Henry II Does Penance at Caterbury Cathedral 1174

On the 12th of July 1174 Henry II of England, to avoid excommunication by pope Alexander III, arrived at Canterbury cathedral dressed in a haircloth and a woolen shirt in order to do penance for the death of Thomas Becket. After kissing the ground where Becket had been killed he was led into the crypt where he was flogged by the attendant prelates.12

• 1. Warren, W. L. Henry II. Yale English Monarchs Series (Yale University Press, 2000). p456.
• 2. Jusserand, J. J. English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages. (Ernest Benn, 1889). p201.