This alabaster panel shows the moment when four knights murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, following misconstrued instructions from King Henry II. Panels such as this were destroyed during the Reformation and it is only due to their popularity across medieval Europe that so many examples survive today. The object offers a starting point for studying a range of aspects of the medieval period from the struggle between church and state to the nature and importance of religious devotion.
Probably made in Nottingham, England
about AD 1450 – 1500
Medieval England
alabaster
height: 37 cm
width: 25 cm
British Museum
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