e
unfortunate race from his domains. He, however, permitted the exiles
to take their wealth with them; and the scarcity thus created was one
of the contributing causes which compelled him to promise his
parliaments not to lay taxes without their consent. It was by this
power to control the purse of king and country that parliament finally
established itself as the supreme power in England. It "bought" each
one of its concessions, each added authority. So that we may fairly
figure that, from this time, trade becomes as important as war. Gold
begins to seem to men not only more attractive, but more powerful than
iron. The age of brute strength has passed; the age of schemes and
subtle policies begun. The merchant dominates the knight.

[FOR THE NEXT SECTION OF THIS GENERAL SURVEY SEE VOLUME VII.]

ARCHIEPISCOPATE OF THOMAS BECKET

HIS DEFENCE OF ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION: HIS ASSASSINATION

A.D. 1162-1170

JOHN LINGARD

Henry II, son of the empress Matilda of Germany by her
second husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, ascended the throne of
England on the death of his uncle Stephen, the usurper, and
was the first king of that Plantagenet line which ruled
England for over three centuries.

Henry was crowned at Westminster on December 19, 1154, by
Theobald, Archbishop of Canterbury. Theobald by his
authority and vigilance had maintained public tranquillity
after the death of Stephen, and by his counsels of
conciliation and peace and other services had earned the
gratitude of the Monarch.

When age compelled Theobald to retire from the councils of
his sovereign, he recommended Henry to accept as minister
his archdeacon, Thomas Becket.

Becket was the son of Gilbert Becket, a prominent citizen of
London. The boy's mother, according to an interesting
tradition, had been the daughter of a Saracen emir who had
made Gilbert a captive, in Jerusalem, after the First
Crusade. The daughter helped Gilbert to escape, and later,
for love of him, followed on an eastern ship bound for the
English metropolis, although she knew no other words of the
English language than "London" and "Gilbert." Wandering
desolately through the streets and markets, with these words
on her lips, she was recognized by a servant who had shared
his master's captivity. He hastened to tell Gilbert, who at
once sought f