Reflection…

 

As my blog’s purpose is now complete, the time to reflect on how and what I researched affected myself and my eventual outcome has come.

I knew straight away I was going to look at Thomas Becket for this independent project; I knew about him but had never had the opportunity to study him. I began my project like everyone begins theirs – with basic fact. My early development was fine and originally, I was going to compare texts and images. More than anything though, I found this boring. This was a large problem as it shows in my work and I was only able to fix this with a tutor’s suggestion that I compare art.

I adore art on a personal level; I have completed an A Level in it and am forever doodling on random scraps of paper – this search for art was fruitful, interesting and fun. Neither in History or Art A Levels have I actually had to start research without a known artist, and for a small period of time, I was stuck on this. So rather than a person, I took my main source to be Canterbury Cathedral’s windows. Windows led to drawings which led to Pilgrim’s souvenirs, which led to Chasses. I think this has improved my research skills greatly – prior to this, I had been told where to look for ideas. Supporting literature was actually easier to find than the primary art sources as many of them are aged or completely destroyed today. At the start of my course, we were given ‘Module Learning Outcomes’ and one of those was ‘Become skilled in the analysis of visual and textual sources, and the variety of methods…’ It was the use of ‘methods’ that really helped my understanding; I found learning about how to make enamel incredibly interesting as it would have been such a long process in the 12th Century – and the detail is impeccable.

My preconceived ideas about this project, I have learnt, were wrong. I did not expect to become quite so attached to this topic; it’s riveting and has actually made me enjoy the medieval period far more than any previous projects – usually I prefer politics or modern history. I was also expecting at least one of my peers to have studied Becket in their education. I was very wrong about that and have developed my independent study skills.

My topic did not go to ‘plan’ at all. but I actually feel that’s a positive thing. If it had, I probably would not have felt quite so passionate or interested in it – I am now even considering volunteering at Canterbury over a holiday period in the coming year. I feel I have learnt a lot about my approach to a project and research. Presentation is also far more vital in history now; before rows of neat typing was acceptable, but with the virtual world taking over, you have to consider every aspect. This is why I used so many of my own images on my blog – it is too easy to go onto Google Images and lose any originality.

I have really enjoyed this project and I am quite disappointed that it is finished now – hopefully I will be able to revisit Becket in my later University career!

Bibliography:

Ainsworth, W.H. Ainsworth’s Magazine: a Miscellany of Romance, General Literature and Art. Vol, 1 (1842) 171

Biggs, D. Michalove, S.D. Compton Reeves, A. Reputation and representation in fifteenth century Europe. Brill, 2004

Bisson, L.M. Chaucer and the Late Medieval World. St Martin’s Press 1998

Brainerd Slocum, K. Liturgies in honour of Thomas Becket. University of Toronto Press, 2004

Breck, J. A Reliquary of Saint Thomas Becket Made for John of Salisbury. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol.13, No. 10 (1918) 220-224

Building News and Architectural Review, Vol. 9

Butler, J. The Quest for Becket’s Bones. Yale University Press, 1995

Cantor, N.F. In the Wake of the Plague. Simon and Schuster, 2001

Chaucer, G. The Canterbury Tales. Penguin Revised Ed, 1951 (Originally published 1400)

Jameson, A. Legends of the Monastic Orders: as Represented in the Fine Arts. Forming the Second Series of Sacred and Legendary Art. Longmans, Green and Co. 1867

Michaels. M.A Stained Glass of Canterbury Cathedral. Scala Publishers Ltd; illustrated edition edition 1999.

Morris, C, Roberts, P. Pilgrimage: the English experience from Becket to Bunyan. Cambridge University Press, 2002

Phillips, S. Edward II. Yale University Press, 2010

Shoham-Steiner, E. Jews and Healing at Medieval Saints’ Shrines: Participation, Polemics and Shared Cultures. The Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 103, No. 1 (2010) 111-129

Smart, N. The World's Religions, Cambridge University Press, 1998

Thomas, K. Religion and the Decline of Magic. Penguin, 1973

Wilson, C. The Gothic Cathedral. Thames and Hudson, 1990

Woolf, D.R. The social circulation of the past: English historical culture, 1500-1730 Oxford University Press, 2003

Various Authors - Dictionary of World History. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Various: Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in Northern Europe and the British Isles -  Volume 2, Brill 2004

And Now The End Is Near…

 

And so, I face my final Becket-based curtain. Alas the search for proof for the international development of popular piety is nearing a close.

