§ 33. THE MARTYRDOM OF THOMAS BECKET. 143
favors at my hands : come you to me and into my church armed ! " The knights tried to drag him out of the sanctu ary, not intending to kill him there ; but he braced himself against the pillar between the altars of the Virgin, his special patroness, and St. Benedict, whose rule he followed, and said : " I am ready to die. May the Church through my blood obtain peace and liberty ! I charge you in the name of God Almighty that you hurt no one here but me." In the struggle, he grappled with De Tracy and threw him to the pavement. He called Fitz-Urse (who had seized him by the collar of his long cloak) a miserable wretch, and wrenched the cloak from his grasp, saying, " Off, thou pander, thou ! " 1 The soldier, maddened by the foul epithet, waving the sword over his head, struck the first blow, and dashed off his cap. Tracy, rising from the pavement, aimed at his head ; but Edward Grim, standing by, interposed his arm, which was almost severed, and then he sank back against the wall. Becket received blow after blow in an at titude of prayer. As he felt the blood trickling down his face, he bowed his neck for the death-blow, clasped his hands, and said in a low voice : " I commend my cause and the cause of the Church to God, to St. Denis, the martyr of France, to St. Alfege, and to the saints of the Church.2 In the name of Christ and for the defence of his Church, I am ready to die. Lord, receive my spirit."
These were his last words. The next blow felled him to his knees, the last laid him on the floor at the foot of the altar of St. Benedict. His hands were still joined as if in prayer. Richard the Breton cut off the upper part of his skull, which had received the sacred oil. Hugh of Horsea,
1 "Lenonem appellans." Becket was wont to use violent language. He called Geoffrey Riddell, the archdeacon of Canterbury, " archdevil." Three years after Becket's death, Riddell was made bishop of Ely.
2 Abbott, I. 147, holds that these words must have been spoken before the blow was struck which dislodged the cap from Becket's head. The blow cut off a piece of the prelate's skull.
144 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1123-1198.
the subdeacon, trampled upon his neck, thrust his sword into the ghastly wound, and scattered the blood and the brains over the pavement.1 Then he said, " Let us go, let us go : the traitor is dead ; he will rise no more."
The murderers rushed from the church through the cloisters into the palace for plunder ; while a violent thunder-storm broke over the cathedral. They stole about two thousand marks in gold and silver, and rode off on Becket's fine horses in the thick darkness of the night.
The body of Thomas was buried in the crypt. The remains of his blood and brains were sacredly kept. His monkish admirers discovered, to their amazement and delight, that the martyr, who had once been arrayed in purple and fine linen, wore on his skin under his many garments the coarsest haircloth abounding Avith vermin. This seemed to betray the perfection of ascetic sanctity according to mediae val notions.2 The spot of his " martyrdom " is still shown close to the entrance of the cathedral from the cloister.
§ 34. The Effects of Becket's Murder.
The atrocious murder sent a thrill of horror throughout the Christian world. The moment of Becket's death was his triumph. His exalted station, his personal virtues, the sacrilege, — all contributed to deepen the impression. At first opinion was divided, as he had strong enemies, even at Canterbury. A monk declared that Becket paid a just penalty for his obstinacy ; others said, " He wished to be king and more than king; " the archbishop of York dared to preach that Becket " perished, like Pharaoh, in his pride."
But the torrent of public admiration soon silenced all opposition. Miracles took place at his tomb, and sealed his
1 All the authorities relate this brutal sacrilege.
2 Grim, with whom the other original authorities agree, says that those who saw this haircloth suit, covering the upper and lower parts of Becket's body, put aside all their doubts and acknowledged him as a martyr.