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The Book in the Cathedral: The Last Relic of Thomas Becket
The assassination of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170 is one of the most famous events in European history. It inspired the largest pilgrim site in medieval Europe and many works of literature from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to T. S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral and Anouilh's Becket .
In a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Christopher de Hamel here identifies the only surviving relic from Becket's the Anglo-Saxon Psalter which he cherished throughout his time as Archbishop of Canterbury, and which he may even have been holding when he was murdered.
Beautifully illustrated and published to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, this is an exciting rediscovery of one of the most evocative artefacts of medieval England.
In a brilliant piece of historical detective work, Christopher de Hamel here identifies the only surviving relic from Becket's the Anglo-Saxon Psalter which he cherished throughout his time as Archbishop of Canterbury, and which he may even have been holding when he was murdered.
Beautifully illustrated and published to coincide with the 850th anniversary of the death of Thomas Becket, this is an exciting rediscovery of one of the most evocative artefacts of medieval England.
64 pages, Hardcover
Published August 6, 2020
10 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Christopher de Hamel
49 books118 followersDr Christopher de Hamel is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and is Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library, one of the most important small collections of early manuscripts in Britain. For 25 years from 1975 he was responsible for all sales of medieval manuscripts at Sotheby’s. He has doctorates from Oxford and Cambridge and honorary doctorates from St John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and Otago University, New Zealand. He is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a member of the Comité international de paléographie. He is author of numerous books on illuminated manuscripts and book collecting, including Glossed Books of the Bible (1984), The Book, A History of the Bible (2001), and Bibles, An Illustrated History from Papyrus to Print (2011). He was recipient of a festschrift in 2010, The Medieval Book, Glosses from Friends and Colleagues of Christopher de Hamel (ed. J. H. Marrow, R. A. Linenthal and W. Noel)
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 16, 2020
At last! a book that tells me what I want to know in 50 odd pages rather than drool and padded out for 300 hundred pages.
Excellent research that is a pleasure to read.
Would highly recommend to history buffs and book collectors.
Excellent research that is a pleasure to read.
Would highly recommend to history buffs and book collectors.
August 30, 2020
This was an impulse purchase from Hatchards - this kind of medieval history is totally me, so possibly not for everyone.
It’s an academic paper, but written by an academic who can actually write. It’s precise yet also allusive, and de Hamel carefully and methodically builds his argument, albeit in a slightly disguised fashion, so we don’t quite know where we are going until we get there. In treating of matters almost a 1000 years old subjectivity will always be present but his argument convinced me & more importantly emotionally one wishes his case is the truth.
A necessary corrective for Hilary Mantel, methinks.
The murder of Thomas Becket is not a case of English nationalism striking a blow against European cultural domination. One doesn’t have to be Christian or even Catholic to be viscerally shocked by the brutal slaughter of an Archbishop of Canterbury in his own cathedral by agents of the State, hacked to death by four knights in armour in front of an altar just at the end of a mass and in the presence of many witnesses.
Henry VIII’s clearing out of the shrine centuries later was not a simple religious reform - many English saints survived the Reformation - he was actively trying to efface history; of re-establishing a version of history that suited the purposes of state power and papered over state terror. This is proved by Elizabeth I continuing her father’s policy, by selecting an Archbishop who maintained the official policy of effacing Becket with his troublesome history of political defiance as much as possible.
De Hamel shows that Becket’s own library survived unnoticed by the state. This book is a beautiful meditation on the power and reach of books themselves. The publishers have done a terrific publication job - this book is a beautiful object itself.
It’s an academic paper, but written by an academic who can actually write. It’s precise yet also allusive, and de Hamel carefully and methodically builds his argument, albeit in a slightly disguised fashion, so we don’t quite know where we are going until we get there. In treating of matters almost a 1000 years old subjectivity will always be present but his argument convinced me & more importantly emotionally one wishes his case is the truth.
A necessary corrective for Hilary Mantel, methinks.
The murder of Thomas Becket is not a case of English nationalism striking a blow against European cultural domination. One doesn’t have to be Christian or even Catholic to be viscerally shocked by the brutal slaughter of an Archbishop of Canterbury in his own cathedral by agents of the State, hacked to death by four knights in armour in front of an altar just at the end of a mass and in the presence of many witnesses.