When I started this blog, my hypothesis was to prove that Becket was essential to religious popularity in the 12th Century and that much of this popularity was shown through art. So what does this add to our understanding of the time?

It’s difficult in a time of scientific developments happening practically every day to believe in miracles and for a lot of people, religion too. Visiting Canterbury Cathedral really enforces how important religion was to those living in the 12th Century. Considering this contributes to actually understanding history, rather than seeing it as a list of dates and events. Becket was a real man, who cared for his religious life, comparable to a medieval Martin Luther King. He went against those higher up to help those below. This develops our understanding of our rights; people like Becket over the centuries have all contributed to modern day rights.

The windows in Canterbury are a reminder of faith and of belief. Standing next to the very point where he was murdered is surreal and a must for any history lover. Pilgrims of Becket still arrive every 29th of December and according to the guides, they come from all corners of the globe, asking him to heal their relatives, or just to remember a man that nine centuries ago, fought for the same things they believe in now. This is also proof that the importance of religion remains – although I am not religious myself, the very fact that once a year, people go to pray for a long dead saint demands a kind of respect for this.

Looking at all of the types of art – architecture, paintings, windows etc also contributes to our understanding of how art has developed over the centuries. Learning the methodology too develops our knowledge; in a world without steel machinery, the idea that they created such tall windows and impressive structures makes it enthralling to learn the original processes.

Conclusion:

The biggest argument for this project was deciding whether or not Becket actually deserved the international praise he attained; he is often considered both a martyr and a traitor. Whatever he was though, he was certainly good for popular piety in England – and abroad. The texts were the vital part of my research; without literature I could not have understood much of the art. For the most part, many of them considered how Henry II’s order for the death of Becket was most likely just a throw-away comment made in anger. Henry’s public penance, walking barefoot to the Cathedral and begging forgiveness, demonstrates how Becket probably was an innocent man. Overall, I reached the conclusion that he deserved the recognition and nearly all of the art supported this– art is subjective and as much of it agreed with the idea of martyrdom, it seems like an agreed general consensus that Becket was unfairly murdered.

In 1982, Becket’s importance in modern religion was certified when Pope John Paul II and the then Archbishop of Canterbury prayed for Becket. This signified the end of a dispute between Rome and our Monarchy; it was not a win for the papal over the regal, but more a coming together of faiths. The plaque below is about a foot away from the physical location of Becket’s death.

The Triumph of Papal Over Regal?

