BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture English Culture Murder In The Cathedral

The latest English Culture article is about St Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. He is remembered on 29 December � the day he was murdered by four of King Henry II�s men in Canterbury Cathedral.

Murder In The Cathedral

Hi Asha,

The title of your article caught my eye -- it was interesting, especially since the murder was committed in a House of God! What a terrible "misunderstanding."

Strangely enough, December 29, 1916 is also the date that Rasputin was murdered.

Peace.

Anna I had no idea - how interesting that two church men, centuries apart and in different parts of the world, should be murdered on the same day...

They say there is no such thing as coincidence!

And Rasputin, I guess we're still figuring out if he was a saint or a sinner...or somehwere in between?!

Thomas Becket was given the title of saint... Yet my understanding is that his halo grew brighter after his death.

Rasputin I know less about - have you done an article on him? If so please let me have the link, if not it would be great to know more about him.

Hi Asha,

I'm working on a few articles on Rasputin: the more I research, the more interesting his tale becomes.

At the present time, I've done an introduction in a piece about Siberia, his birthplace.

Here is the link:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art57273.asp

Thanks for asking.

Anna what a beautiful, evocative article - your writing is poetic and has a strong sense of place - it was as if I could see the landscape you were describing. I'd love to learn more about Rasputin and look forward to your articles about him.

Francine growing up with a mother who was an English teacher I remember Murder In The Cathedral on the bookshelves from when I was young. Because I asked about the book it also meant I knew Thomas Becket's story. We also had The Canterbury Tales on the bookshelves, so I learned about the link with them to Thomas Becket's tomb.

Your question about history taught in British schools prompted me to look up the National Curriculum. You might find this link interesting (people would normally be doing Key Stage 3 around the age of 14). Key Stage 3 History - Range and Content

I have to say when I found it I thought the National Curriculum was impressive too! And recognised that what it says on the tin is not what comes out of the box...

I find it interesting to see how much I am enjoying researching history as an adult, often reremembering things I learned at school. For me one of the keys was good historical fiction - it helped bring history alive, and encouraged me to explore the eras of books I read.