The Troublesome Relic of a "Troublesome Priest"? Negotiating the Boundaries of Religion, History, and Popular Culture in Anglican Canterbury
In 2016, an extraordinary holy relic arrived in England from Hungary: a fragment reputedly of the murdered medieval archbishop, Thomas Becket. The relic found a warm reception at Canterbury Cathedral—the foremost seat of Anglicanism and the scene of Becket's martyrdom—five centuries after saint...
| Published in: | Journal of religion and popular culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
University of Saskatchewan
[2019]
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| In: |
Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Thomas a Becket 1118-1170
/ Translation (Catholic church)
/ Cathedral Church of Christ (Canterbury)
/ Reception
/ Catholic church
/ Anglican Church
/ The Sacred
/ Publicity
/ Media
/ The Profane
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| RelBib Classification: | CD Christianity and Culture CG Christianity and Politics CH Christianity and Society KBF British Isles KCD Hagiography; saints |
| Further subjects: | B
Canterbury Cathedral
B Thomas Becket B Pilgrimage B Christian relics B Richard III B Anglicanism B medieval saints |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In 2016, an extraordinary holy relic arrived in England from Hungary: a fragment reputedly of the murdered medieval archbishop, Thomas Becket. The relic found a warm reception at Canterbury Cathedral—the foremost seat of Anglicanism and the scene of Becket's martyrdom—five centuries after saint veneration had been banned by King Henry VIII. In the meantime, Becket had entered popular culture not as a saint but, rather, as a controversial historical figure. This article explores the different ways in which the Anglican church, the Catholic church, the British media, and the general public responded to Becket's much publicized "homecoming." Comparing the event to King Richard III's reburial in 2015, it argues that the Becket relic—like the remains of Richard III—blurred, confused, and subverted conceptual boundaries between the sacred and the secular in contemporary Britain. |
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| ISSN: | 1703-289X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion and popular culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3138/jrpc.2018-0026 |