A spectacular gorefest – Thomas Becket: Murder and the Making of a Saint review

British Museum, London
The archbishop’s slaying and martyrdom transfixed the medieval world – and inspired some magnificently murderous art and artefacts that are still shocking today

If you thought medieval religious art was all clasped hands and uplifted eyes, then prepare yourself for the gorefests that shudder through this brilliant new show like a broadsword hitting bone. On 29 December 1170, four knights sent by King Henry II entered the holy sanctum of Canterbury Cathedral with swords drawn and slew its archbishop, Thomas Becket, a flamboyant, charismatic politician who’d started his career as the king’s right-hand man then became a thorn in his side as a champion of church over crown. The murder – whether or not Henry really intended it – rapidly became notorious across Europe and Becket was revered as a modern martyr. Not figuratively but literally, being canonised as a saint just three years after his death.

The medieval cult of Becket was promoted with shockingly realistic murder scenes on bejewelled caskets, the glowing pages of illuminated manuscripts and mystical stained glass. This exhibition has plenty to fascinate history buffs. But its glory is to make the art of the middle ages come alive. The emotional story of Becket’s slaying and the strangeness of the rites and rituals that celebrated him provide a direct human connection with the people and images of a remote world. Suddenly the art of that faraway time seems brutally contemporary.

From 20 May until 22 August.

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