Was Henry II's ". . . turbulent priest. . . " quote accurate?
score:11
The Wikipedia page on Thomas Becket contains this excerpt:
Upon hearing reports of Becket's actions, Henry is said to have uttered words that were interpreted by his men as wishing Becket killed.[9] The king's exact words are in doubt and several versions have been reported.[10] The most commonly quoted, as handed down by oral tradition, is "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?",[11] but according to historian Simon Schama this is incorrect: he accepts the account of the contemporary biographer Edward Grim, writing in Latin, who gives us "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?"[12] Many variations have found their way into popular culture.
So Simon Schama appears to be using the account from Edward Grim, who was an eye-witness of the assassination; but not -- this should be pointed out -- of Henry's utterance. So even Schama's primary source is already repeating hearsays. Compounding the issue is that it is improbable that Henry was speaking in Latin (the language used by Grim); Henry knew Latin, but for an exasperated curse he would have more naturally used French (at least the French flavour spoken in Norman court at that time). Moreover, "embellishing" discourse was also a normal practice for historians at that time (nobody in the 12th century believed that reporting the exact words, as they were said, was important).
Upvote:-2
Henry would not have been speaking latin, he would have spoken Norman French the language of the court. Edward Grim gave his account in Latin beacase Latin was the language of the written word. Everything of significance that was written down was done so in Latin.
More post
- 📝 In American Civil War era paper cartridges, what was taking up the space between powder and bullet?
- 📝 What's the earliest example of a permanent embassy?
- 📝 Why did Chinese use high tin bronze for swords?
- 📝 Why wouldn't debtors simply destroy their tally sticks?
- 📝 Was WW1 generally foreseen?
- 📝 Long time to reach news in Thirty Years' War
- 📝 What is the relationship between land claims and ranks of nobility?
- 📝 What was the economic basis for West Berlin?
- 📝 Was there a noble cause to Genghis Khan's campaign?
- 📝 Battles that ended with a disaster for all the parties
- 📝 How historically accurate is Age of Empires III?
- 📝 Why did Michigan abolish capital punishment so early?
- 📝 Did Cato the Elder think destruction of Carthage was more important than anything else for Rome?
- 📝 What is the Macedonian naming dispute really about?
- 📝 How much was cost for a regular (standard class) passenger to come on passenger ship from Liverpool England to Canada between 1906-1908
- 📝 Which battle was the most lopsided result in terms of casualties?
- 📝 ‘Avoid sleeping on your back’ & ‘breathe in toilet smells’ were seen as precautions against the Black Death. Why did doctors think these would work?
- 📝 When did the Roman Forum fall into disuse?
- 📝 Why did Japan fail to interfere with shipping from America to Vladivostok from 1941-1945?
- 📝 How many lives were estimated to have been saved by the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs?
- 📝 Quesnay, Adam Smith, and Pitt
- 📝 How do historians decide who to refer to as 'the allies?'
- 📝 Which, if any, successful invasions have been planned by one person without relying on specialized experts?
- 📝 Colonisation of India: Which regions of the United Kingdom did colonial personnel come from?
- 📝 Why was being divided a boon for Europeans, but not for anyone else?
- 📝 Were the dates of saints days moved as part of the Gregorian calendar reforms?
- 📝 Anti-Semitism and Edmund Burke
- 📝 Thoroughbred horse history on British Islands prior to 1686
- 📝 Was there ever a series of leaders who passed their positions to the most capable candidate?
- 📝 Historical Statistical Analysis on the Length of Court Proceedings in the US?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Was Henry II's ". . . turbulent priest. . . " quote accurate?
- 📝 Was there a priest on the Titanic who stayed on the ship giving confession to as many as he could?
- 📝 What was done to improve the safety of jousts after the death of Henry II?
- 📝 Was King Henry VIII, mid-late in his reformation campaign, motivated more by theology or absolutist drive?
- 📝 How was King Henry VIII able to get syphilis?
- 📝 What was the most accurate map of the world before artificial satellites?
- 📝 Why are there shields present on the sides of Henry VIII ships, did they serve any function or was it pure decoration?
- 📝 How historically accurate was the Queen's trip to Ghana portrayed in Episode 8 of The Crown?
- 📝 Henry I. (the Fowler): What kind of contact to hostages was seen as appropriate?
- 📝 How historically accurate was the movie "Charlie Wilson's War"?
- 📝 How accurate is Karl Heinz Frieser when he said that the blitzkrieg was a myth?
- 📝 Was any Church dispensation granted to Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine’s marriage?
- 📝 Where was the ruling seat of East Francia located under Henry the Fowler?
- 📝 Was Henry III of England the first fully "English" king?
- 📝 How accurate was rocket artillery in the 18th and 19th centuries?
- 📝 Is it true that the A10 gun was made less accurate on purpose?
- 📝 Was there any treaty during WWI and II with the world countries and Sir Henry Dunant's Red Cross to respect those with Red Cross?
- 📝 Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Why was France granted an equal status among victors of World War II?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- 📝 Why was Poland spared from the Black Death?
- 📝 Why China was able to unify and not Europe?
- 📝 Did medieval scholars believe the Earth was round?
- 📝 How accurate or supported is Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and Steel"?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that the United States was "suckered into WW1" by Zionists, made by Benjamin Freedman in his 1961 speech?
- 📝 Why was Africa colonized last of the continents in the Age of Discovery?
- 📝 Was the secession of the Confederate states illegal?
- 📝 Why was Britain willing to return Hong Kong but not Gibraltar?
- 📝 Is it true that slavery was endemic in Sub-Saharan Africa previous to the establishment of the trans-Atlantic slave trade?