Although he was undoubtedly religious, there is – and probably always will be – arguments over whether or not Becket was a ‘good’ man. The Reformation affected Becket’s worshippers badly because for the first time in nearly five centuries, a King had said that he was in fact a traitor, by going against a monarch’s wishes.
After becoming Archbishop, Becket is said to have changed. In the Liturgies in Honour of Thomas Becket, author Kay Brainerd Slocum looks back to Ancient Rome for an explanation for this change. With new powers, a new man can emerge and this is compared back to orator Cicero – Slocum writes that ‘the concept of novus homo is an echo of classical references to Cicero, the ‘new man’ who came to Rome from the provinces and made a spectacular career’. Cicero’s career can indeed be compared to Becket’s – he was judged in his life time, much like Becket was in his. However Slocum also says that ‘All of Becket’s biographers were emphatic in their claims that Thomas became a transformed human being’. This use of ‘emphatic’ may not be a positive; his contemporary biographers would have been emphatic because they worshipped him. This ‘transformation’ also may not have been good – it may even explain the tensions between King and Archbishop.
Although most texts only note Becket’s imagery being lost to the Reformation, it may actually not have been as personal an attack as previously considered. In The Social circulation of the Past: English Historical Culture, 1500-1730 by Daniel R. Woolf, he acknowledges that ‘popular piety had refocused on the images of saints rather than relics’. This suggests that as the country was becoming ever more industrial and self sufficient, there was less need to worship relics; rather Saints were remembered through art. The relics of Saints and religious figures higher up the chain than Becket were also collated, Woolf states that ‘an inventory of the pieces of Holy Cross, bones of Mary Magdalen and the other Saints… filled four sheets of paper’. Both Woolf and Colin Morris and Peter Roberts, who both wrote Pilgrimage: The English Experience from Becket to Bunyan acknowledge that this change happened relatively early into the 1530’s, without immediate regal pressure. Morris and Roberts wrote that ‘the veneration of Saints and images… was launched in the mid 1530’s’ with Woolf agreeing that images of Saints were being ignored by ‘early reformers, who strove to extinguish such popular occasions as Relic Sunday… [that was held on] 6th July 1536’.
With regards to how far Becket’s popularity stretched into Europe, Biggs, Michalove and Reeves consider the impact of relics and shrines, with particular reference to France. In their text Reputation and Representation in Fifteenth Century Europe, the passage concerning Becket opens by informing the reader just how far his popularity had stretched over Europe – ‘Boulogne was not the only corner of this part of the continent [with strong religious connections to England]’. They also consider towns further afield, such as Tournai in Belgium. They particularly reference Becket’s cult too, saying that ‘the relics of St. Thomas, like his cult, were geographically widespread across Europe’. Members of British royalty were still visiting Saint-Omer in 1480* – only a mere fifty years before Becket was banished from history.Saint-Omer, as observed by Biggs and his co-writers, is said to have had one of the largest Becket relic-based shrines, consisting of ‘his tunic, hair shirt, hairs, blood and his staff, to which should be added his crozier’. Both King’s Henry IV and Henry VI were too obsessed with Becket. Henry IV is the only Tudor King not to be buried in Westminster Abbey or St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle due to his insistence that he be buried next to Becket. Upon his coronation as King of France, Henry VI was anointed with the ‘sacred oil’ of Becket (considered to be a mix of holy water and his blood).
In conclusion with regards to literature, I do not think that Becket was a bad man; he was a man who fought for his beliefs and would do anything to protect his cause. Europe did not take such a heavy interest in every British Saint, and their adoration towards Becket (as I have shown through the creation of the windows, architecture, chasses and pilgrimage tokens) proves without doubt his importance and shows how he developed popular piety almost singlehandedly.
Footnotes:
Margaret of York is said to have visited Becket’s relics in Saint-Omer twice in her life; once when she was ‘on her way to marry Charles the Bold in 1468. the second time when she was [on her way back to] England as the chief negotiator of Maximilian in 1480’. Becket also features in Richard III’s ‘Book of Hours’ which Henry VII gave to his mother.

Home and Away: How Britain and Europe showed devotion to Becket (Part 2)

So as promised at the end of my last post, this post will compare chasses designed to hold Becket’s bones (commonly found throughout Europe), explain how coloured enamel is made, show you how to spot tales relevant to Becket when looking at Canterbury Cathedral’s windows and finally, compare and contrast British and European souvenirs.
Chasses:
Designed for the purpose of holding Becket’s bones, chasses’ were popular all over Europe, with the style varying from country to country. Below are French and Spanish examples. The shape of chasses does not change dramatically and indeed it is a style noted to be ‘evidently of the twelfth century; it is an ark like form… with plates of copper gilt and blue enamel’’*.

This above chasses is French, whilst the one below is Spanish; they are almost identical in physical shape, (although the Spanish one is slightly more chunky) and both have similar detailing. They show Becket being murdered next to the altar (to his right, indicated by the cloth and chalice). Blue and gold enamel are used in both and traditionally this colour combination represents royalty.  The detail on the lids are also slightly different; they both have angels representing his ascendance to Sainthood (and to the right of the French chasses, you can see a portrait of Becket as a Saint) but whilst the French use a more fluent style line and excessive detail on the robes, the Spanish use block lines of colour and larger circles for detail. The artists of both pieces are unknown and because there are many chasses to be seen around Europe, it is down to detailing to distinguish one country’s style from another.

 

Across Europe, chasses are a vital example of Becket’s importance in history to everyone; he was a poster-boy for popular piety. These remaining pieces are part of private collections that are often loaned to museums around the world, that were brought for hundreds of thousands of pounds and are now worth even more.
Coloured Enamels -  Methodology Behind the Multi-Colour Magic:
Much like the lining enamel, there are two types of coloured; that which would be comparable to paint, and that which would be created, fired and held together by lead. As the Becket windows are made from the latter style, I have considered this in more detail.

