Face d'un des chevaliers qui a assassiné l'archevêque Thomas Becket à la cathédrale de Canterbury le 29 décembre 1170. Détail de la peinture murale médiévale de la fin de 1200s dans l'église paroissiale de Saint Augustine à Brookland, Kent, Angleterre. Becket a été tué par quatre chevaliers, partisans du roi Henri II, après avoir disputés avec le roi sur les droits et privilèges de l'église. Becket a été canonisé en 1173 et est vénéré comme un saint et un martyr chrétien par les catholiques romains et les anglicans.
3800 x 2544 px | 32,2 x 21,5 cm | 12,7 x 8,5 inches | 300dpi
Date de la prise de vue:
7 mars 2008
Lieu:
Parish Church of St Augustine, Brookland, Kent, England, United Kingdom
Informations supplémentaires:
Cette image peut avoir des imperfections car il s’agit d’une image historique ou de reportage.
Brookland, Kent, United Kingdom: face of a murderer … the features of one of the four knights who assassinated Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 are clearly visible in this detail of a fragmentary medieval wall-painting in the Parish Church of Saint Augustine. To the right, however, the head of one of the other murderers was at some time carefully excised from the south chapel wall. Elsewhere, the medieval artist left little to the imagination in his depiction of the killing on 29 December 1170. A knight slices into Becket’s head with his broadsword as the Archbishop keels in prayer, while the end of the blade nearly cuts off the left arm of a visiting monk, Edward Grim. Grim (or Grimm), a Cambridge clerk involved in the incident by chance during a visit to the Cathedral, holds the episcopalian cross in his right hand as he tries to defend Becket, but has his left arm almost amputated by the sword blow. According to the eyewitness account Grim later included in his Life of St Thomas, he fell to the floor but escaped with his life by crawling away to the altar, where other monks were hiding. Thomas Becket (c. 1120-1170) is also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and Thomas à Becket. He was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his death. He was canonised the Pope in 1173 and is venerated as a saint and martyr by both Roman Catholics and Anglicans. He was murdered by followers of Henry II, King of England, after arguing with the king over church rights and privileges. The painting lay hidden until 1964, when it was revealed during repair work. It dates from the late 13th century and was repainted in the late 14th or early 15th century. St Augustine’s church was built around 1250, about 80 years after Becket’s murder, on an artificial mound in Walland Marsh, part of Romney Marsh. The village lies about 28 miles southwest of Canterbury. D0443.A5281
