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Secondary sourceArtifact12th century

Becket Liturgical Garments, Sens Cathedral

12th century

Vestments kept at Sens Cathedral, where Becket lived during his exile in France under the protection of King Louis VII.

Vestments surviving from Becket's years of exile in France, kept where he found refuge under Louis VII's protection.

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Display case in a museum showing a pale cream silk liturgical robe with gold-embroidered borders on a mannequin, a pair of cream shoes, two long red-edged gold-patterned embroidered bands (stoles or orphreys), and a dark purple garment with gold trim at right.
Liturgical garments of Thomas Becket from his exile in Sens, 12th century. Sens Cathedral Treasury, France.

About this source

What it is

This display case at Sens Cathedral in France holds liturgical garments associated with Thomas Becket, including a cream silk robe with gold-embroidered borders, shoes, embroidered stoles, and a purple garment, dated to the 12th century. They are kept in the Sens Museum Cathedral Treasury.

Why it matters

Becket spent years of his exile from England in France, where King Louis VII gave him protection during his quarrel with Henry II over the rights of the Church. These garments are physical traces of that period, linking Becket's story to the wider politics of medieval Europe, where kings and clergy could find rival patrons across borders.

Look closer

  • What does the survival of these garments suggest about how Becket was remembered in France?
  • Why might a king of France have chosen to protect an exiled English archbishop?
  • What do everyday objects like shoes and robes tell us that documents cannot?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Thomas Becket on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Document

Primary source

Constitutions of Clarendon

Henry II of England · 1164

Exterior view of Canterbury Cathedral under a clear blue sky. A tall Gothic central tower with pinnacles rises above the stone nave and side chapels, with large pointed windows and a sloping roof visible. Grass lies in the foreground.Artifact

Primary source

Canterbury Cathedral

founded 597

A rectangular gilt copper reliquary casket with blue champlevé enamel, set with oval glass gems along its lid and four feet. Front panels show gilded figures in scenes, including a bishop-like figure at an altar with a chalice, and an upper scene of a tomb or bier with mourners.Artifact

Secondary source

Becket Casket

c. 1180-1190

A large semicircular textile, likely a chasuble, displayed flat in a curved glass case mounted on a white wall. Its faded beige fabric has repeating circular medallions containing small figures and patterns, with a vertical band down the center. Lights run along the top of the case.Artifact

Secondary source

Fermo Chasuble of St. Thomas Becket

12th century

Title page of a 1969 Slatkine Reprints edition of La Vie de Saint Thomas le Martyr, Archevêque de Canterbury, by Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence, edited by C. Hippeau, part of the Collection des Poètes Français du Moyen Âge. Includes a small book-and-torch vignette and the publisher Genève 1969.Book

Secondary source

Vie de saint Thomas

Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence · c. 1174

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