How the coloured enamel would be made:

1. Medieval furnaces were not hot enough to melt silica (the substance that makes glass) as it has an extremely high melting temperature…

2. So Soda and Lead were added to lower the temperature of the silica.

3. Lime was then added to strengthen the now thinned-down silica mix

4. And finally, Metallic Oxides were added to create colour.

Depending on which colour the artist wanted to create, different oxides would be added, for example to make Green, Copper Oxide would be added (although if the Copper was added at a different temperature it would create red and blue tones). To make Blue, Cobalt would be added. To make Red, Gold would be added and finally, to make Yellow, Uranium/Cadmium Sulphide would be added.
The glass would then be blown and before it was fired, the shapes needed for the windows would be cut to size*. Once fired, they would be bonded with lining enamel (explained in the previous post) and the window would be ready.
Telling Tales; How to find Becket in Canterbury’s Windows:
In Stained Glass of Canterbury Cathedral by M.A Michael (£14.95 from the actual Cathedral), there’s a short guide of how to spot different saints and stories in different windows – for example, if there is a tray of food, and the tray is quite long, the story will feature a leper.
There are three images that relate to finding Becket in the windows, but to prevent copyright charges, I’ve done some small drawings below to illustrate the things to look out for. The name of the story is also written, so that the actual image can be found easily.
 
The Shrine that would have covered Becket’s body, (lifted for pilgrimages) is believed to have been gold*, and it is common lore that when it was lifted, Becket’s soul would roam free and heal the sick. A soul could represent any saint, but the Shrine is definitely applicable to Becket.

The lecturn with a book shows that the characters in the window’s story were praying for/to Becket. It also represents the monks vigil over the martyr’s body.

A bottle of water being poured into a bowl is holy water combined with the Saint’s ‘magical’ blood – it represents the cleansing of sin and the healing of the victim in the story.

The Gift Shop:
When visiting Becket’s shrine, it was not unusual for pilgrims to leave little trophies celebrating their Saint. These would be left with his body and luckily, a few are still in good condition. Below there is a 12th Century trophy and a 14th Century (the first is British, the second is French) for comparison*.

In this piece, the shrine with Becket’s body is shown. As mentioned earlier, the shrine would be lifted to show his body – both this and the later piece show this. This would have taken place in the Cathedral itself, and the fact that the pieces were made approximately two centuries apart show that Becket’s popularity did not die easily.

Top: 12th Century, Bottom: 14th Century.
Left: The 12th Century Becket is far more ‘cartoon’ in detail; the 14th (particularly found in the robe and headwear) is more detailed. The dots on the shrine are almost in diagonal rows too, showing that the later artist was more aware of capturing precise detail. The basic style however remains the same, and for many of the Pilgrim’s trophies, this was an acceptable, liked style.
Next Time:
In my next blog, I’ll be edging away from images and discussing the different viewpoints on piety and its development in the 12th Century through academic texts.
Footnotes:
* Quote from W.H Ainsworth -  Ainsworth’s Magazine: a Miscellany of Romance, General Literature and Art. Vol, 1 (1842) 171
* Did you know that the stained glass would be based on a drawing called a cartoon? The word actually connotes to a thick lined pencil drawing – the thick pencil lines would be used to show where the lead would hold the glass together.
* Becket’s Shrine would have been above this candle that marks the original location of his body, before Henry VIII ordered its removal during the Reformation. The candle is lit 24 hours a day, and is refilled with oil each morning in memory.

* Both images of the the Pilgrim’s souvenirs are taken from Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in Northern Europe and the British Isles Vol. 2

Home and Away: How Britain and Europe showed devotion to Becket (Part 1)

When considering how architecture was presented in memory of Becket, there is more to consider than just the physical shape of the building; the interior and its decoration are also important – it can tell you when (approximately) and where in Europe it was made.


Again I’ll be starting with a small dose of Canterbury Cathedral history - Although the entire structure of the Cathedral was not designed completely in honour of Becket, when a fire ravaged the quire in 1174, the immediate restructuring work was based entirely around him. With Becket and his miracles came pilgrims and the builders of the Cathedral worked hard to provide for this sudden surge of popularity, even without finishing the job properly*.


