St Thomas Becket casket set for cathedral display

A container that it is claimed once held a relic of St Thomas Becket is to go on display at a cathedral.

The enamelled reliquary of the saint will go on display for two days from 15 November at Hereford Cathedral.

The Becket reliquary is one of several made in Limoges, France, in about 1200-1210, decades after Becket’s death, according to the cathedral.

St Thomas was killed by four knights inside Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 after he fell out with King Henry II.

The Becket reliquary would originally have held a relic of the saint himself, a spokesperson for the Hereford site said.

It would have been placed on the altar within Hereford Cathedral that was dedicated to St Thomas, after it was made.

Jennifer Dumbelton, Hereford Cathedral librarian, said they were excited to share their reliquary with visitors and called it a "world-class piece of art".

• King Henry II made his close friend Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury in 1161.
• The friendship came under strain when Becket stood up for the church in disagreements with the king.
• In 1164, Becket fled to France, returning in 1170.
• On the 29 December 1170, four knights, believing the king wanted Becket out of the way, murdered him in Canterbury Cathedral.
• Becket was made a saint in 1173 and his shrine in Canterbury Cathedral became a focus for pilgrimage.

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