I think King Henry II went through a fairly long period of self-flagellation as a result of his guilt and shame following the murder of his former friend, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, by four of Henry's knights at Canterbury Cathedral in 1170. He was buried in the cathedral itself and his burial place became something of a shrine and a place of pilgrimage for Christians from all over Europe. He was canonised by Pope Alexander III in 1173 .The shrine stood until it was destroyed in 1538, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, on orders from King Henry VIII. The king also destroyed Becket's bones and ordered that all mention of his name be obliterated. The pavement where the shrine stood is today marked by a lit candle.
The Plantagenets were nasty business, all around.
