Henry II Does Penance at Caterbury Cathedral 1174
12 July 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. Henry Ii Yale English Monarchs Series Yale English Monarchs Series New Haven, London Yale University Press 2000. p456.
- 2. English Wayfaring Life In The Middle Ages London Ernest Benn 1889. p201.