Was Thomas a Becket deliberately courting martyrdom?

Question

Curious to know your thoughts.

Answer 1

Yes. Absolutely he was. The only question is why he changed his stance on a lot of things when he went from being King Henry's chancellor to being the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Answer 2

The Cathedral play by T.S. Eliot makes it appear that way, of course that is a play and perhaps not the best judge of his character.  I do not think he was doing it purposely.  He made all kinds of sacrifice for the Church and as a Priest he wore a hair shirt.  Hair shirts were meant to be painful and often were infested with insects.  No one knew how devout he was about that until he was already murdered.  He did not go around boasting and bragging how hard he worked for his God.

Answer 3

As the King's Chancellor, he was answerable to the King. As Archbishop of Canterbury, he was answerable to God. He was martyred because he chose loyalty to God over loyalty to the King.

Standing up for what you believe is right often costs your life.