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A new exhibition at the British Museum will tell the grisly story of Thomas Becket

Thomas Becket: Murder and the Making of a Saint has been dubbed a real-life ‘Game of Thrones’

A reliquary casket depicting the murder of Thomas Becket will be on display

An exhibition dedicated to the brutal murder of Thomas Becket - a catholic saint who was murdered in Britain in the 12th century - is set to open at the British Museum this spring.

The exhibition, called Thomas Becket: Murder and the Making of a Saint, was originally scheduled to open in October 2020 to mark the 850th anniversary of Becket’s murder at Canterbury Cathedral, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s expected to open at the British Museum on April 22, COVID-permitting, and will run for four months.


The Chapter/Canterbury Cathedral/PA - Credit: The Chapter/Canterbury Cathedral/PA

Miracle window

A stained glass window from Canterbury Cathedral that depicts Becket’s murder, will serve as the centrepiece of the exhibition. Standing at 6m (20ft) tall, the window is one of 12 ‘miracle’ windows created in the early 13th century, that portray miracles attributed to Becket in the three years after his murder.

It’s one of only seven miracle windows to survive the Reformation when Henry VIII ordered that Becket’s shrine and remains be destroyed.

“The miracle windows are medieval versions of graphic novels illustrating the experiences of ordinary people,” said Leonie Seliger, director of stained glass conservation at Canterbury Cathedral.

“They greeted the pilgrims at the culmination of their journey to Becket’s shrine with images that would be reassuring and uplifting. They’re one of the Canterbury Cathedral’s greatest treasures.”

The window has undergone a painstaking dismantling process to ensure its safe arrival at the British Museum. During its dismantling, researchers discovered that some of the panels were in the wrong narrative order - a 350-year-old mistake that has now been rectified for the exhibition.

It will be the first time the window has left the cathedral and been seen at eye level by the public.

’Real-life Game of Thrones’

The exhibition will also include artefacts such as illuminated manuscripts, reliquaries, pilgrims’ souvenirs, jewellery, sculpture and a wax impression of Becket’s personal seal.

“The violent death of Thomas Becket is the ultimate true crime story. It’s a real-life tale as dramatic as Game of Thrones, and we’re going to lead visitors through every twist and turn of this remarkable plot,” said Lloyd de Beer, co-curator of the exhibition. “There’s drama, fame, royalty, power, envy, retribution and ultimately a brutal murder that shocked Europe.”

Hartwig Fischer, director of the British Museum, added: “Thomas Becket is one of Europe’s most enduring controversial figures even today, yet his story has never been told on this scale in a UK exhibition before. The British Museum holds some of the world's greatest medieval objects and so we're uniquely placed to tell this shocking chapter in history.”