Essentially this ceremony was a political act.
Henry I in his coronation charter affirmed that the basic laws enforced in his kingdom, the law of the land, would be those which operated under Edward the Confessor (1041-65), Leges Edwardi Confessoris. These were actually codified much later, under kings William I and II.
Henry II who wished for continuity with those laws which were operational under Henry I, his grandfather, to reinforce his own legal authority, decided to give support to Edward the Confessor's canonization. England would have a royal personage as its national saint. Edward could be used to strengthen his royal position in the general struggle between church and state.
On 7th February 1161 Pope Alexander III issued the bull of canonization more than probably as a favour to king Henry as Henry had lent his full support to Alexander, at the time of the papal schism.. Some two years later, on 13th Oct 1163. the body of Edward the Confessor was translated to a new shrine in Westminster Abbey specially erected for him. Becket oversaw the ceremony, at which were present all the bishops of the land as well as the king.
References
Archive.gr - Sanctity and Politics the Canonization of St Gilbert - St Edward the Confessor
https://goo.gl/EvpP7D
The Cult of St. Edward the Confessor 1066-1399 - ORA
http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:4fd4967c-0cde-4257-841f-16dc36900ce2
The Canonization of Edward the Confessor
Bernhard W. Scholz
Speculum
Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan., 1961), pp. 38-60
Published by: University of Chicago Press
DOI: 10.2307/2849843
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2849843
John Guy (2012). Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim: A 900-Year-Old Story Retold. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 249–. ISBN 978-0-14-193328-3.
George Lewis SMYTH (1843). Biographical Illustrations of Westminster Abbey. pp. 3–.
Annals of Westminster abbey E.T. Bradley 1898 p.24-5
Christopher Harper-Bill; Nicholas Vincent (2007). Henry II: New Interpretations. Boydell Press. pp. 382–. ISBN 978-1-84383-340-6.
Dr David A. Woodman; Dr Martin Brett (28 February 2015). The Long Twelfth-Century View of the Anglo-Saxon Past. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 199–. ISBN 978-1-4724-2817-2.
James J. Spigelman (2004). Becket & Henry: The Becket Lectures. James Spigelman. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-0-646-43477-3.
Geo Townsend (1847). Ecclesiastical and Civil History Philosophically Considered, with Reference to the Future Re-union of Christians. Causes of the Canonization of Edward the Confessor: Rivington. pp. 425–.
Frank Barlow (1970). Edward the Confessor. Appendix D - Correspondence concerning Edward's Canonization: University of California Press. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-0-520-01671-2
Frank Barlow (1970). Edward the Confessor. Appendix E - Date of the First Translation: University of California Press. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-0-520-01671-2.
David Wallace (2002). The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-0-521-89046-5.
John Guy (5 April 2012). Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim: A 900-Year-Old Story Retold. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 249–. ISBN 978-0-14-193328-3.
John Morris; Saint Thomas (à Becket) (1859). The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Etc. pp. 77–.
John Morris; Saint Thomas (à Becket) (1859). The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Etc. pp. 84–.
A historical description of Westminster Abbey. Print. for the Vergers in the Abbey. 1853. pp. 24–.
Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey. 1869. pp. 126–.
Diana Greenway; Christopher Holdsworth (2002). Tradition and Change: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Chibnall Presented by Her Friends on the Occasion of Her Seventieth Birthday. Raymonde Foreville - Canterbury et la canonisation des saints: Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-521-52499-5.
Christopher Harper-Bill; Nicholas Vincent (2007). Henry II: New Interpretations. Boydell Press. pp. 382–. ISBN 978-1-84383-340-6.
Dr David A. Woodman; Dr Martin Brett (28 February 2015). The Long Twelfth-Century View of the Anglo-Saxon Past. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 199–. ISBN 978-1-4724-2817-2.
James J. Spigelman (2004). Becket & Henry: The Becket Lectures. James Spigelman. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-0-646-43477-3.
Geo Townsend (1847). Ecclesiastical and Civil History Philosophically Considered, with Reference to the Future Re-union of Christians. Causes of the Canonization of Edward the Confessor: Rivington. pp. 425–.
Frank Barlow (1970). Edward the Confessor. Appendix D - Correspondence concerning Edward's Canonization: University of California Press. pp. 309–. ISBN 978-0-520-01671-2
Frank Barlow (1970). Edward the Confessor. Appendix E - Date of the First Translation: University of California Press. pp. 325–. ISBN 978-0-520-01671-2.
David Wallace (2002). The Cambridge History of Medieval English Literature. Cambridge University Press. pp. 128–. ISBN 978-0-521-89046-5.
John Guy (5 April 2012). Thomas Becket: Warrior, Priest, Rebel, Victim: A 900-Year-Old Story Retold. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 249–. ISBN 978-0-14-193328-3.
John Morris; Saint Thomas (à Becket) (1859). The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Etc. pp. 77–.
John Morris; Saint Thomas (à Becket) (1859). The Life and Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, Etc. pp. 84–.
A historical description of Westminster Abbey. Print. for the Vergers in the Abbey. 1853. pp. 24–.
Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey. 1869. pp. 126–.
Diana Greenway; Christopher Holdsworth (2002). Tradition and Change: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Chibnall Presented by Her Friends on the Occasion of Her Seventieth Birthday. Raymonde Foreville - Canterbury et la canonisation des saints: Cambridge University Press. pp. 63–. ISBN 978-0-521-52499-5.
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