Following the 850th anniversary, in 2020, of the martyrdom of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, in his own cathedral at the hand of King Henry II's knights, many important contributions have been made to the study of Becket's life, death, and the saint's cult that developed around his tomb. Rachel Koopmans' splendid translation and introductory discussion of the short Passion and extensive collection of miracles composed by the Canterbury monk Benedict, later abbot of Peterborough, is a valuable and much-needed addition to this body of work.

Benedict was present on the day of the murder, and his collection and writing took place between late spring 1171 and St Thomas' first feast day in December 1173. Whilst the Passion is known to us through its preservation in the composite account of Becket's life and death known as Quadrilogus II, the Miracles survived through extensive circulation, indicating both the interest the text inspired and how easy it was to read.

This volume consists of an introduction to the texts, their author, and content, followed by translations of the Passion (15 pages), then the Miracles (228 pages, comprising a prologue, four books detailing the miracles collected by Benedict, and a small number of later additions). Koopmans has added supporting material: footnotes to the translation, a section of biographical notes of individuals, usually of wealth and status, named in the texts and who can be identified in other primary sources (17 pages covering 69 examples), an appendix of parallel miracles recorded by Benedict's successor as miracle collector at Canterbury, Brother William (31 pages), a select bibliography, a helpful index of biblical allusions used in the texts, and a general index.

As Koopmans notes in the preface to the translation, this is the first full English translation of these texts, a fact that further emphasises the book's importance. The base text is the Latin published in the nineteenth century by James Craigie Robertson as part of the seven Rolls Series volumes, Materials for the history of Thomas Becket. For both the Passion and the Miracles, Koopmans has provided a clear and lucid translation which brings the material to life in a readable and accessible way, a feature linked to the medieval author's method of gathering - so far as he could - first hand testimony. As Koopmans notes "Benedict met with and described the stories of real, living people [...] [He] did not see himself as writing fiction. Nor should we [...]" (4).

In addition to the classical citations noted by Robertson, Koopmans has gone to considerable effort to identify and index the many biblical quotations and allusions made by Benedict. As she notes, the task is made more complex because such material came easily to this well-educated Benedictine monk. To help modern readers understand how such classical and biblical examples would jump out at the scholarly medieval reader, this translation presents such material in italics, a feature that successfully achieves its aim. The full, clear, and informative notes are a further strength to the translation, adding to our understanding of the text and its content, clarifying dates, who is being referred to (with cross-referencing to the biographical notes), context, and areas where Benedict's meaning is less easy to follow. An important contribution, one which Koopmans is uniquely placed to provide through her work on the Becket miracle windows at Canterbury, is made through indication of where textual material is replicated in surviving medieval stained glass. She notes where miracles depicted in the windows have previously been misidentified, or where the glass supports an alternative reading of the text from that adopted by Robertson. The notes further highlight and explain scriptural and liturgical parallels, noting where text was reused by Benedict in his liturgy for Becket.

In addition to the significant contribution made by the translation, a highlight of the book is Koopmans' thorough introduction. It is a pleasure to read: the description of Benedict as "a good observer" and "an elegant writer" (6) applies equally to his translator's exploration of relevant background. The introduction is divided into two sections. The first explores the relationship between Benedict and his fellow Canterbury monks whilst Thomas Becket was alive, arguing that the difficult relationship between the archbishop and the monks perhaps explains why the Passion is so short, allowing Benedict to steer clear of writing about numerous aspects of Thomas' career. Nevertheless, the account of the murder "has the ring of his [Benedict's] own eyewitness" (11), in particular of the immediate aftermath. It also did more than the work of most other writers to draw parallels with the passion of Christ.

Koopmans tracks the formative influence - for the idea of the cult of a saint and its early development - of what took place at Canterbury in the days, weeks, months and first years following the murder. Critical decisions taken by the monks included opening the crypt tomb to visitors, and beginning to distribute Becket's blood diluted with water. Having created the conditions in which miracles might take place both at Canterbury and further afield, Benedict took on the role of writing down those that were reported. Benedict began his work at Pentecost (16 May) 1171, a step which, as Koopmans notes, "was an unambiguous signal that they [the Canterbury community] considered the dead archbishop to be a saint" (19).

The second part of the introduction looks at how the Miracles were researched and written. There were three main categories: those seen by Benedict or seen within the cathedral (around 30%), miracles reported by those cured (around 45%), and miracles reported by other religious men (around 25%). A subcategory of miracles was those which showed Becket's enemies that they were in the wrong. As an Anglo-centric collection, Benedict's work is described as "subjective and highly limited [as an] account of Becket's early miracles" (27), but nonetheless one where supporting evidence was sought, sometimes in person, and where people named certainly existed. Collection involved note-taking, where Benedict had help, then writing up, where "the composition was on him", and in which "his vision and skills as a writer really came into play" (30).

The second section of the introduction presents two main arguments. Firstly that the collection is organised in a way best described as "connective", rather than "thematic" or "chronological" (5). Benedict matched miracles, typically in sets of two or three, giving direction to the narrative, in a sense creating a page-turner, with a conversational tone. Whilst the image of Benedict playing "miracle mah-jongg" (36) tests the reader's knowledge of games, the idea of organising his collection like tiles on a board highlights his efforts to organise and marshal his evidence. Just as he did not write in the order in which miracles were reported, so he added material to different parts as he went, including also to the Passion.

Secondly, Koopmans argues that Benedict sought to "rivet" (37) Becket's miracles to the Bible, and vice versa, a practice she terms "biblical parallelism" (37). Thus, Benedict sought to show correspondence between contemporary events and those of the Old or New Testaments. When he indicated the date on which a miracle took place, it was not because he wished to create a precise chronology, but rather to draw parallels between Becket's demise and biblical accounts of the death and resurrection of Christ. Providing dates, therefore, enabled him to map particular miracles to their place in Lent, Easter, or Pentecost, and to the ideas and emotions associated with those moments in the liturgical cycle. Surrounding political and religious events were therefore of lesser importance: they "would have muddied the grand narrative he wanted to construct" (47). We should therefore be wary of assuming that a dated miracle provides dating for the miracles that surround it within the text.

Koopmans concludes that "the martyr's first miracle collector was an administrator, builder, prior, abbot, and friend of kings. However, it is his splendid work from the time when he was still a mere monk, when much remained in doubt about the future of a dead archbishop, that he was and still is most remembered" (59).

This translation ensures that this legacy is now accessible to a much wider audience. It is a contribution of the highest value for historians of medieval religion, saints, miracles and miracle-collecting, and those seeking greater understanding of the early development, growth and presentation of the saint's cult surrounding Thomas Becket.

Paul Webster