Thomas Becket. Father John S. Hogan

early biographer William of Canterbury relates that Thomas formed an alliance with Roger and another clerk, John of Canterbury. The three, William insists, made a pact to protect and help one another advance their interests and careers. Given that it was rare for the three to be absent from the household at the same time, there was always at least one to keep an eye on what was happening and inform the others when they returned.¹ Frank Barlow in his modern biography suggests that Roger was suspicious of the newcomer from the moment Thomas arrived and that he regarded the manner of the young Londoner’s arrival as irregular.² That Theobald quickly developed an affection for Thomas did not help matters, and so whether or not Roger and Thomas were allies, close or otherwise, their relationship soon became bitter and confrontational.³ Perhaps Roger, as an ambitious young man, was indeed wary of Thomas, but judged that for the time being, it was more conducive to his career to form an alliance with this new arrival. As Thomas advanced, however, Roger’s ambition may have overcome whatever affection for Thomas or initial pragmatism he may have had. Later events would lead Roger to despise him even more.

      Thomas had few qualifications for his position. He was probably hired because Theobald wanted someone with experience in financial matters, which Thomas had thanks to Osbert, and saw in him a young man who could be trained for greater things. As he would have expected, Thomas started at the bottom as the junior clerk assigned the lowliest of tasks: filing, taking statements, doing odd jobs, being ordered about by his seniors. He watched his steps in the first few weeks, taking careful note of how things were done and how people worked and reacted. He aimed to be helpful and competent; and as he completed his work in an exceptional manner, not only was Theobald vindicated in his decision, but others noticed this young man’s ability. One of those was Theobald’s brother, Walter the Archdeacon. Walter was always happy to have someone help him with his duties, particularly when he had to stand in at the court while Theobald was away on business. For Walter, Thomas gradually became that clerk who was always willing to help; this was a smart move on Thomas’s part.⁴

      To bring his education up to the standard required of a clerk, Theobald assigned Thomas to study with a tutor, who would not only teach him the knowledge he needed for his day-to-day work but also help develop his natural skills and fit him for tasks the archbishop already had in mind for this new protégé. The tutor was already teaching Theobald’s nephews, so Thomas was more than likely included in classes that had already been arranged. These lessons were not a leisurely familiarizing of oneself with Church law and practice; rather, as soon as he was appointed to mentor the new clerk, the tutor arrived with an armful of works for Thomas’s attention, prominent among them works on canon law.⁵ One of the important tasks of the primate’s court was dealing with legal matters, and for this Theobald needed capable advisors and clerks who were well versed in the law. As Thomas was seemingly marked out for legal work, Theobald had to ensure that he not only grasped the fundamentals of canon law, but also knew his way around the complexities of the Church’s legal system in order to harmonize it with, and at times challenge, the system of civil laws. Experts on canon law and other matters pertaining to the life of the Church would have been regular visitors to Canterbury, and Theobald may have given Thomas the opportunity to speak with them and thereby supplement his studies. Thomas would doubtless have become acquainted with the reforms of Pope Saint Gregory VII,⁶ since they had recently affected relations between the Church and the secular powers in various realms. As a servant of the Church, the new clerk would need to understand not only the law of these reforms, but also the response with which they had been met.

      Thomas was doing well. Theobald was not given to fawning over his servants, but he was impressed with his new clerk. He started planning great things for Thomas, who was finding himself by the archbishop’s side more often as time passed. Meanwhile, Roger de Pont L’Évêque was festering with malice and discontent; it may have been he who dubbed Thomas Baillehache, or “Hatchet Man.” As time progressed, the two were considered rivals, and bitter ones at that. Roger was given to conspiracy, and he began to use his skills to undermine Thomas before he achieved too lofty a role in the archbishop’s service. On two occasions, Roger was able to stir up trouble, making false accusations against Thomas to the archbishop and providing evidence that seemed to confirm the truth of his claims. On both occasions, Theobald was convinced and dismissed his protégé from his service and his presence. Both times, Thomas took refuge with Walter, Theobald’s brother, for whom he had done many favors; and, convinced of the clerk’s innocence and perhaps even of Roger’s malice, Walter interceded with his brother each time and won Theobald around, helping to restore Thomas to his position and to favor. Roger’s triumph was short-lived on both occasions, but his contempt for the “lowborn clerk” never waned.⁷

      As he returned to the court after each of his banishments, it may have seemed to his nemeses in the archiepiscopal household that Thomas, the upstart, had a charmed life. By this stage, Thomas was well aware of the dangers and pitfalls that lay around him, and now he was ready for a fight and willing to do what he could to rise above those who tried to bring him down. Thomas was too clever and too ambitious to be caged in by those who wanted to destroy him. He may have felt insecure at first due to his lack of education and his “lowborn” status compared with many of those around him, but he was gifted and competent. The wastrel of the Paris years was gone; now, he was intent on going as far as he could. His ambition would prove to be a great motivator, and while collegial and supportive of his fellow clerks, Thomas relished competition and pushed himself. He kept an eye on his enemies and was very careful in his dealings with Roger.

      In the meantime, around 1147, another ambitious and highly skilled clerk came into Theobald’s service: John of Salisbury. This young man arrived with a reference from none other than the highly esteemed and venerated Saint Bernard of Clairvaux.⁸ Thomas might have seen another rival, but his first impressions of John were favorable; this new clerk, while obviously gifted and highly capable, was very different from Roger. Thomas offered the hand of friendship to John, and it was gladly accepted. Not only would the two become fast friends, but their friendship would prove to be one of the most providential relationships in Thomas’s life. John would be a friend, an ally, and a confidant; a sure support in the years of suffering and exile that lay ahead; a champion following Thomas’s death; and one of his biographers. John would become one of the foremost intellectuals of his age and would also know exile, which for a man of his sensitivity would be a very bitter experience. In time, he would be raised to the episcopate and, on his death, leave an important body of work.⁹ Entering Theobald’s service as the archbishop’s secretary, John would hold the post for seven years — years he and Thomas would cherish and often reminisce about later in their lives.

      As Thomas progressed in his studies and served his master well, Theobald made the decision to send his clerk abroad to continue his studies in a more formal environment. Though he was often hard on his clerks, Theobald was generous. Recognizing their gifts and abilities, he sought to give them every opportunity to perfect their skills and interests, realizing that these skills would be beneficial to the Church, both local and universal.

      Thomas was sent first to Bologna,¹⁰ the great university in the north of Italy. Founded in 1088 and still in existence, it is the oldest continuously functioning university in the world. In Thomas’s day, it was just over fifty years old but already an important center for learning. Having gained a notable reputation for canon law, it was the obvious place to send Thomas. One of its first professors had been Irnerius, a native of Bologna, who founded the school of jurisprudence at the university. Often called lucerna juris, the “lantern of the law,” Irnerius is credited as the founder of the medieval Roman law tradition for his recovery of the Codex of the sixth-century Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I, a revival that would prove revolutionary for European law for centuries to come. Irnerius had died long before Thomas arrived, but Thomas would have studied under men well versed in Roman and canon law, some of the best legal minds in Europe at the time. Among these were the “Four Doctors” of Bologna: Bulgarus, Martinus Gosia, Jacobus de Boragine, and Hugo de Porta Ravennate. These were towering figures who not only brought their brilliant minds to bear on the study of law, but were also involved in the various disputes and controversies of the twelfth century.

      Thomas would spend a year at Bologna, and it would be very different from