In Sicily, Monreale Church is similar; it was designed in sole honour of Becket and although it does not use stained glass, it does feature a portrait of the Saint. The intentions of both of the Churches are quite simple; the buildings were there to pay homage to the Martyr and the art was there to represent him.
Monreale, Sicily:

This is the interior of the church; it is similar to Canterbury in that its images of Saints is behind the altar. It also features the high ceilings and columns found in Canterbury too. St Thomas is painted in the third row below the image of Christ (second in, right of the small window). The gold gilt detail is also found in the Cathedral, although not as expansively (see images 1 and 2 for further reference below).


The position of Becket in proportion to the position of Christ here is important; for an English saint to be so close to Christ in a country he had never visited suggests that Rome’s sadness of Becket’s death extended right throughout the immediate countries. In Canterbury, he is on the fourth line down, suggesting he is still important but not as important as some of the other saints.

This is the image of Becket close up; his robes are quite luxurious and the long white drape at the front with the crucifix shows his position as an Archbishop (the letters C A N T are to the right of him, showing where this position was held). The use of the colour green here is interesting, as Becket is enrobed in green in Canterbury too; this painting was done sometime after the glass was made and more interestingly, in the miracle windows, Becket’s healed victims wear green. I am not sure if this is intrinsically linked in Becket-based art as yet.


Paintings Vs Enamels and Stained Glass:
Although there are not many paintings left in England of Becket due to the Reformation, there are some ink drawings available for comparison; I will show those in a later post. For now, I’ll just briefly explain the different types of enamel used in stained glass across Europe and compare these to Canterbury. There are two kinds used; that for lining and that for colouring. Here is a small grid explaining those used for lining:

Type of Enamel:	Niello	Champlevé	Vitreous
Found in:	Northern Europe; common with Anglo Saxons.	Southern Europe; Common in the Roman Empire.	All of Europe and Britain – although used most commonly with the Champlevé method.
Made of:	A black mixture of copper, silver and lead sulphides. Niello is a metallic enamel and does not have the grey tint found in Canterbury.	Soft or sheet metals; more of a process. Vitreous Enamel would be poured into carved/casted patterns on the object.	Ground or broken glassed that was melted at over 450 deg. It fused and for a very short time, was in a pourable, liquid form. Often made in small quantities as large amounts would go to waste as it hardened quickly.
Used for (except SGW):	Relief images, Jewellery.	Jewellery, prints, and design on weapons.	All types of decoration, as colour could be added; weapons, belts, jewellery, prints etc.

The lining enamel used in Canterbury is closest in form to Niello; it was made of lead that was heated until liquified, this is what gives it its grey finish. Similarities are found (no doubt due to its creator*) in Canterbury and Chartres Cathedral in France. The windows are identical in hues and patterning; the windows in Canterbury are said to have come from France, so comparing them will gives some idea of how imagery was done in the Twelfth Century.

A window from Chartres Cathedral



A select piece from the Becket miracle windows.
Note in both how the tones of red and the alternating depth of the hues of blue are identical; the thick, dark and fairly basic outlines are too very similar. Considering form, both are circular towards the edge, suggesting this was a frequent style.


Next Time:
In my next post, I’ll be comparing different kinds of pilgrim souvenirs and chasses found throughout Europe, explaining how different kinds of coloured enamel were made and showing how to spot iconography that is relevant to Becket in Canterbury’s windows.


Reference Images and Footnotes:
* When walking up the steps towards Becket’s shrine, pilgrims would pass the miracle windows – these would read like stories to them, bearing in mind nearly all were illiterate. In order to build the steps (described to me by a guide as akin to walking up the steps to Heaven) they removed windows and quickly filled them with stone. You can see, as you walk up, the arches of the old windows, about 4 inches above the steps, starting from the lowest.
* Frenchman William of Sens designed and began the restoration of the Cathedral after the fire; the point that the windows are identical in style to those in France is no small coincidence and they were constructed at almost the same time (Chartres was constructed slightly later, and was finished around 1260). As the windows came from France, there is the possibility that they were made in the same area. France heavily felt the loss of Becket; he went into exile there and formed many great bonds with the French people, including the king, throughout his lifetime. King Louis II even sent a large ruby for his shrine.
1: 

High vaulted ceilings and columns.
2:

Gold gilding and detail.