Henry VIII’s clearing out of the shrine centuries later was not a simple religious reform - many English saints survived the Reformation - he was actively trying to efface history; of re-establishing a version of history that suited the purposes of state power and papered over state terror. This is proved by Elizabeth I continuing her father’s policy, by selecting an Archbishop who maintained the official policy of effacing Becket with his troublesome history of political defiance as much as possible.
De Hamel shows that Becket’s own library survived unnoticed by the state. This book is a beautiful meditation on the power and reach of books themselves. The publishers have done a terrific publication job - this book is a beautiful object itself.
January 31, 2021
What a fascinating read this was! The concept of Thomas Becket's books being more of an interesting relic than parts of the saint himself, which had pretty much all been removed since the reformation anyway. One book in particular takes centre stage, a small Psalter significant to the saint in life and death. A short, readable book with a ton of research done in the process.
November 6, 2022
Since reading de Hamel’s Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts I’ve wanted to learn more about these fascinating and beautiful documents. As with his previous book, it is a seamless blend of academic research on the medieval age with an engaging and infectious passion for the past.
September 4, 2020
Such a fascinating little investigation into history, with clues from chemistry, theology, literature, and human nature.
December 27, 2022
love books that get to the point!!!!
January 22, 2023
Very interesting read! Sorry it took so long for me to get back to this book!
August 24, 2022
Purchased in the gift shop at the British Museum Thomas Becket exhibition, at which his Psalter was displayed (as well as a New Testament he had commissioned and which is believed to contain the only portrait of him done in life).
I vaguely remember the news coverage when de Hamel and Church historian Eyal Poleg realised that a 16th century provenance note believed to be putative was, in fact, likely to be correct - that Parker Library MS 411 really *was* the Psalter owned by Thomas Becket and reputed (in a couple of sources) to have been with the archbishop when he was murdered.
So I was intrigued to read this slim volume, and all the more so when I saw its colour plates showing not just images from the Psalter, but of early inventories of Canterbury Cathedral’s books, and of some of the other exhibits we had just seen at the BM.
I was not disappointed. As well as recounting the identification he and Poleg made, de Hamel conveys the attitude to books in Becket’s times and later. It’s easy for us to apply anachronistic understanding of manuscripts’ cultural significance, and this book gives the lie to any ideas we might have that the books of a saint were automatic relics. I won’t spoil de Hamel’s last sentence for you, but it is both powerful and moving after his skilful story-telling.
Of course, this is one of the things the great medieval book historian does so brilliantly - distilling his hard-won erudition into a narrative that would interest and move even the least scholarly of readers. A masterclass in public engagement.
And it struck me that The Book in the Cathedral is the first new Book History book I’ve read since I ceased being a full-time academic. And how enjoyable it is to read solely for pleasure and information. De Hamel’s magnum opus, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, came out during my decade in tenure, and although I felt I enjoyed reading it then, I’ve added it to my To Be Reread list, since I suspect true joy was marred by my own unhappiness at the time.
So all in all, a great pleasure to read The Book in the Cathedral, and I’m taking away with me the promise of future happiness in rereading Meetings now I am myself free.
I vaguely remember the news coverage when de Hamel and Church historian Eyal Poleg realised that a 16th century provenance note believed to be putative was, in fact, likely to be correct - that Parker Library MS 411 really *was* the Psalter owned by Thomas Becket and reputed (in a couple of sources) to have been with the archbishop when he was murdered.
So I was intrigued to read this slim volume, and all the more so when I saw its colour plates showing not just images from the Psalter, but of early inventories of Canterbury Cathedral’s books, and of some of the other exhibits we had just seen at the BM.
I was not disappointed. As well as recounting the identification he and Poleg made, de Hamel conveys the attitude to books in Becket’s times and later. It’s easy for us to apply anachronistic understanding of manuscripts’ cultural significance, and this book gives the lie to any ideas we might have that the books of a saint were automatic relics. I won’t spoil de Hamel’s last sentence for you, but it is both powerful and moving after his skilful story-telling.
Of course, this is one of the things the great medieval book historian does so brilliantly - distilling his hard-won erudition into a narrative that would interest and move even the least scholarly of readers. A masterclass in public engagement.
