Thomas Becket. Father John S. Hogan
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his personality and nature that, though hidden in the years of excess, boded well for the future.
Whoever taught Thomas during his time in Paris and whatever he did, it is obvious that he did not learn a great deal, for when he entered the service of Archbishop Theobald of Canterbury a number of years later, he needed further tutoring to give him the skills to advance. While the schools in Paris gradually developed into the university, taking a degree was not yet heard of in Thomas’s day; however, students would reach a point in their education where they could qualify to teach and so would be called magister, or master. Clerks who had spent a certain period of time in these schools would normally be addressed as magister. Thomas was never styled magister in his later employment, and educated colleagues sometimes looked down on him; indeed, his advancement caused jealousy among some because he was deemed unfit, partly because of his lack of education.
That said, Gilbert did not intend his son to be a teacher; he had other plans for him. Thomas was intelligent and possessed natural gifts, so a little education went a long way. He could speak and write Latin; he was fluent in French before he ever set foot in Paris; and he had the basics of a medieval education. Frank Barlow in his biography suggests that Thomas, when royal chancellor in 1155, had the same level of education as an average bishop.14 It is unclear how much of that education was from Merton Priory and later studies in Canterbury as archbishop’s clerk and how much was from his time in Paris, but it may be that his time in Paris was not of great educational benefit to him.
Thomas remained in Paris for about two years. At some point in 1141, when he was twenty-one, devastating news arrived by means of a messenger: His mother had died.
6
Return of the Wastrel
Thomas left Paris, but by the time he returned to London his mother was already buried, and he had to content himself with solitary moments of grief at her tomb. The house seemed empty; everything had changed. Roger of Pontigny in his biography says that Thomas became careless in his studies as a result of Matilda’s passing,1 suggesting that he may not have returned to London upon hearing of his mother’s death, but only when the zest of the student life was gone. The period of mourning would prove to be a dark one for father and son; it was also a time of decision for both.
Thomas made up his mind not to return to Paris. Whether that was his initial intention is unknown. Certainly, his mother’s death meant that some of the pressure for him to continue was gone, but subsequent events may also have relieved him of whatever urge remained. Gilbert had retired by now, and if he had hopes of living from the rents he charged his tenants, those hopes were quashed as he fell victim to a series of misfortunes, including fires in a number of his properties.2 Money was not as plentiful as before, and there was not enough in the family coffers to send Thomas back to Paris. The tuition fees might have been manageable, but the son and heir had not been living hand to mouth: Gilbert could no longer afford to keep a young socialite living the good life in Paris.
At the age of twenty-two, Thomas was indeed a young man with prospects. However, in the year after his mother’s death, despite his father’s hints and then urgings, he made no effort to benefit from his natural abilities. He lazed about at home and around London, intent, as his friend and biographer Herbert of Bosham noted, on the kind of things that are sweet and fashionable.3 Thomas’s only cares at this time were for clothes and his appearance — he wanted to look more fashionable than anyone else. Modern psychologists might see this behavior as a means of coping with his mother’s death, and perhaps it was, but it was also entirely in keeping with his character. If, in the wake of his wife’s death, Gilbert was exercising patience with his son, then he was a very patient man indeed. However, that patience came to an end after a year. The pressure was on Thomas to grow up and start earning his keep. At his father’s insistence, job hunting started and negotiations to find him an employer began. Thomas would now have to pull his weight; his working life was about to begin.
Around 1142, thanks to his father’s influence, Thomas was given a position as a clerk in the business of a London banker and sometime merchant, Osbert Huitdeniers, whose last name means “Eightpence,” though he was worth considerably more than that.4 Contemporary biographers refer to Osbert as a relative of Gilbert Becket,5 and that may explain how Thomas got a position. Osbert remains a shadowy figure in history. Having served as a justiciar, an administrator of justice, he had also been one of the sheriffs of the city (as had Gilbert), and his term of office had just come to an end around the time Thomas came on the job market.
The nature of Osbert’s banking is not known. He had made a number of important contacts through his business, and he had connections with the royal court. He was known to have had links with the Angevins — the House of Anjou, that of the future Henry II and his father, Geoffrey. He held land in Kent received from Henry I’s son Robert, Earl of Gloucester; and Empress Matilda is known to have given him land. These gifts indicate that he had won the royal favor, most likely for his service to Matilda and her son’s cause during the Anarchy. In fact, he was among a delegation representing London citizens that came to Matilda in 1141 as she was attempting to win the capital to her cause. Osbert, as an associate of her brother Robert, was already in her camp; some even identify him as the head of the pro-Angevin faction in the city, engaged in trying to swing notable citizens to support Matilda’s claim. When she lost London’s favor and King Stephen was again ascendant, Osbert was forced to find refuge with the Earl of Gloucester on his estates. As he was a refugee from the city for supporting her claim, Matilda granted him a stipend of twenty pounds per annum. By the time Thomas arrived, Osbert was back in business, whatever it was, legal or otherwise.6
According to some biographers, Thomas was given the position of secretary to Osbert, coupled with the task of keeping accounts.7 Some biographers maintain that he did not work for Osbert personally, but rather that Osbert, as sheriff, got him a position in the municipal offices.8 He would remain in this employment for two or three years, deriving a great deal of experience, particularly in the area of finance, that would prove useful for the positions he held later. Working for a man immersed in the political scene, Thomas would no doubt have been keenly aware of what was happening in England and Normandy.
These years in Osbert’s employ would prove important. For one thing, the work and the exposure to the business and political life of England gradually pulled Thomas out of the life of pleasure and enkindled in him an interest in the world. Though little is known about this time, it was one of the most formative in his life, opening new horizons and convincing him that he had ability and that he must get up and use it. He would have become acquainted with the workings of financial affairs, both in the general market and in the civic realm. He also participated in transactions with the royal exchequer and he would have learned a great deal about the system of taxation, the reforms that were already under way in that arena, and perhaps even the financial mollification of kings.
Although he had an income and was busy, Thomas’s ambition had returned, and keeping accounts for a banker was gradually losing its sheen — the work did not have enough meat to satisfy his growing hunger for advancement. To his love of fashion and leisure, he now added determination. He wanted to go places, and a clerk’s desk in a relative’s business was not a springboard to any kind of prestige. It provided only an honest day’s work, and even that was questionable if some historians are correct that Osbert’s business was more inclined to the shadows than to the light.9 Thomas was, in short, bored, and he began the search for another, more lucrative position that would enhance his prospects.
Perhaps impressed with his son’s newfound enthusiasm for advancement, Gilbert offered his advice and assistance: It was time to move on. This time, he would pull out all the stops, and he could do so because his son was finally hungry for an improvement in his career. But where could Thomas go? For an ambitious man, there were two roads to take. The first was to join the service of the monarch at court. Given that the kingdom was in the midst of the Anarchy and an utter mess, divided between two claimants to the throne, even applying for a position was a political statement and a risk. If Thomas backed the wrong horse,