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.