"Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Becket, Shakespeare, James Comey, and Fulton Armstrong
What I learned today about Shakespeare's influence on the phrase, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" attributed to Henry II regarding Thomas Becket, (I may be coming late to this insight compared to some!) Timeline: 1170 - Archbishop Thomas Becket [1] is killed in Canterbury Cathedral. 1180 - Edward Grim [2] publishes a book on the Life of St. Thomas (Becket), based in part on his own witness, quotes King Henry II of England as saying to a gathering on Christmas, 1170, "What miserable drones and traitors have I nurtured and promoted in my household who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric!" [3] This seems to have inspired eager followers of Henry II to assume that killing the archbishop would please the king. 1595–96 William Shakespeare writes his play, Richard II , published in 1597. In this play, Richard II relinquishes the crown to Henry Bollingbroke. In Act 5, scene 4, Sir Pierce of Exton...