4 - Criticism and vindication: Anonymous II and Alan of Tewkesbury

Summary

Two of the more obscure, and unusual, contributions to the corpus of Becket hagiography are those by Anonymous II and Alan of Tewkesbury. The anonymous Life follows a chronological narrative, but is almost entirely devoid of circumstantial detail, consisting largely of reflection upon Thomas and the dispute. The depiction of the Council of Clarendon, for example, mentions no name, date or place, even Clarendon. Alan of Tewkesbury is known as the compiler of the Becket letter collection, but very little attention has been paid to him as a hagiographer. His work is a supplement to John of Salisbury's brief Vita et Passio, and together they form a prologue to the letter collection. He calls it a work of explanation, intended to fill in various points of the story not adequately covered in the letters. Beginning with the aftermath of the Council of Clarendon in January 1164, and ending with the aftermath of the Council of Montmirail in January 1169, it provides a good deal of detail, much of it in the form of reported speech, but it is seldom convincing as a historical record. Neither of these works adds much to our knowledge of the historical Thomas, but they do cast light on Thomas's posthumous reputation. Though the background to their production was very different – the Anonymous wrote between 1172 and 1173, apparently from a London perspective, while Alan wrote between 1174 and 1176 as part of the official Canterbury cult – they are similar in one important way: both are strongly concerned with lingering criticism of Thomas, and how to respond to it.