中古时期英国15

It was this pseudo-sibling relationship that gave Becket the confidence later on to treat the King as a virtual equal with catastrophic results for all concerned. Time and again he'd tell his dwindling band of followers look, I know this looks bad but trust me. I know the way this man operates. But even in the early days, beneath the jesting, there was, if Thomas looked for it, a kind of ominous tension. When, for example, the King and the Chancellor rode through London, Henry pointed to the countless destitute, and, eyeing Thomas's gorgeous scarlet and grey minever-edged cloak, let it be known "How charitable it would be to clothe the poor man's nakedness." "Well, yes," said Becket, "You should attend to it right away." "Oh, no, no, no, you should have the credit," insisted the King, pulling at Becket's cape. An undignified tug of war then followed with both men trying to pull the capes off each other. At last the Chancellor had no alternative but to allow the King to overcome him and give his cape to the poor man.

正是这种亲如手足的关系，给予贝克特极大的信心，使其在日后将自己与国王一视同仁。最终造就了那灾难性的后果，他曾反复告诫那些日渐减少的追随者。"我知道这看上去很糟糕，但相信我，我了解这个男人的性格。"即使在早期的玩笑之下，如果托马斯稍作留意，就会发现不祥预兆。比如，国王和大法官骑马穿过伦敦时，亨利指着众多贫苦的人们。看着托马斯身上猩红色镶灰毛边的华丽斗篷，对他说 "如果这个穷苦人能获得一衣之蔽那该多好"。贝克特说，"是的，您应该说到做到"。"不不，此项殊荣应该交付于你。"国王坚持如是说，说着就拉扯贝克特的斗篷，接着演变成一场有损尊严的的拉扯之争，两个男人都极力想扯下对方身上的斗篷。最终，大法官别无选择，只能乖乖听命于国王，将自己的斗篷给了那个穷人。