Dated to between 1194 and 1230, this sculpted relief is located on the left pillar of the left portal of the south porch at Chartres Cathedral. It depicts the martyrdom of Thomas Becket ⓘ, the Archbishop of Canterbury who was murdered in his cathedral in 1170.

The scene shows Becket at the moment of his death, attacked by armed knights sent from the court of Henry II of England ⓘ. The attackers are rendered as mailed warriors, their chainmail carefully articulated, emphasising their worldly and military character in contrast to Becket’s clerical status. Becket himself is shown in a posture of submission and sacrifice, his body inclined as he receives the fatal blow, a visual expression of martyrdom and obedience to God rather than resistance to violence.

The composition compresses the event into a tightly framed, almost claustrophobic space, heightening its dramatic intensity. The architectural setting—an arcade-like niche—echoes the interior of a church, implicitly recalling the murder’s setting within Canterbury Cathedral. This visual condensation of narrative and meaning is typical of early Gothic sculpture, where clarity of message took precedence over realistic spatial depth.

The inclusion of Becket’s martyrdom at Chartres is historically significant. His cult spread with extraordinary speed across Europe following his canonisation in 1173, and images such as this demonstrate how rapidly his story was incorporated into major cathedral programmes outside England. At Chartres, the presence of Becket among the sculptural cycles of the south porch aligns him with themes of ecclesiastical authority, moral resistance, and the sanctity of the Church against secular interference.

As part of the wider iconography of Becket’s martyrdom, this relief belongs to an early generation of representations that emphasise the violence of the act itself rather than its aftermath. Later medieval art would often balance such scenes with images of Becket as a blessing bishop or heavenly intercessor, but here the focus remains firmly on the moment that secured his status as one of the most powerful and widely venerated saints of the later Middle Ages.