(41) The Gospel of Nicodemus.

The spurious Gospel of Nicodemus, which Erasmus suggests was preferred at Canterbury to those of the Evangelists, had been printed at London by Wynkyn de Worde in 1509, with woodcuts (see Typographical Antiquities, by Dibdin, vol. ii. p. 144). For the dates of other editions, see Watt's Bibliotheca and Lowndes's Bibliographer's Manual.

(42) Altar of the Virgin.

"There the pious man is said to have breathed his last farewell to the Virgin when his death was at hand," was the story told to Erasmus; and, from the usual pictures of the saint's martyrdom, it was no doubt supposed that his death took place at the foot of an altar. But in truth the altar was erected after the catastrophe, as is clearly stated by the historian Gervase, who describes the spot where the holy Thomas fell as being in front of the solid wall, which is shaded in the accompanying Plan, at the entrance to the north transept (afterwards called The Martyrdom). Gervase adds, "The pillar which stood in the midst of this cross, (or entrance to the transept,) as well as the vault which rested on it, were taken down in process of time, out of respect for the martyr, that the altar, elevated on the place of the martyrdom, might be seen from a greater distance."

I

"A stone (remarks Professor Willis) is still pointed out on the pavement, which tradition assigns as the exact spot on which Becket fell: a small piece has been cut out of it, which is said to be still preserved at Rome. In some of the monastic representations of Becket's fall he is slain at the very foot of an altar, but this is only introduced to heighten the sacrilege. The altar [described by Erasmus, and shown in the Plan,] was erected afterwards, and the nearest altar was that of Saint Benedict [in the centre of the ancient apse*]. Thus, comparing representations of this murder on the seals of the archbishops, that of Boniface, 1259, has no altar; on the seal of Robert, 1273, the altar is in the background, and Becket has his back to it; on the seal of John Peckham, 1278, the altar again disappears; but in the seal of John Stratford the victim kneels at the altar with his back to his assailants, and this position is retained in the seals of Islip, Langton, and Arundel." At the moment when Becket was encountered by the king's knights, he had just crossed the north transept from the door leading from the cloisters, and was mounting the steps towards the choir, in which the monks were then performing their vespers. He turned round to confront his enemies, and after an altercation, which is fully described by the chronicler, was struck and fell on the spot. The scene

*The apse, which is shaded in the Plan, was removed in 1449, and in its place was erected the Lady Chapel, which still remains.

of this great event in the annals of Canterbury was afterwards walled off, in the manner shewn in the Plan, and called THE MARTYRDOM, the following verses being inscribed on the door of entrance:

"Est sacer intra locus venerabilis atque beatus
Presul ubi sanctus Thomas est martyrizatus."

This partition was removed in 1734, in consequence of its foundations having given way from interments.

The espousals of king Edward the First with Margaret of France were solemnized by archbishop Robert on the 9th Sept. 1299, at the cloister-door near the door of the Martyrdom.

(43) The point of the sword.

The sword of Richard Brito, one of the murderers, supposed to have been that which inflicted the fatal blow, was fractured on the spot by striking against the pavement; and the monks consequently preserved the piece broken off, as an object of veneration, and a source of profit. In the account of the cofferer of Queen Philippa, 25 Edw. III. after an offering of 40s. made to Saint Thomas's shrine, is an entry of 5s. offered ad punctum ensis. Prince Edmund offered 12d. at the shrine, 12d. ad punctum ensis, and 12d. at the head of Saint Thomas; and the countess of Ulster 5s. at the shrine, and 12d. ad punctum ensis. (Pegge's Beauchief Abbey, p. 6.)