The Betrayal of Thomas Becket
Gone Medieval
History Hit
4.5 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 7 April 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?!"
These words supposedly uttered by a King over 800 years ago set in motion a chain of gruesome events, and sparked cult-like devotion across the world.
Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis consider Becket's meteoric rise in status to becoming the Archbishop of Canterbury, his increasingly fractious relationship with King Henry II, the vicious murder itself and finally, how the cult of St Thomas of Canterbury spread across the European continent.
But how did Thomas Becket first rise to power and prominence? Professor Michael Staunton joins Eleanor to unwrap the enigma and get to the heart of who Thomas Becket was, and whether his fate was truly inescapable.
MORE
Henry II & Thomas Becket: A Doomed Friendship
The Murder of Thomas Becket
The Cult of Becket
Gone Medieval is presented by Dr. Eleanor Janega and Matt Lewis. Audio editors are Ella Blaxill and Amy Haddow, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music used is courtesy of Epidemic Sounds.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From long-lost Viking ships and kings buried in unexpected places to tales of murder, |
| 0:07.7 | power, faith, and the lives of ordinary people across medieval Europe and beyond. |
| 0:13.2 | Join me, Matt Lewis, Dr. Eleanor Jarniger and some of the world's leading historians, |
| 0:18.0 | as we bring history's most fascinating stories to life only on |
| 0:22.3 | History Hit. With your subscription, you'll unlock hundreds of hours of exclusive documentaries |
| 0:27.2 | with a brand new release every week exploring everything from the ancient world to World War II. |
| 0:33.6 | Just visit historyhit.com forward slash subscribe. |
| 0:41.7 | Hello, I'm Dr. Eleanorianica, and welcome to Gone Medieval from History Hit, |
| 0:46.8 | the podcast that delves into the greatest millennium in human history. |
| 0:51.1 | We uncover the greatest mysteries, the gobsmacking details, and the latest |
| 0:57.0 | groundbreaking research from the Vikings to the Normans, from kings to popes, to the crusades. |
| 1:03.9 | We delve into the rebellions, plots, and murders that tell us who we really were. |
| 1:10.7 | And how we got here. |
| 1:18.8 | Happy Easter! |
| 1:20.6 | This holiday weekend, we thought we'd give you a chance to hear one of our most popular episodes. |
| 1:26.3 | Back in 2024, we recorded a special series on |
| 1:29.9 | the murder of Thomas Beckett and how it shook the very foundations of England and the monarchy. |
| 1:36.0 | It's one of my favorite ever episodes, and frankly, it's the true medieval way to spend an |
| 1:41.8 | Easter Monday thinking about martyrs. I hope you'll enjoy it as much |
| 1:47.0 | as I did. Exactly 850 years ago, in July 1174, an English king approaches the city of Canterbury. Disguiding his shoes and his |
| 2:05.0 | royal robes, he pulls on a coarse sackcloth garment. Staggering barefooted through the streets, |
| 2:12.4 | this sorry figure is in stark contrast to his usual regal demeanour. |
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