The exact culpability of King Henry II in the murder of St. Thomas Becket murder long been disputed, going right back to the time of the killing. When Henry muttered his famous line, “Won’t someone rid me of this troublesome priest?” (or some variant thereof) what did he really mean? Was he really pleading with his retainers to go murder the problematic archbishop on his behalf? Or was he merely venting his frustration in emotive hyperbole? An action taken by King Henry the day after the four knights left his castle to murder the Archbishop may help us shed light on the king’s intentions with respect to the sainted marty-bishop.
After Becket excommunicated several of Henry’s supporters in the winter of 1170, King Henry, from his castle at Bur in Bayeaux, France, expressed his desire that someone would rid him of his meddlesome opponent. Four of Henry’s vassals—the knights William de Tracy, Reginald Fitzurse, Hugh de Moreville, and Richard le Bret—took the king at his word, and, making their way to Canterbury, confronted Becket and murdered him in the cathedral on the night of December 29. Did King Henry intend for this to happen?
The Three Couriers
A strong argument can be made that Henry did not intend for anyone to harm Becket. Initial evidence in favor of this hypothesis the behavior of the four knights after their departure from Henry’s court at Bur. The four apparently left Bur without informing Henry of their departure. Furthermore, while making their way to the coast to sail for Canterbury, the four knights split up and took four separate routes to the English Channel.
If the four men considered themselves to be carrying out the king’s will, why would they have left Bur clandestinely and taken the precaution of traveling separately? It is likely that they feared Henry would disapprove of their intentions and try to stop them. Let us read about this account in William Fitzstephen’s Life of St. Thomas Becket, which picks up on December 26, the day after the four knights had departed. Henry was conferring with his lords about his frustration with Becket. After hearing his bishops’ suggestions, Fitzstpehen tells us:
When these remarks had-been ended, the King at once sent Earl William de Mandeville, Seyer de Quiney, and Richard de Humet after those four who had gone into England. The report was that they were to seize the Archbishop. (1)
This is a fascinating passage. It tells us that, after the departure of the knights on Christmas Day, Henry sent a trio of couriers “after those four who had gone into England.” Why did Henry send these men after the knights? Presumably, having learned of the knight’s departure following his angry words of the previous day, Henry feared they would take matters into their own hands and exacerbate the crisis with the archbishop. He therefore sent his three couriers after the knights.
The Mission of the Couriers
Fitzstephen’s account makes it clear that King Henry sent couriers after the knights, but what Henry intended of them is less certain. Fitzshephen says that the couriers were “at once sent…afte those four who had gone into England.” Were they to intercept the knights and recall them to Bur to prevent a showdown with Becket? Perhaps, but Fitzstephen believes their object was to secure Becket themselves before the four knights could get a hold of him, although it should be observed that Fitzstephen reports as hearsay.
Fitzstephen goes on to discuss the exact routes taken by the couriers and whether they crossed into England. Based on this evidence, it seems that Henry was expecting Becket to attempt to flee back across the Channel into France. Again, Fitzstephen:
Earl William and Seyer went as far as the seaport but they did not cross. Richard, heading for another port, crossed. The young king [Henry II’s son Henry] was at Winchester. Richard sent word to his guardians, Hugh de Gondreville and William Fitz-John, to go to Canterbury, without the knowledge of the King, with the soldiers of the royal household. He himself lay in wait along the coast in order that the Archbishop might be seized it he by any chance should attempt flight to some seaport. The Earl William and Seyer did the same on the continent, to arrest him there if by chance he should succeed in crossing. (2)
Of course, the mission of the three couriers was a failure, as they neither intercepted the four knights nor apprehended the Archbishop, who had decided to remain in Canterbury.
Henry II’s Intention
The story presented by William Fitzstephen raises several important questions about King Henry’s motives relating to Becket during the fateful Christmas of 1170.
First, were the couriers dispatched to intercept the four knights and prevent them from traveling to England? Fitzstephen says that the couriers were in haste with the intention of going after the four knights, but he does not specifically say their intent was to intercept them. Rather, he says their mission was to apprehend Becket by waiting for him at the ports. In what sense, then, were the couriers sent “after” the knights? Context would suggest that Henry feared the knights would make matters worse, and so dispatched the couriers in hopes of catching Becket before the knights arrived at Canterbury, presuming that Becket would likely attempt to flee the city. Henry likely wanted to prevent a dramatic showdown at Canterbury itself, which could potentially arouse sympathy for the Archbishop. If Becket could be apprehended and brought to Bayeux, he could be dealt with at the king’s leisure. The job of the couriers was to find Becket before the knights.
Second, what does this suggest about Henry’s intentions towards the Archbishop himself? Given that he sent couriers with instructions to apprehend (not kill) Becket—and that these couriers were deliberately sent to forestall the mission of the four knights—we may presume that Henry did not wish any harm to come to Thomas Becket. Henry either never meant to go through with killing Becket, or else had thought better of it after his incendiary comments on December 25 and the departure of the four knights to Canterbury. He likely had a presentiment of what might happen in four confronted the famously hot-headed Becket at Canterbury and sending couriers were an attempt to prevent such a scenario from unfolding.
If you’d like to learn more about the murder of Becket, pick up a copy of The Murder of Becket and the Canterbury Shrine by Arthur Penrhyn Stanley, introduction by Ryan Grant.
(1) An Annotated Translation of the Life of St. Thomas Becket by William Fitzstephen, trans. by Sr. Mary Aelred Sinclair, SHCJ (Loyola University: Chicago, 1944), 72, available online at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48598219.pdf See also, The Life and Letters of St Thomas Becket, trans. J.A. Giles (William & Norgate: London, 1850), 291
(2) Ibid.
Phillip Campbell, “The Couriers Henry II Sent After Becket’s Killers,” Unam Sanctam Catholicam, July 13, 2025. Available online at https://unamsanctamcatholicam.com/2025/07/the-couriers-henry-ii-sent-after-beckets-killers