The Quest For Beckets Bones

Download or read book The Quest for Becket's Bones written by John R. Butler and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1995-01-01 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In January 1888, workmen excavating in the eastern crypt of Canterbury Cathedral discovered the bones of a skeleton many believed to be that of the martyred archbishop, Thomas Beckett. This book traces the full history of `Beckett's bones', from their alleged destruction by Henry VIII's commissioners during the Reformation to the present day. Includes fascinating observations, such as the unexpected discovery by workmen in 1865 of Dante's bones concealed in a wooden box a short distance from his empty tomb.