Henry II's penance at Avranches
May 21, 1172
Still facing excommunication for Becket's murder, Henry met papal legates at Avranches Cathedral in Normandy and underwent public penance: swearing he had not ordered the killing, endowing monasteries, and promising two hundred knights for the Holy Land. The legates absolved him. The penance was a carefully staged performance that allowed both king and church to save face, though neither Henry's conscience nor the pope's suspicions were fully satisfied.
In context
Also in 1172 (4 other events on record)
- Southern Song refine advanced agricultural science · East Asia · Science
- Benjamin of Tudela completes his travels · Middle East · Exploration
- Henry II formally named Lord of Ireland · Europe · Politics
- Waldemar I sacks Arkona · Europe · Religion
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Religion
Era
High Middle Ages (1000–1300), one of 1,306 events from that era on Saeculum.