out this reform. Becket had been Henry’s bosom friend and his chancellor, or man of business. He was gay, reckless, and extravagant while Henry’s chancellor, and Henry thought that if he made him Archbishop he would use his influence with the clergy in favour of Henry’s plans. When, however, Becket became Archbishop he changed his habits entirely, and instead of supporting Henry, he upheld the cause of the clergy. Henry was very angry at Becket’s conduct, and when Becket refused to be bound by his own signature to the ‘‘Constitutions of Clarendon,” drawn up in 1164, and making the desired changes, Henry drove him out of the country by the insults and indignities he put upon him.
5. Becket’s Murder.—While Becket was absent, Henry persuaded the Archbishop of York to crown his son Henry. This was a new cause for quarrel, for no sooner had Becket returned to England, than he suspended the Archbishop of York for crowning the king’s son. Then Henry, who was a man of very violent temper, exclaimed, ‘‘Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest!” Four knights, who were only too well pleased to have such an excuse, left France, where Henry was, crossed over to England, and murdered Becket in his own cathedral at Canterbury. Henry was very sorry for what his foolish passion had brought about, and immediately sent a messenger to the Pope to say that the murder was committed without his consent. Later on, to satisfy the people who thought a great crime and sin had been committed by murdering a bishop in a church, Henry did penance at Becket’s tomb, allowing himself to be scourged on his bare back by the monks.
6. Conquest of Ireland, 1172.—Henry was glad to have an excuse, after Becket’s murder, to leave England, and a good one was found in the state of Ireland. This island was inhabited by people of the same race as the Britons, and like England had been troubled with attacks from the Danes, who managed to get a footing on the eastern coast. The Irish people could not wholly drive them out, although they fought many battles with them. These wars had a bad effect on the Irish, for instead of remaining at peace, the Irish chieftains fought against one another with so much ferocity that the civilization and learning that had existed in Ireland before the time of the Danes began to die out. To save the land from disorder and misrule, the Pope gave Henry permission