And it struck me that The Book in the Cathedral is the first new Book History book I’ve read since I ceased being a full-time academic. And how enjoyable it is to read solely for pleasure and information. De Hamel’s magnum opus, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, came out during my decade in tenure, and although I felt I enjoyed reading it then, I’ve added it to my To Be Reread list, since I suspect true joy was marred by my own unhappiness at the time.
So all in all, a great pleasure to read The Book in the Cathedral, and I’m taking away with me the promise of future happiness in rereading Meetings now I am myself free.
Read
March 2, 2021This book tells the story story of reidentifying a certain 10th or 11th century psalter in the Parker library of Corpus Christi College Cambridge as a potential relic of Thomas Becket.
This is a particularly fascinating case: relics of the saints have been treasured throughout the middle ages, but it is only more recently in the 19th and 20th centuries that we have become fascinated with books that “once belonged to someone famous.” Most of St. Thomas Becket’s books were, if not neglected, ignored:
“While medieval pilgrims were mobbing the shrine of Thomas Becket in the cathedral in their tens of thousands, hoping for a dab of miraculous water which after several centuries of dilution and slae by the monks had no conceivable contact with the blood of the saint, the archbishop’s books, which he had actually commissioned and read and touched, were neglected on the open shelves in the slype off the cloister.”
For a book to become a relic, it had to be something very special indeed. And there is only one book that was recorded as being venerated as part of St. Thomas Becket’s martyrdom “Item, a binding with the Psalter of St. Thomas, bound in silver-gilt and decorated with jewels”…
Why was that book treated with such reverence?
Though the binding in question has disappeared, De Hamel makes a very strong case for the identification of the psalter with MS 411 in the Parker library. He also suggests why this book was so special.
I have a certain bias here – as an alumnus of Corpus Christi, I certainly have more interest than most in the volumes stored in Matthew Parker’s library.
But I do think it is a fascinating subject. Matthew Parker collected his books from dissolved monasteries, hoping to create a library that would back up the Anglican claims for an English national church. There are some undoubted treasures in that collection – including a 6th century St. Augustine gospels – it would not surprise me if it turned out that Matthew Parker had indeed got his hands on a book rumoured to have been owned by St. Thomas Becket.
Anyhow, this is a lovely short book to read on a trip to Cambridge – or perhaps- to Canterbury cathedral.
This is a particularly fascinating case: relics of the saints have been treasured throughout the middle ages, but it is only more recently in the 19th and 20th centuries that we have become fascinated with books that “once belonged to someone famous.” Most of St. Thomas Becket’s books were, if not neglected, ignored:
“While medieval pilgrims were mobbing the shrine of Thomas Becket in the cathedral in their tens of thousands, hoping for a dab of miraculous water which after several centuries of dilution and slae by the monks had no conceivable contact with the blood of the saint, the archbishop’s books, which he had actually commissioned and read and touched, were neglected on the open shelves in the slype off the cloister.”
For a book to become a relic, it had to be something very special indeed. And there is only one book that was recorded as being venerated as part of St. Thomas Becket’s martyrdom “Item, a binding with the Psalter of St. Thomas, bound in silver-gilt and decorated with jewels”…
Why was that book treated with such reverence?
Though the binding in question has disappeared, De Hamel makes a very strong case for the identification of the psalter with MS 411 in the Parker library. He also suggests why this book was so special.
I have a certain bias here – as an alumnus of Corpus Christi, I certainly have more interest than most in the volumes stored in Matthew Parker’s library.
But I do think it is a fascinating subject. Matthew Parker collected his books from dissolved monasteries, hoping to create a library that would back up the Anglican claims for an English national church. There are some undoubted treasures in that collection – including a 6th century St. Augustine gospels – it would not surprise me if it turned out that Matthew Parker had indeed got his hands on a book rumoured to have been owned by St. Thomas Becket.
Anyhow, this is a lovely short book to read on a trip to Cambridge – or perhaps- to Canterbury cathedral.
November 23, 2021
Purchased in the gift shop at the British Museum Thomas Becket exhibition, at which his Psalter was displayed (as well as a New Testament he had commissioned and which is believed to contain the only portrait of him done in life).
I vaguely remember the news coverage when de Hamel and Church historian Eyal Poleg realised that a 16th century provenance note believed to be putative was, in fact, likely to be correct - that Parker Library MS 411 really *was* the Psalter owned by Thomas Becket and reputed (in a couple of sources) to have been with the archbishop when he was murdered.
