Panel 16 - Thomas returns to England
© Stuart Whatling, 2008Description:
As Delaporte pointed out, this scene is ambiguous. None of the accounts
mention a clerical send-off when Thomas left France, though they do mention
the crowd that met him when he landed at Sandwich, suggesting he has arrived
from the right of the frame and is about to land. Moreover the sail is
billowing out to the left, suggesting movement in that direction. On the
other hand, the boatsman is shown steering, as in panel 10, suggesting
this is the back of the boat - and hence his departure from France...
However on balance this is more likely to be Becket's arrival back in
England - apart from fitting the textual accounts better, this is also
the more significant event in narrative terms. The foremost awaiting clergyman
carries the archbishop's pastoral cross, which Edward Grim holds in the
murder scene.
