St Thomas Becket

Chasse-shaped ampulla (small bottle for holy water) from the shrine of St Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. A chasse is a type of reliquary box used to hold the relics of a saint. They were shaped like a church or house with a sloping roof. This ampulla is decorated with the scene of Becket’s martyrdom on the front. The back is decorated with three figures within arcades (a king in the centre flanked by two bishops); on one end is a depiction of Christ on the cross and on the other Becket is shown with his hand raised in blessing. On the roof are four fleurs-de-lys (two on each side).

Canterbury ampullae contained holy water tinged with St Thomas Becket’s blood. The blood had been collected from his wounds by the monks of the cathedral after Becket had been murdered there by four knights of King Henry II on 29 December 1170. Holy water mixed with this blood became a miraculous cure for all kinds of diseases and was said to bring the dead back to life. Ampullae containing ‘Canterbury water’ were popular pilgrim souvenirs.