So I was intrigued to read this slim volume, and all the more so when I saw its colour plates showing not just images from the Psalter, but of early inventories of Canterbury Cathedral’s books, and of some of the other exhibits we had just seen at the BM.
I was not disappointed. As well as recounting the identification he and Poleg made, de Hamel conveys the attitude to books in Becket’s times and later. It’s easy for us to apply anachronistic understanding of manuscripts’ cultural significance, and this book gives the lie to any ideas we might have that the books of a saint were automatic relics. I won’t spoil de Hamel’s last sentence for you, but it is both powerful and moving after his skilful story-telling.
Of course, this is one of the things the great medieval book historian does so brilliantly - distilling his hard-won erudition into a narrative that would interest and move even the least scholarly of readers. A masterclass in public engagement.
And it struck me that The Book in the Cathedral is the first new Book History book I’ve read since I ceased being a full-time academic. And how enjoyable it is to read solely for pleasure and information. De Hamel’s magnum opus, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, came out during my decade in tenure, and although I felt I enjoyed reading it then, I’ve added it to my To Be Reread list, since I suspect true joy was marred by my own unhappiness at the time.
So all in all, a great pleasure to read The Book in the Cathedral, and I’m taking away with me the promise of future happiness in rereading Meetings now I am myself free.
I vaguely remember the news coverage when de Hamel and Church historian Eyal Poleg realised that a 16th century provenance note believed to be putative was, in fact, likely to be correct - that Parker Library MS 411 really *was* the Psalter owned by Thomas Becket and reputed (in a couple of sources) to have been with the archbishop when he was murdered.
So I was intrigued to read this slim volume, and all the more so when I saw its colour plates showing not just images from the Psalter, but of early inventories of Canterbury Cathedral’s books, and of some of the other exhibits we had just seen at the BM.
I was not disappointed. As well as recounting the identification he and Poleg made, de Hamel conveys the attitude to books in Becket’s times and later. It’s easy for us to apply anachronistic understanding of manuscripts’ cultural significance, and this book gives the lie to any ideas we might have that the books of a saint were automatic relics. I won’t spoil de Hamel’s last sentence for you, but it is both powerful and moving after his skilful story-telling.
Of course, this is one of the things the great medieval book historian does so brilliantly - distilling his hard-won erudition into a narrative that would interest and move even the least scholarly of readers. A masterclass in public engagement.
And it struck me that The Book in the Cathedral is the first new Book History book I’ve read since I ceased being a full-time academic. And how enjoyable it is to read solely for pleasure and information. De Hamel’s magnum opus, Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, came out during my decade in tenure, and although I felt I enjoyed reading it then, I’ve added it to my To Be Reread list, since I suspect true joy was marred by my own unhappiness at the time.
So all in all, a great pleasure to read The Book in the Cathedral, and I’m taking away with me the promise of future happiness in rereading Meetings now I am myself free.
September 11, 2021
This book was written by an Oxford alumnus who specialises in medieval manuscripts, especially focused on those regarding Thomas Becket, an archbishop who was later canonized after his murder. I wanted to see what the British Museum had curated about him, but it cost more money (side eye).
Some really cool things I found out in this short volume:
1) Anglo-Saxons had access to Egyptian knowledge centuries before previously thought - literally back to the time of Herod, it is believed.
2) Books? Not considered sacred relics, normally. Clothes, hair, blood - absolutely. (With the exception of this one guy, St Boniface, who held up a book in an effort to protect himself from his murderers. You can still see the book with the gashes in it)
3) We have a pretty good detailed account of Becket’s murder, which he handled with surprising calm and grace. Four men hacked his skull open on the orders of Henry II.
Some really cool things I found out in this short volume:
1) Anglo-Saxons had access to Egyptian knowledge centuries before previously thought - literally back to the time of Herod, it is believed.
2) Books? Not considered sacred relics, normally. Clothes, hair, blood - absolutely. (With the exception of this one guy, St Boniface, who held up a book in an effort to protect himself from his murderers. You can still see the book with the gashes in it)
3) We have a pretty good detailed account of Becket’s murder, which he handled with surprising calm and grace. Four men hacked his skull open on the orders of Henry II.
