Sens contains his vestments and an ancient altar at which he
said mass. His story is pictured in the painted windows at Chartres, and
Sens, and St. Omer, and his figure is to be seen in the church of Monreale
at Palermo."

In England almost every county contained a church or convent dedicated to
St. Thomas. Most notable of these was the abbey of Aberbrothock, raised,
within seven years after the martyrdom, to the memory of the saint by
William the Lion, king of Scotland. William had been defeated by the
English forces on the very day on which Henry II. had done penance at the
tomb, and made his peace with the saint, and attributing his misfortunes
to the miraculous influence of St. Thomas, endeavoured to propitiate him
by the dedication of this magnificent abbey. A mutilated image of the
saint has been preserved among the ruins of the monastery. This is perhaps
the most notable of the gifts to St. Thomas. The volume of the offerings
which were poured into the Canterbury coffers by grateful invalids who
had been cured of their ailments, and by others who, like the Scotch king,
were anxious to propitiate the power of the saint, must have been
enormous. We know that at the beginning of the sixteenth century the
yearly offerings, though their sums had already greatly diminished, were
worth about L4,000, according to the present value of money.

The story of the fall of the shrine and the overthrow of the power of the
martyr is so remarkable and was so implicitly believed at the time, that
it cannot be passed over in spite of the doubts which modern criticism
casts on its authenticity. It is said that in April, A.D. 1538, a writ of
summons was issued in the name of King Henry VIII. against Thomas Becket,
sometime Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of treason, contumacy, and
rebellion. This document was read before the martyr's tomb, and thirty
days were allowed for his answer to the summons. As the defendant did not
appear, the suit was formally tried at Westminster. The Attorney General
held a brief for Henry II., and the deceased defendant was represented by
an advocate named by Henry VIII. Needless to relate, judgment was given in
favour of Henry II., and the condemned Archbishop was ordered to have his
bones burnt and all his gorgeous offerings escheated to the Crown. The
first part of the sentence was remitted and Becket's body was buried, but
he was deprived of the title of Saint, his images were destroyed
through