Classical Quotations and Allusions in the Correspondence of Thomas Becket: An Investigation of Their Sources

"Classical Quotations and Allusions in the Correspondence of Thomas Becket: An Investigation of Their Sources," Letters issued by and addressed to Thomas Becket contain an unusually high number of quotations from, echoes of, and allusions to the Latin classics. Making full use of the author's new edition of the Correspondence of Thomas Becket, this article discusses the nature of that exploitation; argues that it is possible to differentiate between highly educated Latinists like John of Salisbury, on the one hand, and the generality of superficially educated clerks on the other; and proposes that the Florilegium Gallicum may have furnished the latter with many of their quotations.