August 29, 2020
This is a beautiful little book, which probably would have been published only as an article except for the popularity of de Hamel's Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts. Good quality paper, color illustrations, and cloth binding. I find the red a bit much with the black lettering and image of Thomas Becket, but he writes wonderfully, intelligently, and clearly about medieval book history. Like having a pleasant afternoon conversation with a colleague.
September 20, 2020
This is a short book explaining de Hamel’s research into the books that once belonged to St Thomas Becket. His research and knowledge are obviously very impressive, but his petty and elitist narrative voice is really grating. Only the final page is written in a suitable style for a general audience; what goes before is minutiae of medievalist research, full of learned asides and irritating Oxbridge diction.
December 21, 2020
In a small, short, but nicely illustrated book, Christopher de Hamel (author of Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts) tells a literary historical detective story to identify an Anglo-Saxon Psalter in the University of Cambridge as the only surviving relic from Thomas Becket's shrine at Canterbury.
Although about a specialist subject, this was an enjoyable and easy read, with de Hamel cheekily noting that the “study of history is often licensed impertinence”.
Although about a specialist subject, this was an enjoyable and easy read, with de Hamel cheekily noting that the “study of history is often licensed impertinence”.
October 27, 2020
A satisfyingly brief account of the author discovering an unassuming manuscript was in fact most likely a favorite psalter of Thomas Becket. Clever deductive work and a brief introduction to illuminated manuscripts and early medieval literature make this a rewarding read for the history enthusiast.
December 31, 2020
An historical dectective story
I would never have expected a scholarly book about medieval manuscripts to be a compulsive page-turner, but it is. This short monograph is beautifully written, and the story of Becket's conflict wth Henry II compelling. I appreciate the fact that de Hamel does not vilify or idealize either man.
I would never have expected a scholarly book about medieval manuscripts to be a compulsive page-turner, but it is. This short monograph is beautifully written, and the story of Becket's conflict wth Henry II compelling. I appreciate the fact that de Hamel does not vilify or idealize either man.
July 19, 2025
i visited Canterbury Cathedral about a year and a half ago, while staying overnight for a work training event.
i booked myself on the stained glass window tour and the place is quite incredible.
who is Thomas Becket? why was he killed?...
i booked myself on the stained glass window tour and the place is quite incredible.
who is Thomas Becket? why was he killed?...
September 21, 2020
A lovely little piece of detection (little in the size of the book, not the work which went into it) investigating the book(s) associated with Thomas Becket in history and iconography.
January 9, 2021
A brilliant companion to Professor de Hamel's 2016 Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts Twelve Journeys into the Medieval World.
June 25, 2021
What a delightful little publication this is. Aesthetically it looks and feels fantastic, and the story is both very enlightening and full of wonder.
November 4, 2021
An absolute gem of a book. Christopher de Hamel has surpassed himself with this tiny book. Only 44 pages long, it convincingly solves a mystery nearly a thousand years in the making. Wonderful.
February 19, 2022
A nice little book that explained a few things and was a very quick read.
Read
December 28, 2022Beautifully produced little piece of academic detective work.
March 7, 2023
SO NICHE SO ME
May 31, 2023
short, to the point, and has a nice underlying narrative that preserves intrigue throughout descriptions of literary/archaeological evidence
August 18, 2024
A short book but good snapshot of Becket's life and rule, along with the books he had that are now in various libraries.
Also has some colour plates showing the books.
Also has some colour plates showing the books.
January 13, 2025
Really interesting idea to ponder for history buffs and theologians, and it’s not too onerous to read. Although I’m not sure I left completely convinced. The author bases a lot of their argument on inference and circumstance.
December 30, 2024
With only 45 pages of reading and 8 pages of illustrations, this little book only took an afternoon to read. It is the search and authentication of a psalter which may have been in the hands of Thomas Becket when he was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral on 29th December 1170. The psalter may originally have been owned by Alphege (later Saint Alphege), who until Becket, was the only archbishop of Canterbury to suffer martyrdom, on 19th April 1012. This is another marvellous 'detective' story by de Hamel, written with a great knowledge of the subject and a passion for tracking down sacred texts.
I re-read this every year and it still holds my attention! 29/12/2024
Also a must-read is de Hamel's "Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts"; a much bigger volume but just as fascinating!
I re-read this every year and it still holds my attention! 29/12/2024
Also a must-read is de Hamel's "Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts"; a much bigger volume but just as fascinating!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews