In what year was Saint Thomas Becket brutally murdered in Canterbury Cathedral?

On 29th December 1170, four knights, Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Morville, Richard Brito and William de Tracy, arrived in Canterbury where they found Becket in the cathedral and informed him he had to go to Winchester to account for his actions. Becket refused and proceeded to the main hall for vespers. Meanwhile, the knights went away and returned with their armour and weapons. According to eye-witness reports, the four knights rushed into the cathedral wielding their weapons, shouting “Where is Thomas Becket, traitor to the King and country?” Standing near the stairs to the crypt, Becket announced, “I am no traitor, and I am ready to die.” The knights attacked, severing a piece of Becket’s skull.

In 1161, Henry II nominated Thomas Becket (1119-1170) for the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. He wished Becket to hold both the position of Lord Chancellor and put the royal government first, rather than the church, but Becket refused. So, a rift between Henry and Becket began to grow.

Becket frequently angered the king with his refusal to obey his instructions. On one occasion, the king reportedly flew into a rage and called Becket a traitor and “low-born clerk”. Four of Henry’s knights witnessed this outburst and hatched a plan to arrest Thomas Becket on behalf of the king. The knights had not initially planned to kill Becket, but his refusal to come with them to Winchester angered them enough to attack.

After his death, Becket was canonised by Pope Alexander III.