IMC 2021: Sessions

Session 2223: The Many Beckets, II: The Cult of St Thomas Becket and Material Culture

Friday 9 July 2021, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:	Exploring the Past Pathway, Cardiff University
Organiser:	Paul Webster, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University
Moderator/Chair:	Louise J. Wilkinson, School of Humanities, Canterbury Christ Church University
Paper 2223-a	Links between Canterbury Pilgrims' Ampullas and the Imposition of the Tabula Badge on Jews in Early 13th-Century England (Language: English) Rachel M. Koopmans, Department of History, York University, Toronto Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Art History - General, Ecclesiastical History, Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Paper 2223-b	The Cult of Becket and the Material Culture of Devotion in Later Medieval London (Language: English) Eliot Benbow, School of History Queen Mary University of London / Museum of London Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Ecclesiastical History, Religious Life
Paper 2223-c	Four Candles: Royal Gifts of Objects in Honour of St Thomas of Canterbury (Language: English) Paul Webster, School of History, Archaeology & Religion, Cardiff University Index terms: Administration, Archaeology - Artefacts, Ecclesiastical History, Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract	This second session commemorating the 2020 anniversaries associated with Thomas Becket looks at material evidence for his cult. Papers focus on how Becket pilgrim ampullae influenced the design of the tabula badge imposed upon the Jewish community in England following the Fourth Lateran Council (1215). We then turn to material evidence for devotion to St Thomas surviving from medieval London and its place within the devotional culture of the city. Our final paper explores the evidence for royal giving in honour of Becket, considering what kings gave, when and why they made their gifts, and making comparisons to other saints and their shrines.