167:. Evidence of Henry's deliberate connexion to St Thomas lies in the structure of the tomb itself. The wooden panel at the western end of his tomb bears a painting of the martyrdom of Becket, and the tester, or wooden canopy, above the tomb is painted with Henry's personal motto, 'Soverayne', alternated by crowned golden eagles. Likewise, the three large coats of arms that dominate the tester painting are surrounded by collars of SS, a golden eagle enclosed in each tiret. The presence of such eagle motifs most likely points directly to Henry's coronation oil and his ideological association with St Thomas. Sometime after the King's death, an imposing tomb was built for him and his queen, probably commissioned and paid for by Queen Joan herself. On top of the tomb chest lie detailed
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159:, and Henry seemed particularly devoted to it, or at least keen to be associated with it. Reasons for his interment in Canterbury are debatable, but it is highly likely that Henry deliberately associated himself with the martyred saint for reasons of political expediency, namely, the legitimation of his dynasty after seizing the throne from his cousin,
163:. Significantly, at his coronation, he was anointed with holy oil which was said to have been given to Becket by the Virgin Mary shortly before his death in 1170; this oil was placed inside a distinct eagle-shaped container of gold. According to one version of the legend, the oil had then passed to Henry's maternal grandfather,
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184:(sometimes known as "Beckets's Crown"), a circular structure at the east end of the Trinity chapel, is widely thought to have received its name from having been built to contain the relic of the crown of St. Thomas's head which was struck off during his murder. However, Robert Willis in his
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The chapel was constructed between 1179 and 1184, replacing a much smaller chapel of the same name destroyed by fire, along with much of the rest of the choir, in 1174. Its predecessor was where Becket celebrated his first mass following his installation as
Archbishop of Canterbury.
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effigies of the King and Queen, crowned and dressed in their ceremonial robes. Henry's body was evidently well-embalmed, as an exhumation in 1832 established, allowing historians to state with reasonable certainty that the effigies are accurate portrait.
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Records of valuable gifts made there by pilgrims in the 13th century do, however, indicate that there were some relics of St Thomas Becket in the Corona. The shrines of St Odo and St
Wilfred were also eventually placed there.
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in 1387 and with routes (e.g. from
Southwark (Chaucer's route) and the Pilgrim's Way to/from Winchester) converging on the cathedral. Becket's shrine stood until it was destroyed in 1540. This was done on orders from King
259:
Christopher Wilson, 'The Tomb of Henry IV and the Holy Oil of St Thomas of
Canterbury', in Medieval Architecture and its Intellectual Context, ed. Eric Fernie and Paul Crossley (London: The Hambledon Press, 1990), pp.
97:. The king also destroyed Becket's bones and ordered that all mention of his name be obliterated. The pavement where the shrine stood in the chapel is today marked by a lighted candle. Modern day
125:, with his heraldic achievements hung over the tester. The achievements have now been replaced by replicas, though the originals can still be seen nearby, and the tester was restored in 2006.
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Thomas
Walsingham, The St Albans Chronicle: The Chronica Maiora of Thomas Walsingham, Volume II, 1394-1422, ed. and trans. John Taylor et al. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2011), pp. 237-241.
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In 1220, Becket's remains were translated from his first tomb to the finished chapel. As a result of this event, the chapel became a major pilgrimage site, inspiring
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was a word applied to the eastern apses of many churches in the medieval period. In his account of a visit to the cathedral, before the destruction of the shrine,
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C. Eveleigh
Woodruff and William Danks, Memorials of the Cathedral and Priory of Christ in Canterbury (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1912), pp. 192-194.
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Christopher Wilson, 'The
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at this place to commemorate Becket's martyrdom and the translation of his body from his first burial place to this chapel.
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235:"The Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket (Getty Museum)"
353:The Architectural History of Canterbury Cathedral
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