Thomas Becket

What became of Thomas Becket’s bones?

2 March 2024 9:00 am

Alice Roberts’s examinations of violent deaths in the past take her to the site of Becket’s murder in Canterbury cathedral and the later destruction of his shrine by Henry VIII

Why Thomas Becket still divides opinion

22 May 2021 9:00 am

The verdict is still out on Thomas Becket, says Dan Hitchens, but there’s no doubting the brilliance of the art he inspired

The murder of Thomas Becket in stained glass at Canterbury cathedral. Next year sees the 800th anniversary of the creation of Becket’s shrine and the revival of the old pilgrimage route from Southampton to Canterbury

Will the Pilgrims’ Way soon rival the Camino de Santiago?

20 April 2019 9:00 am

There are more than 100 cathedrals in England, Scotland and Wales of many different denominations (although I for one had…

Sons and haters: Henry II was much aggrieved by his acquisitive sons

Two new books explore the triumphs and tribulations of an underrated king – Henry II

22 September 2018 9:00 am

Poor old Henry II: once fêted as one of England’s greatest kings, he has long been neglected. Accessible books on…

Detail of mosaic depicting the martyrdom of Saints Castus and Cassius, 12th century, at the Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily

Norman Sicily was a multicultural paradise – but it didn’t last long

9 April 2016 9:00 am

There are lessons to be learned from the disintegration of this once majestic multicultural Norman kingdom, says Martin Gayford

Bad King John: more interested in hunting than good governance

The realm of England: from the Pennines to the Pyrenees

13 February 2016 9:00 am

Most people know more about the 12th century than they think they do. This is, as Richard Huscroft reminds us…