A new loading screen in Crusader Kings III has sparked investigation among players. The image shows four knights preparing to attack a cleric inside a dimly lit church; combining clues from the scene, players linked it to the 1170 murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A player first asked on Reddit why the figure in the painting was being attacked, and someone suggested Becket as a clue. The identification was based on details such as the number of knights, one knight's coat of arms, and the filename of the loading screen, which included "thomas beckett".
Becket was once a close friend and Lord Chancellor of King Henry II of England. In 1162, Henry II appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury, hoping he would support the crown; the two later clashed over the jurisdiction of the Church versus royal authority. One point of contention was that clergy who committed crimes were tried in ecclesiastical courts and received relatively lighter punishments. In 1164, Henry II attempted to curtail these privileges, leading Becket to flee into exile in France for several years.
The reconciliation between the two sides in 1170 did not last. After Henry II arranged for the Archbishop of York to crown his son, Becket excommunicated those who participated in the ceremony, escalating the conflict once again. Becket was murdered by four knights on December 29 of that year, though historians still debate whether Henry II explicitly ordered the killing.
Becket was canonized in 1173, and Henry II publicly performed penance in 1174. This loading screen invites players to trace the game's artistic details back to a historical episode marked by conflict between royal and ecclesiastical power.