The Influence of English anticlericalism on the studies of 'Becket's Controversy' conducted by British historians in the 18th century

N.I. Egorov

Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420008 Russia

E-mail: nikita.matan@yandex.ru

Received March 29, 2021

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2021.3.175-188

For citation: Egorov N.I. The Influence of English anticlericalism on the studies of “Becket’s Controversy” conducted by British historians in the 18th century. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2021, vol. 163, no. 3, pp. 175–188. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2021.3.175-188. (In Russian)

Abstract

In this paper, some historical writings dating back to the 18th century and focused on the life of St. Thomas Becket and his relationship with King Henry II Plantagenet were considered. In a broad historical context, the causes of the growth in the popularity of anticlericalism in the interpretation of the catholic past by the British scholars during the Age of Enlightenment were singled out and covered in detail. Based on the analysis of the works written by P. de Rapin, J. Oldmixon, J. Lockman, J. Littleton, D. Hume, E. Burke, D. Berington, and some others, the methodological approaches to viewing and portraying the figure of T. Becket were revealed. The “controversy” that accompanies the discourse about him was identified. Based on a thorough investigation of the European political conjuncture in the 18 century and on the ideological and religious affiliation of the above-mentioned scholars, as well as their influence and popularity, three main periods were distinguished in the study of “Becket’s controversy” within the English historiography of that time: the period of the Circle of P. de Rapin (with him, J. Oldmixon, J. Lockman, J. Littleton, and E. Burke) was followed by the period of D. Hume and later by the Catholic reactionism of D. Berington. It was concluded that the works of P. de Rapin and his Circle promoted a negative image of T. Becket and undermined his role in English history over almost the entire 18th century.

Keywords: Thomas Beckett, Henry II, 18th-century historiography, English history, Church history

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