Canterbury Cathedral - Landmarks of Becket's Life and Death

Although this blog will be lacking in actual analytical text, the pictures below will be used again in later posts - there is a caption beneath and in the post following this one, I will compare certain aspects to other examples of Becket based artwork. As the starting point  (and of course, the ending point) for any Becket research, a trip to Canterbury Cathedral was vital. Here's some of the pictures - apologies for any blurring!

This candle stand is just left of the memorial stone inlaid at the point

where Becket was murdered; I lit a candle (bottom right). 

These swords have been in the Cathedral for a long time 

and represent those used by the four knights who killed Becket - the broken one holding the

other three represents the one that physically broke Becket's skull.

Although this is an image of a sculpture done by Anthony Gormley, the 

actual importance lies in its location with the Cathedral; it hovers approximately 15ft

above the first burial site of Becket's body - Gormley's reasoning behind the piece (made out of iron nails)

is 'Mind and body, church and state are polarities evoked by the life and death of Thomas Becket'. 

This is proof that in 900 years, Becket's importance is as relevant as ever.

A small image of the Becket Miracle Windows - they were very high

and extremely detailed - the detail could not be captured in any image to the degree

you see in front of you.

Using flash on this image has highlighted the lead detailing - all of the

white and slightly grey areas are the lead. The lead we discovered (through a guide)

was applied first, by being poured onto the glass. The colour was then painted with a

particular kind of enamel. The South Facing window of the cathedral has had its most famous

saints windows removed for maintenance, and are showing two Saints periodically (During the visit, they were showing Methusela and Joseph) . We weren't allowed to take photos, but you can genuinely see the brush strokes.

Next to the Becket window is this painting based on the original manuscript image. The

date is far obviously later; the detail is developed, angle and dimension has been slightly incorporated

and most importantly, Becket is illustrated as a Saint.

Under the lettering is the arch of the doorway that the four knights

came through before killing Thomas. This lettering was added, and roughly translates to 'Tell us what is done with wonderful vestments. Blessed is the folly of the venerable St. Thomas shone with the urn in the bate of the martyr'. The original door is also still there, and it felt odd being able to touch such an important piece of English history.

Thomas Becket: In Brief

'All saints give testimony to the truth that without real effort, no one ever wins the crown.' 

Said by the man himself, Thomas Becket would, unknowingly, live up to this quote. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce you to this Twelfth Century martyr...


Name: Thomas Becket/ Thomas a Becket (The slight name changes variate depending on the author, date and text, but neither are wrong).


Born/Died: Becket is believed to have been born around 1118. He died on December 29th, 1170.


In Brief Biog: Thomas was born in London and led an educated life. He progressed from the Archdeacon of Canterbury, to the King's Chancellor and further to that, the Archbishop of Canterbury whilst remaining a close partner to King Henry II. Henry was a firm believer of the Divine Right of Kings and as a result, expected to rule and reign his country as he wished, without argument. Becket was opinionated and prior to his death, had many disagreements with the King over the ties with Rome and their affect on the Church. Henry wanted to separate his kingdom from Rome's rule, whilst Becket wanted to remain close. This dispute led to Becket exiling himself to France for a number of years. Upon his return further disputes took place, and after the King's expression that Becket should be removed (this is now considered a throw-away comment by historians), four knights of King Henry travelled to Canterbury Cathedral, burst through a set of doors and murdered Thomas Becket, with a sharp swipe to the skull with a sword.


Becket was, as a result, canonised in 1173 and grief was felt so expansively by all that King Henry II paid public penance. From 1170 until the time of The Reformation, Becket was a celebrated saint, and by medieval standards, comparable to a modern day celebrity; a cult was even established from the 'magical' properties in his blood. All over Britain and Europe today, chasses, chapels and ornate stained glass windows remain in memory of his martyrdom.


These pieces of art show how Becket influenced popular piety and throughout this blog I will compare and contrast various images, methods and forms of art to develop this and show how even to pilgrims today, Becket remains important to history.