Thomas Becket and His Biographers (review)

The materials for the life of Thomas Becket are substantial. In the Rolls series published between 1875 and 1885, they fill seven sturdy volumes. These contain correspondence relating to the archbishop's career and biographies written after his death, an event that shocked Western Christendom and provided a new perspective on his life. The correspondence has been re-edited—that of John of Salisbury by W. J. Millor, H. E. Butler, and Christopher Brooke in 1955 and 1979; that of Thomas Becket by Anne Duggan in 2004—in the Oxford Medieval Texts series. Becket's life and death as seen by his biographers have received more limited critical attention, and Staunton's clearly structured monograph meets a real need.

There are two main sections to this work. The first examines the chroniclers, the second the main themes of Becket's life: conversion, conflict, trial, exile, and martyrdom. Ten biographies are given extended treatment, of which two are anonymous. Three of the authors had been Becket's clerks: John of Salisbury, William fitz Stephen, and Herbert of Bosham (whose long biography is sensitively examined here). Three others—Edward Grim, Benedict of Peterborough, and William of Canterbury—were eyewitnesses to the murder and write vividly about it. Guernes, the only author writing in the vernacular, and Alan of Tewkesbury obtained their information secondhand. The chapters dealing with these authors pay particular attention to the modern literature. Where there is disagreement, as on the dating of the Vita et Passio by John of Salisbury (p. 26), Staunton tends to note this rather than advance his own opinion.

The chapter on conversion sets out to answer the question, "How do we explain the change from Thomas the worldly chancellor and friend of the king to Thomas the archbishop, champion of the Church?" (p. 75). It demonstrates how the literature on conversion was used to argue for the underlying consistency of Becket's actions. The theme does not appear in the letters, but it was a particular concern of Becket's biographers.

Two useful chapters deal with the disputes that preceded Becket's exile. Staunton is surprised that only two biographies mention Becket's resignation as chancellor after his appointment as archbishop and states that this combination of offices "was not unusual in twelfth-century Europe" (p. 98).This may have been the case elsewhere, but the English custom was that the position had to be relinquished. At a time when the customs of the king's ancestors, codified in the Constitutions of Clarendon, were the subject of debate, the king was unlikely to have objected. The importance of the office of chancellor may have been inflated because it was held by a future saint.

Becket spent the greater part of his short episcopate in exile, from October 1164 until a month before his martyrdom, and these years are covered in the most original chapter in the book. In going into exile, Becket was turning his back on many of his responsibilities, but his subsequent martyrdom, the subject of the final chapter, provided the defense for his action and changed the nature of the discussion. The exile could be seen quite plausibly as a stage in his conversion and a part of his journey toward martyrdom (p. 168).

This is an exemplary monograph. Staunton writes with clear, stylish detachment that never masks the importance of the issues raised by an iconic event of twelfth-century European history.