Apology comes a little late for Thomas Becket --- My class colleagues have said everything that might intelligently be said about the cultural context of the ambiguous reply to the invitation for coffee. So, I will add a brief historical coda linking to the ambiguous and rhetorical question of King Henry II: ‘Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”

The four knights who murdered the archbishop were never brought to justice but subsequently repented of their perfidy. They were excommunicated by Pope Alexander, however, regretting their actions, they went to Rome to petition forgiveness.

There, the Pope set their penance to serve as knights in the Holy Land for fourteen years to atone. Definitely a little late for an apology.

Source author: John D. Hipsley jhipsley@igc.org