

So I've supplied you with three words here and here is the text underneath, so use those three words to complete the text.

Pause the video, have a go, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check the correct answers.

So the text should have read, after the murder of Thomas Becket, no bishop was likely to oppose the king's will again.

Henry's reversal on religious reform had also helped him secure the support of the Pope.

In the long term, Henry's control over the English Church had strengthened.

Okay, let's move on to task B.

Starting with the earliest, sort these events into time order.

Use the empty flow chart to write your answer into.

Pause the video, have a go at the task, and then come right back.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check the correct answers.

So the first event should be Becket becomes a martyr.

Then it's Henry removes points from the Constitutions of Clarendon.

Then Henry walked barefoot to Canterbury Cathedral.

Then Henry allowed himself to be whipped by the clergy.

Okay, let's move on to the second part of task B.

To what extent did Henry emerge as the victor from his clash with Becket? By what extent I mean how far did Henry emerge as the victor? This will usually mean that you need to show how far or to what extent he was the victor and how far he was not the victor.

In other words, I want you to show me a two-sided argument.

In your answer, which should be one or two paragraphs long, include as many of the following words as you can: penance, Pope, control, murder, damaging, and pilgrimage.

These words will help you to pick out the important points from the story.

Pause the video and have a go at the task.

Okay, welcome back.

Hopefully you found that there were two sides to this answer.

Let's have a look at my example.

Now, you could have answered this in many different ways, but let's just check your answer against mine.

Initially, it seemed very damaging to Henry.

The murder of the Archbishop of the English Church had made him enemies with the Pope, the Church, and even some of the royal family.

The Church made Becket a saint, and Canterbury Cathedral became an internationally important site of pilgrimage.

This showed huge support for the Church, rather than Henry.

However, Henry's public display of penance softened some of his enemies.

Once he had the support of the Pope, Henry achieved the type of control over the Church he had desired from the outset.

Okay, let's summarise the lesson, the murder of Thomas Becket.

Henry had his son, Henry the Young King, crowned during Thomas Becket's absence from England.

Becket returned and excommunicated the bishops involved in the coronation.

Becket was murdered by four of Henry's knights.

The king's reaction to Becket's murder revealed the extent of power the Church held across Europe.

In the long term, Becket's murder ultimately strengthened the king's control over the Church.

Well done on a brilliant lesson, and thank you for joining me for this rather gruesome story of the murder of Thomas Becket.

I will see you next time when we continue to look at the story of Henry II.

See you in the next lesson.