The Fifth Day of Christmas

Nativity Stained Glass Window Trinity Episcopal Church Midtown Houston

The Fifth Day of Christmas & Thomas Becket

December 29th is the Fifth Day of Christmas. In the Episcopal Church and Greater Anglican Communion, it is a lesser feast and fast day celebrating Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, who was martyred in 1170.
 
“BECKET’ or “The Honour of God” is a play originally written by Jean Anouilh, with the  screenplay by Edward Anhalt. The play tells the story of the tumultuous relationship between King Henry II and his friend-turned-adversary, Thomas Becket. The play explores themes of friendship, loyalty, power, and the conflict between individual conscience and societal expectations.
 
In 1964 the screenplay written by Edward Anhalt was made into a successful film starring Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton with John Gielgud, Donald Wolfit, and Martita Hunt. Edward Anhalt wrote additional scenes for the film. Anhalt won an Academy Award for his screenplay. In  my senior year of high school, I presented parts of the play as a dramatic interpretation for a drama class assignment.

Throughout the play, both Becket and Henry II struggle with the desire for power and the responsibilities that come with it. For Becket, his rise to the position of Archbishop is marked by a series of personal and moral struggles as he grapples with the demands of his faith and the expectations of the King. Similarly, Henry II is torn between his desire to assert his authority as a ruler and his love for Becket, his former friend, and advisor.
 
His relationship with the King tests Becket's loyalty to the Church and God, and he ultimately must choose between the two. Similarly, Henry II is faced with the dilemma of balancing his loyalty to Becket with his duty to the Crown and the needs of the state. The play portrays the ongoing struggle between the church and state for power and influence. The tension between Becket and Henry II is a microcosm of this more significant conflict in today's society, as the two men represent the opposing forces of spiritual authority and temporal power. And how we too often blur America’s separation of church and state. As an allegory for the 21st century, the play provides an insightful view. The dialogue throughout the play is powerful and poignant.  There is a tragic sense of sadness and grief at play, which questions and reveals the complexity of our human emotions.



BECKET
The Honour of God

Play by Jean Anouilh
Screenplay by Edward Anhalt
Anhalt won an Academy Award for his screenplay.
Dialogue from the screenplay.


HENERY II & THOMAS BECKET 

(men singing in Latin)
(bell ringing)
(chanting in Latin)

Well, Thomas Becket, are you satisfied?
Here I am stripped, kneeling at your tomb
while those treacherous Saxon monks
of yours are getting ready to thrash me.
Me, with my delicate skin.
I bet you'd never have done the same for me.
But I suppose I have to do this penance and make my peace with you.
Hmm. What a strange end to our story.
How cold it was when we
last met on the shores of France.
Funny, it's nearly always been cold,
except at the beginning when we were friends.
We did have a few fine summer
evenings with the girls.
Did you love Gwendolen,
Archbishop?
Did you hate me the night
I took her from you, shouting,
"I am the king"?
Perhaps that's what you
could never forgive me for.
Look at them lurking there, gloating.


Oh, Thomas, I'm ashamed
of this whole silly masquerade.
All right, so I've come here
​to make my peace with their Saxon hero,
because I need them now,
those Saxon peasants of yours.
Now I'll call them my sons,
as you wanted me to.
You taught me that, too.
You taught me everything.
Those were the happy times.
Do you remember?


​I made you a nobleman.
Why do you play at being my valet?
I'm your servant in the council chamber,
or here in the bath.
My Norman barons resent it.
They feel it's your Saxon way
of mocking their nobility.
Nobility lies in the man,
my prince, not in the towel.
Have you any idea how much
trouble I took to make you noble?
I think so. I recall you pointed a finger and said,
"Thomas Becket, you are noble."


The queen and your mother
became very agitated.
(chuckles)
They're always agitated.
No, I mean trouble from the barons.
They hate you, you know?
​Of course. One always hates what one wrongs.
When you Normans invaded England, you seized our Saxon land,
burned our Saxon homes, raped our Saxon sisters.
Naturally, you hate Saxons.


Don't include me. It was my great grandfather
William who was called "The Conqueror."
- I'm an old resident.
- I did not mean you.
Didn't you?
You know, when I took you
into my service,
everyone predicted you'd
put a knife in my back.
- And did you believe them?
- No. I assured them that
you were a man of honor
... and a collaborator.
That was accurate of you.
- How do you combine the two?
- My Lord?
Honor and collaboration.
I don't try.
I love good living,
and good living is Norman.


