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Secondary sourceBook1891

The Life of S. Thomas Becket of Canterbury

Mrs. Hope · 1891

An 1891 devotional biography of Becket by Mrs. Hope, presenting his life and death from a Catholic viewpoint.

This devotional biography retells Becket's life and martyrdom for a Catholic readership.

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The Life of S. Thomas Becket of CanterburyPDF · 372 pages
Mrs. Hope, The Life of S. Thomas Becket of Canterbury, 1891.

About this source

What it is

This is a biography of Thomas Becket written by Mrs. Hope and published in 1891, with a preface by a Catholic priest. It was written over 700 years after Becket lived.

Why it matters

This book shows how Becket was remembered as a saint and martyr by later Catholic writers. It reveals more about nineteenth-century religious views of Becket's conflict with King Henry II than about the events themselves as they happened.

Look closer

  • Why might a Catholic author in the 1890s choose to write about Becket?
  • How does the preface's reference to Henry II shape how readers might see the conflict?
  • What is the difference between a devotional biography and a historical account?

This book 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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Constitutions of Clarendon

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Canterbury Cathedral

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Secondary source

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Fermo Chasuble of St. Thomas Becket

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Becket Liturgical Garments, Sens Cathedral

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