Editing Theobald of Bec (section)

==Death and legacy==

Theobald died on 18 April 1161,<ref name=Handbook232>Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 232</ref> after a long illness, at his palace in Canterbury. He was buried in Canterbury Cathedral, in the Holy Trinity Chapel, near the tomb of Archbishop Lanfranc.<ref name=DNB/> His coffin was opened in 1190 during repairs to the cathedral and his body was found to be [[Incorruptibility|uncorrupted]], but efforts to secure his [[canonisation]] as a saint on the basis of that evidence were unsuccessful.<ref name=Salt54>Saltman ''Theobald'' pp. 54–55</ref> He was reburied in the nave near the altar to St Mary, with his old marble tomb replaced above his new resting place.<ref name=DNB/> In 1787 his lead coffin was found in Canterbury.<ref name=Bartlett595>Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' p. 595</ref>

Although Theobald was troubled by the opposition of his suffragan Henry of Blois, he regained control of the English Church, secured the rights of his see, and helped maintain the unity of the realm. Contemporaries were somewhat divided on his effectiveness and personality. Gervase of Canterbury felt that he was too impetuous, probably because of Theobald's treatment of his priors at Christ Church. [[Henry of Huntingdon]], who knew him, felt that he was a worthy archbishop. Theobald's legacy perhaps suffered because he was overshadowed by his successor, Becket.<ref name=DNB/> Modern historians have been kinder than his contemporaries; Frank Barlow says of Theobald that he was "an upright man, but quick tempered, and sometimes spoke far too rashly".<ref name=Becket36>Barlow ''Thomas Becket'' p. 36</ref>