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The life and martyrdom of st. Thomas Becket
The life and martyrdom of st Thomas Becket Author:John Morris Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR. On the 17th December Henry II., in his twenty-first year, was crowned King of England at Westminster hy Archbishop T... more »heobald, the legate of the Holy See. He could not fail to be aware of the part which had been taken by St. Thomas to secure his succession. Through his influence the Holy See had forbidden the Archbishop of Canterbury to crown Eustace; and he doubtless took a leading part in the negotiation by which the Primate and the Bishop of Winchester had procured from Stephen an acknowledgment of the right of Henry to succeed to the crown. We are therefore not astonished to learn that, when St. Thomas was put forward by Archbishop Theobald as worthy of high place about the young king's person, he should at once have been promoted to the chancellorship of England. This was in 1155, when he was thirty-eight years old, and consequently considerably the king's senior. The dignity of the office which he now filled was such, that the famous Peter of Remy33 calls him " second to the king in four kingdoms." The chapel- royal was in his care; he had the custody of the great seal, and with its reverse we are told he was at liberty to seal his own documents; his place in the councils of the sovereign was most important; and byan abuse which then prevailed, he administered the revenues of all vacant bishoprics and abbacies. The talents of St. Thomas had now34 full scope to manifest themselves. Within three months of the king's coronation, an evil which had its rise in the disturbed reign of Stephen was vigorously remedied. Many foreign adventurers, principally Flemings, of whom the most notorious was William de Ipre, created by that king Earl of Kent, were driven out of England ; and the destruction of many castles which had served to harb...« less