A NEW ARCHBISHOP

- Are you listening to me, Thomas?
- I'm listening, My Prince.
We need a new Archbishop of Canterbury.
I think there is a man we can rely on.
No matter who it is,
once the archbishop's miter is on his head,
he will not longer be on your side.
But if the archbishop is my man,
if Canterbury is for the king,
how could his power possibly get in my way?
My Lord, we know your bishops.
Once enthroned at Canterbury,
every one of them
will grow dizzy with power.
Not this man.
This is someone
who doesn't know
what dizziness means,
someone who isn't afraid of God.

​
I'm sorry to deprive you
of the French girls
and the other spoils of victory, but...
- Are you listening to me, Thomas?
- Mm-hmm.
- You're leaving for England tonight.
- On what mission, My Prince?
You are going to deliver
a letter to all the bishops of England.
Uh-huh. My royal edict nominating you,
Thomas Becket,
Primate of England,
Archbishop of Canterbury.

(laughing)

Shut up. Thomas, I'm in deadly earnest.
My Lord, don't do this.
You have an odd way of taking good news.
I should think you'd be triumphant.

But I... I'm not even a priest.
You're a deacon.
You can be ordained priest
and consecrated archbishop the next day.
Have you considered what the Pope would say?
I'll pay his price.
My Lord, this frightens me.
I thought you had God in
​the palm of your hand, Thomas.
I beg of you, do not do this.


BECKET BEFORE BECOMING ARCHBISHOP

Oh, no, Folliot.
I'm simply enjoying all of this.
I'm beginning to believe he's not
a sad God after all. Forgive me,
I fear my inexperienced methods
will never meet with your approval.
I know that you cast the only vote against me.
In the end I gave way to the king's wishes.
I don't blame your reluctance.
As Bishop of London and senior churchman,
you should've been archbishop.
Now to have to consecrate me instead
and place the miter on my head. I
have no choice. I'm only
performing my function as bishop.


I see you still wear the seal
of the King's Chancellor.
Yes. I will continue to wear it
- that and the archbishop's ring.
You do not find this inconsistent?
No. God is best served when
the two rest side by side in harmony.
These excessive acts of humility will not
compensate for subservience to the crown.
Thank you. We are both aware
of the delicacy of my position.
Let us trust that God will find a solution for it.


HENRY & BECKET

Becket, I'm bored.
My Prince, I wish I could help you.
What are you waiting for?
For the honor of God and the honor
of the king to become one.
That may take long.
Yes, that may take long.
I'm the King, Thomas,
and so long as we are on this earth,
you owe me the first move.
I'm prepared to forget a lot of things,
but not the fact that I am king.
- You yourself taught me that.
- Never forget it, My Prince.
You have a different task to do.
You have to steer the ship.
And you - what do you have to do?
To resist you with all my might
when you steer against the Lord God.
What do you expect of me then?
Are you hoping I'll weaken?
No. I'm afraid we must only do,
absurdly,
what it has been given to us to do
right to the end.


And I'm cold.
I feel cold, too... now.
You never loved me, did you,
Thomas?
Insofar as I was capable of love, yes, I did.
Did you start to love God?
You mule!
Answer a simple question!
Yes. I started to love
... the honor of God.
I should never have seen you.
It hurts too much.
- My Prince.
- No, no pity. It's dirty.
This is the last time I shall come
begging to you.
Go back to England.
Farewell, My Prince.
I sail tomorrow.
I know that I shall
never see you again.
How dare you say that
when I've given my royal word?


THE CONSECRATION VOWS

And now, since humility seems to be
a little hard on the knees,
I trust you will be comfortable
under our roof, My Lord Bishop.
Dear Lord,
I wish there was something
I really regretted parting with so that
I might offer it to you.
But forgive me, Lord.
It's like going on a holiday.
I've never enjoyed myself
so much in my whole life.

Lord,
are you sure you're not laughing at me?
It all seems far too easy.
(chanting in Latin)
It is a bishop's duty
to pass judgment,
to interpret,
to consecrate,
to ordain,
to offer sacrifice,
to baptize and to confirm.

Let us pray, beloved brother.
Let the goodness of Almighty God,
providing for the well-being of his church,
may bestow upon this bishop elect
the abundance of his grace
through Christ our Lord.

(all) Amen.

(chanting in Latin continues)

May these hands be anointed
with hallowed oil,
with the chrism that sanctifies.
Even as Samuel anointed David
king and prophet,
so may these hands
be anointed and consecrated.

(chanting in Latin continues)

Take this ring,
token of the pledged word.
Yours it is,
donned with unshakable fidelity
to preserve and guard,
in unblemished honor,
God's bride, the Holy Church.

(chanting in Latin continues)

Lord, on the head of this bishop
and champion of thine,
I put the helmet of defense
and salvation,
that with forehead thus adorned,
head armed with the horns
of both testaments,
he may appear fearsome
to the enemies of truth.

TO THE ENEMIES OF TRUTH