When the king and his court were assembled, the primate, arrayed in his sacred robes, proceeded to the palace, and taking the cross in his hand, as his protec tion from any violence, lie entered the royal apartments. Henry, astonished at such unaccountable behaviour, sent some of the bishops to remonstrate with him on his conduct. But Becket was deaf to all persuasion. He put himself and his see under the protection of the su preme pontiff, and appealed to him against any sen tence which the judges might give on the king's claim. He then left the palace, and having requested permis sion to leave Northampton, he was refused ; but after 'wards withdrawing in disguise, he escaped to Flanders.
In the prosecution of Becket, Henry seems to have been instigated more by a desire of revenge for Lis in gratitude and obstinacy, than by a regard to justice, or even prudence. Whatever were the primate's faults, the king certainly took the most effectual method of making these faults be forgotten. I lis violence and justice opened the eyes of all men to the motives of his conduct; and Becket soon became the idol of thc peo ple, and was hailed by the clergy as a martyr in the cause of the church. lie was received by the French king, and Alexander, with every mark of distinction. Louis was jealous of Henry's growing power, and the pope readily embraced a cause in which his own imme diate interests were so deeply concerned, and assigned Becket the convent of Pontigny for his residence, where lie lived for some years in great magnificence. Henry, in revenge, sequestered the revenues of Canter bury, and banished all the archbishop's domestics and relations. He also prohibited, under severe penalties, all appeals to the pope or primate, and declared it trea son to bring from either of them an interdict upon the kingdom, punishable in seculars with the loss of eyes and castration, in regulars with amputation of their feet, and in laymen with death. These measures only tended to widen the breach. Becket had the spiritual thunders at his command, and, in revenge, excommu nicated Henry's ministers by name, and absolved from their oath, all who had signed the constitutions of Cla rendon. He even threatened king with a similar punishment, and suspended it only to give time for submission. The pope acquiesced in all these proceed ings, but was prevented from supporting the hostility of Becket, with greater determination, by the fear, that Henry would join the Emperor Frederic, who, at that time, supported the claims of an antipope; and as the means which had already been employed to bring the king of England to submission had not succeeded to his expectation, he had more to fear than hope from the continuance of the dispute. Henry, also, though
he at first paid little regard to the fulminations of the Vatican, began to dread the effects which a sentence of excommunication might have upon his subjects, and be came equally desirous of a reconciliation. Negotiations were accordingly entered into for this purpose, but were frequently broken off, by their mutual obstinacy and jealousy. At one conference, held in presence of the king of France and the French prelates, Henry said to that monarch, 44 There have been many kings of England, some of greater, some of less authority than myself. There have been also many archbishops of Canterbury, holy and good men, and entitled to every kind of respect. Let Becket but act towards me with the same submission, which the greatest of his prede cessors have paid to the least of mine, and there shall be no controversy between us." This representation of the case made such an impression on the mind of Louis, that lie withdrew his friendship from Becket ; but his jealousy of the king of England soon led him to a re newal of it.
After many fruitless attempts, the controversy was at last amicably settled. It was agreed that the original dispute should be buried in oblivion; that Becket and his adherents should he restored to all their dignities and livings; and that those who had been promoted to benefices, dependent upon the see of Canterbury, during his absence, should be expelled, and the vacancies filled by the primate. Henry, in return for these concessions, had only the satisfaction of seeing his ministers absolved from the sentence of excommunication, and himself re lieved from the dread of a similar punishment. But he was anxious that tranquillity should be restored ; and, in order to flatter the vanity of the prelate, even stooped, at one time, to hold his stirrup, while he mounted. This condescension of the monarch, however, was only additional fuel to the pride of Becket. Elated with the victory which he had gained over his sovereign, he de termined to take advantage of his situation, and to repel every attempt of Henry to set bounds to the usurpations of the clergy.