Murder in the Cathedral

Here, let us kneel, close by the cathedral.

Here, let us pray for our good Archbishop.

May his journey be easy,

his road be smooth,

weather and wind be fair.

May his horse not fail.

God, who created us, Jesus, who saved us,

Spirit, who cleanseth us.

God he with you between the woods.

Jesus be with you at the turning of the hill.

Spirit be with you in crossing the stream.

Blessed Mary,

Saint Michael,

Saint Elphege,

and all the saints pray.

May the prayers of the poor,

of your poor people, your poor folk of Kent avail,

and of us, the women of Canterbury.

Now, may the King be enlightened,

your enemies thwarted,

the truth prevail,

all powers of evil driven away.

At this morning, my fire would not kindle.

This morning, my cauldron would not boil.

Last night, I was ridden by witches,

and the cat jumped onto the bed.

Our house dog howled all the night

at the owl that cried in the elm tree.

My wedding ring slipped from my finger.

And my milk jug fell on the hearth.

0 Lord Archbishop, do not carry the cross,

or the cross will carry you.

I have balding of bane and bale.

Return, return to us.

For without you, we have no succour or stake.

My Lord, The King.

I am guilty of no treason.

Never would I be lacking in reverence for the King's grace.

Or for the King's law, in his domain.

The suit of John the Marshal pertained to my court.

It was tried in my court,

and it was dismissed.

The evidence was plain.

The judgment, that imposed by Canon Law.

Beyond that court,

there could be no appeal for such a case, in this land.

Therefore, when summoned to your court,

I could not comply.

That were to fail, in my duty as Archbishop

and betray the church in all Christendom.

Yet, I did not fail in respect for the King's majesty.

I sent three of my knights to give account of my actions,

to testify that this suit could not be allowed,

and to explain my absence.

More, I could not do.

Your defence is not accepted.

You pretend to ignore the Constitutions of Clarendon.

To these, every bishop, all of them here present, consented.

And you too, My Lord Archbishop.

The Constitutions admit that a plaintiff has the right of appeal

from the archdeacon to the bishop,

from the bishop to the Archbishop,

and from the Archbishop to the King.

L, therefore, hold you guilty of treason.

And I shall hold guilty of treason, all those, if there be any,

who support you in this conduct.

My Lord's Bishops,

I demand that you now pronounce the judgment of my council.

What shall we say?

To my mind, the question is perfectly simple.

We signed the Constitutions of Clarendon.

We are honest men, the oath was binding.

For us to break it now would be excessively imprudent.

The Archbishop exceeds his authority.

I refuse to be bullied. I say, we should pronounce for the King.

But the saving clause,

Thomas consented saving only the law of the church.

And the King did not accept this reservation?

So, Thomas refused to sign.

For my pan, lam convinced

that the true interests of the church demand

that we should give judgment for the King.

It was the King who forced Becket upon us as Archbishop,

against our wishes and the interests of the church.

He must now regret this interference.

By condemning Thomas,

we shall be expressing in the clearest possible manner,

our objection to the intrusion of the state into church affairs.

I agree.

And then we can have My Lord of London as Archbishop.

A choice, My Lords, which I know we should all have preferred.

My Lord, you are too kind.

Yes, My Lord. We know you as the wisest man among us.

And a moderate man, an extremely moderate man.

I think I see a way.

But I am fearful of hasty measures.

It is most inconvenient, but Thomas is still Archbishop,

and has power of excommunication over us.

I know, I know.

And that is why I shall propose the solution,

which will make it possible for us to satisfy the King.

I agree.

This is better than a tournament.

And the onlookers, My Lord, see the best of the game.

Look at those bishops.

Like frightened birds, when one of my falcons is ranging.

They don't know where to turn.

These are birds too fat to fly.

This is an end of bishops' law, I think.

Tomorrow, there will be only King's law.

And tomorrow, My Lord, look to your own rights.

AVE, aye.

One thing at a time.

Let king eat bishop.

He will find his loyal barons tougher meal.

I do not like it, I tell you.

The King may grow too powerful for us.

My Lord of Canterbury.

We, the bishops of this realm,

hold that you have failed of the respect due to the King's grace.

By reason of your oath of homage,

you were bound, saving only urgent business or infirmity,

to answer the King's summons in person.

This, you failed to do.

We exhort you, therefore, to admit your contumacy,

and throw yourself upon the King's mercy.

Hear, hear.

My Lord, King.

There is no subtlety in this charge.

And I will use no subtlety in my defence.

I am not guilty.

Were I to give any other answer, then should I three times break faith.

The oath I took at Clarendon, was ever saving my order.

That, all men know.

Should I now be faithless to my vows as priest and bishop?

These same Constitutions of Clarendon were then annulled by the Pope.

Should I now be faithless to my obedience to the Vicar of Christ?

And as touching the third bond,

I know well what evils would come upon this country of England,

were I to suffer unprotesting,

the subjection of the spiritual power to the temple.

Should I now be faithless to my people?

My Lords,

as concerning the temporal power,

though it be also of God,

as signified in the consecration of the King to his abbeys

when he is anointed and crowned by the church,

I bid you think

that this same temporal power has to do with today and tomorrow.

Those who wield it,

as you, My Lords, wield this power under the King,

are much tempted to bend it to their own advantage.

You think of estates and honours for yourselves and for your sons.

Yet it is, but a little while

and your estates are scattered,

and your honour is lost,

and your monuments broken,

and your names forgotten.

Tomorrow, where is Veer, where is Boone, where is...

You would do well to remember the church of God.

Which was, and is, and ever shall be to the end of the world,

according to the promises of Christ.

But for you, My Lords, Bishops,

my heart is very sorrowful.

You have deserted me to whom you are bound,

by your order, by your estate, and by your dignity.

Those disciples, that were afterwards saints,

by the grace of the Holy Spirit,

left our Lord and fled through bodily fear.

Take heed that you do not desert me,

through the greater sin of worldly greed and ambition.

And that no saving grace redeem your ill.

There is one here, would willingly be Archbishop in my stead.

Consider, My Lords,

that what violates the law of God, cannot be lawful.

Consider that the King's reverence cannot be magnified

by abating the reverence of the church.

You have yet time.

And the time is this very moment, and no more

to abjure your apostasy,

and renew your obedience to the law of Christ's church,

to Christ's Vicar, and to me.

And for myself, though I stand alone in England,

though every depravation and enforcement ensued to me,

yet, will I in no way relinquish the right.

Hear him no further, but pronounce.

I have not got you here to whisper and whine,

to plead with an Archbishop,

but to give judgment upon a manifest and shameless traitor.

Will you make yourselves accomplices of this man?

I have consulted you according to the form of law.

What more do you require?

Pronounce judgment,

or by the mass, I will strip you

every one of you, out of palace and church.

Aye, out of chasuble and cassock too.

My Lord, we are taken between the hammer and the anvil.

Have mercy upon us.

Fool!

You betray yourself among irreverent, laughing men.