In the next in the Black Hand of History series, Chris looks at Thomas Becket, the Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury who was eventually murdered by followers of King Henry II in Canterbury Cathedral. Chris begins by examining the background of the two men.

King Henry II argues with Thomas Becket.

In 1162 King Henry II persuaded his Chancellor Thomas Becket, to become Archbishop of Canterbury, although Becket warned him that his chief loyalty would then be to the Church and not to the king. They disagreed about many matters. One of the most important was whether clergy who had broken the law could be tried in the King's courts or whether they could appear only before the Church courts. Eventually in 1170 Becket was murdered by three of the King's knights and Henry was blamed. This is taken from 'Peter of Langtoft, Chronicle of England'. This manuscript was probably written and pictures added during the reign of Edward II (1307-1327).

This is the first in a new series of podcasts by Chris called "The Black Hand of History - Assassinations and Deaths". This episode looks at the attempted assassination of Lenin by the Socialist Revolutionary, Fanya Kaplan.