Third Knight (Hugh de Morville) Character Analysis

Hugh de Morville, designated as the third knight, begins his speech by echoing Reginald Fitz Urse’s comments about the tendencies of English people to be fair and logical in their thinking, refraining from making judgments sourced solely in their emotions. He argues that Becket basically conned the king by advocating for all the king’s policies and agreeing to take on the office of Chancellor in addition to the role of Archbishop, but then—suddenly, upon being appointed to it—resigning from the Chancellorship. Morville therefore offers not just an argument in defense of his own dignity and morality—like de Traci—but a well-argued, reasoned indictment of Becket’s political actions. He gives the most convincing argument from the perspective of the political dimension of the play (versus the spiritual) that Becket was, indeed, a traitor to the king.