When John, the youngest son of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, was born in December 1166 or 1167, Archbishop Becket was in exile. When Becket was murdered in 1170, John was still a toddler, probably resident at Fontevraud.2 Almost certainly, he never met St Thomas, but as the martyr's legacy unfolded, John was growing up: part of the generation that experienced the exponential growth of the Becket cult. John's reign as king (1199–1216) witnessed renewed conflict between king and Church over claims to the exercise of authority. Like the Becket crisis, this dispute involved its protagonists in diplomatic conflict on a European stage, and would be remembered as one of the most significant clashes between king and Church in English medieval history. However, unlike the Becket dispute and the period following the martyrdom, John's obstinacy resulted in a prolonged period (1208–14) in which the kingdom of England was subject to a general interdict and in which the king was personally excommunicate (1209–13). This article will examine the extent to which the legacy of St Thomas Becket, and the memory of the Becket crisis, loomed over royal relations with the Church, in particular with the papacy, during the dispute of King John's reign.

When John was a boy, Henry II was facing the consequences of the martyrdom. From 1174 until the end of his reign in 1189 he made regular pilgrimages to Canterbury. After the capture of the Scottish king, William the Lion, at Alnwick, following the first of these pilgrimages, Henry was able to assert the idea that St Thomas supported the crown. This was a legacy inherited and continued by Richard I. On his two brief visits to England, the Lionheart included Canterbury on his itinerary. Gervase of Canterbury claimed that when Richard returned from captivity in 1194, he prioritised going to Canterbury over any other church in England. John, who had been present at the time of Richard's visit of 1189, continued the example set by his father and brother.