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| February 2010 |
| Billie Silvey |
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| Pilgrimage |
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| Chaucer’s world was a religious world The Middle Ages was the time of the church, of saints and relics, and of pilgrimages to holy sites associated with them. The most important route for pilgrimage in Chaucer’s time was from London to Canterbury, site of the shrine to St.Thomas Becket.
Becket had been archbishop of Canterbury, the highest-ranking ecclesiastical position in England at the time. He had been appointed to his post by his friend King Henry II. The two men headed the two great axes of power in England—the secular government and the church—and perhaps it was inevitable that they would come into conflict. Henry wanted to be absolute ruler of his domains and was determined to do away with the special privileges of the English clergy, which seemed to undercut his authority. The power struggle created a rift between the two friends when Becket refused to sign the Constitutions of Clarendon calling for a less independent clergy and a weaker connection with Rome. Henry summoned Becket to appear before a great council at Hampton Castle to answer charges of contempt of royal authority. Becket fled to the Continent. Tensions between the two increased to the point at which Henry is said to have asked, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?” Four knights who overheard him were eager to comply. Riding to Canterbury, they attacked Becket at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral, hacking him to death with their swords. Henry did public penance for his part in the deed. Within three years of his death, Becket was canonized (made a saint) by Pope Alexander III, and the faithful throughout Europe began to venerate him as a martyr. The route of his last journey, from Southwark near London to Canterbury, became an important route of pilgrimage. This was the route being taken by the pilgrims in Canterbury Tales. Relatively short and safe, it was convenient and affordable for a broad variety of people. The pilgrimage was so successful that London Bridge was rebuilt, first in timber and then in stone, with a chapel dedicated to Thomas on it. That was where pilgrims began and ended their journey. The dramatic story became the theme of T. S. Eliot’s play, Murder in the Cathedral, and of Jean Anouilh’s play Becket, with Laurence Olivier playing the role on Broadway and Richard Burton starring in the movie version. The struggle between the archbishop and the king represents a tension that has plagued Christianity since its beginning--the relative role of church and state in a believer's, a congregation's and a fellowship's life. Do we serve God or Caesar? What should be rendered to each? What do we do if God's law and civil law come into conblict? |
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