All has been said on the preferred geographical situation in the medieval town of Limoges, located at the crossroads of the main axes to Northern Spain and to Rome. The development of enamelling at the end of the 12th century also benefited from the patronage by Henry II  Plantagenêt, his wife Aliénor and their son Richard the Lionheart, inducted as Duke of Aquitaine in Limoges Cathedral in 1171AD. With regard to the reliquary caskets of Saint Thomas Becket more particularly, it seems that the patronage of the Plantagenêt family together with that of monastic orders (like Grandmont), played a decisive role in the orders for most of the reliquaries produced in Limousin workshops.

 

Hence, for example, Richard the Lionheart’s patronage might have played the determinant role in the order of the reliquary casket, now kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, dating from 1185-1190, which can justly be considered as the forerunner in the series of Saint Thomas Becket reliquary caskets and was initially and undoubtedly meant for the Peterborough Cathedral (in England).

 

 When he was nominated to head of the Benedictine Abbey of Peterborough, Benedict, the Prior of Christ Church since 1174AD, witnessed the murder of Thomas Becket and was the first gaurdian of his tomb till 1172AD. He was therefore in a position to bring relics to the Cathedral as mentioned by the Abbey chronicler.Robert Swapham. ??? (Robert Swaffham)

Soon after his arrival, he endeavoured to restore the finances of the Abbey, that were earlier compromised by his predecessors and he completed the chapel dedicated to Thomas Becket, which was started by the Abbot William. In fact, he was a staunch supporter of Richard the Lionheart whose coronation he attended in 1189. Given the state of his finances, it is quite possible that Richard advised him to enquire with the Limoges workshops about the completion of a reliquary casket, the cost of which would be cheaper than that of a precious reliquary.

 

Benedict might even have been behind the iconographic programme of this casket, undoubtedly designed to adorn the altar of the chapel dedicated to the Saint.

 

 (Source - Valérie & Thomas Becket, de l'influence des princes Plantagenêt dans l'Oeuvre de Limoges / Musée de Limoges)

 

The rapid propagation of the cult of the holy martyr, Thomas Becket (circa 1118-1178), Archbishop of Canterbury, led to a large production of Limoges enamelled reliquary caskets intended to house his relics that were widespread throughout  Europe.

 

Limoges and the Limousins were under the rule of the dynasties of Angevins-Plantagenêts dynasty and the success of these reliquary caskets depicting scenes of the Saint was enormous, partly thanks to the patronage of the Plantagenêts and also thanks to the role played by the monastic orders, the rulers and the English prelates. Some of the sponsors of the reliquary caskets are known, such as Abbot Benedict (1177-1193) from Peterborough Abbey (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) and Queen Margaret of Sicily († 1183), who wore an enamelled miniature casket as a necklace, are well known.

 

Caudron listed all the well-known reliquary caskets relating to the iconography of Saint Tomas Becket, including the exemplary Dormeuil collection, today for the most part are retained in museums, displaying variations in their quality and their details. Given the quality of its manufacture, the Dormeuil reliquary casket rivals the casket sold by Sotheby’s in London in 1996 (today in Victoria and Albert Museum, in London).

 

While in general only two knights feature in the beheading scene, the version of the “Society of Antiquaries of London”, (given to the British Museum) is one of the rare pieces depicting, on the front panel, the four assailants.

The high quality Dormeuil reliquary casket is in a good state of preservation, depicting three assailants, two of them holding a sword, and the third an axe. The tragic event of the martyrdom is featured on one side only: the saint’s assassination in front of the altar and the depiction of the entombment of the body. The back is simply decorated with rosettes framed in lozenges and an apostle’s picture is depicted on each of the gable-shaped side.

 

After the “decanonization “ of Thomas Becket, in 1538,  following the Church of England’s Constitution, Henry VIII ordered the destruction of all the Saint’s pictures. Therefore, it is now rare to find works of art featuring Thomas Becket’s iconography.

 

The martyrdom of Becket is the story of a disillusioned friendship, of the separation of Church and State and of a horrible misunderstanding. Thomas Becket was born in London in 1118; he became Archdeacon and Provost of Beverley and won the friendship of King Henry II Plantagenêt (1133-1189) who appointed him Chancellor in 1155 and then Archbishop of Canterbury. Thereafter, despite his friendship with the King, he changed his way of life and fought for the estate and the rights of the Church.

Their friendship turned into a bitter rivalry, which forced the King to send him and his family into exile in France. Becket used his powers of excommunication against the King’s allies.

 

As Henry feared that the Pope would ex-communicate all of his country’s Christians, he tried to reconcile with the Archbishop who finally returned to England.

 

But within no time of his return to Canterbury, Thomas Becket continued his intransigent attitude vis-à-vis the royal authority, provoking the King’s fury who uttered the famous words “Who will rid me of this low-born priest!”, prompting four of his knights William of Tracy, Reginald Firz Urse, Richard Le Breton et Hugh of Morville, to take up arms. They arrived in Canterbury and in the cathedral, asked him to comply with the King’s orders and after his refusal, assassinated Thomas Becket on the 29th December 1170.

 

(Source - Fin du XIIe siecle , chasse en email champleve representant le Martyre de saint Thomas Becket)