Thomas Becket and His World

A life of England’s most famous martyr, rooted in the currents of twelfth-century Europe.

This book explores the turbulent life and violent death of Thomas Becket, one of the most controversial figures in the Middle Ages: a London merchant’s son turned royal chancellor, an archbishop of Canterbury turned martyred saint. Michael Staunton looks at Becket’s complex and contested legacy, drawing from the bishop’s writings as well as those of his contemporaries.

Based on extensive research, th...