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What happened to Thomas Becket at the Council of Northampton in 1164?

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St. Thomas Becket Murder of St. Thomas Becket, illustration from an English psalter, c. 1200; in the British Library.

At the Council of Northampton in October 1164, King Henry II sought to ruin, imprison, or force the resignation of Thomas Becket, the archbishop of Canterbury. The king summoned Becket to trial on a point of feudal obligation, and the archbishop faced hostility from a majority of the bishops, including Gilbert Foliot, who encouraged the king’s actions. Fearing for his safety and position, Becket fled the council in disguise and ultimately took refuge with Louis VII of France, beginning a six-year period of exile.1