The Becket Casket is a reliquary in

Limoges enamel Limoges enamel has been produced at Limoges, in south-western France, over several centuries up to the present. There are two periods when it was of European importance. From the 12th century to 1370 there was a large industry producing metal o ...

now in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. It is made of gilt-copper round a wooden core, decorated with

champlevé Champlevé is an enamelling technique in the decorative arts, or an object made by that process, in which troughs or cells are carved, etched, die struck, or Casting (metalworking), cast into the surface of a metal object, and filled with vitre ...

enamel, and of a shape called a " chasse". It was made in about 1180–90 in Limoges, France, and depicts one of the most infamous events in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

history. On the night of 29 December 1170, Archbishop

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), was an English nobleman who served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then ...

was murdered in Canterbury cathedral by four knights obeying the wishes of King Henry II. It provoked outrage throughout

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and pilgrims flocked to Canterbury to pray at the site of the murder. In 1173 Becket was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

and his shrine was one of the most famous in the Christian world, until its total destruction in 1538 during the reign of Henry VIII. It is thought that this particular casket was made to hold the relics of Thomas Becket that were taken to Peterborough Abbey (now

Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...

) by Abbot Benedict in 1177. Benedict had been Prior at Canterbury Cathedral and therefore saw Becket's assassination. Relics of St Thomas were widely dispersed in the years following his death. Many were placed in

casket A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes. ...

s made in

in south-west

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. This was the centre for the production of objects in champlevé enamel, which is characterized by brilliant blues, colourful rosettes and boldly engraved figures. This casket is the most elaborate, the largest and possibly the earliest in date, but over 45 medieval chasses survive showing Becket's story and thought to have been made in Limoges. Another fine example is in the

Burrell Collection The Burrell Collection is a museum in Glasgow, Scotland, managed by Glasgow Museums. It houses the art collection of Sir William Burrell and Constance, Lady Burrell. The museum reopened on 29 March 2022 with free entry, having been closed for ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

.Binski, 225, with a catalogue entry on the Burrell chasse. The scene of the

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

dom is shown on the front, where one of the knights decapitates Becket in front of the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, while on the sloping roof the archbishop's funeral is depicted. On the back are four saints and at the one end

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is seated on a rainbow. The other end, which may have shown St Peter, is missing, as is the floor of the casket and its contents.

Notes

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References

*Binski, Paul in: Jonathan Alexander & Paul Binski (eds), ''Age of Chivalry, Art in Plantagenet England, 1200–1400'', Royal Academy/Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London 1987 *Jackson, Anna (ed.) V&A: A Hundred Highlights (V&A Publications, 2001)

External links

The Becket Casket at the Victoria and Albert Museum
1180s works 1190s works Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum Christian reliquaries Romanesque art Works in vitreous enamel Medieval European metalwork objects Thomas Becket