In the early hours of 15 October 1164 Thomas slipped out of his lodgings at St Andrew's Priory, Northampton, and fled from the town under cover of darkness. Over the next few weeks he travelled by night and hid by day, making his way by a circuitous route to the port of Eastry in Kent. There he set sail with a few companions and landed on a remote beach in Flanders, whence he proceeded to the lands of the French king. He did not return to England for six years, and a month later he was dead. The exile dominated and helped to define Thomas's archiepiscopate. It was born out of conflict and exacerbated that conflict, broadening its reach to other parties and issues. And it was the events of the exile, and the circumstances of its conclusion, which triggered Thomas's murder. The exile also did much to shape his reputation, confirming the negative picture of him which had already developed in many quarters. In any era an archbishop of Canterbury would have found a six-year absence from his see difficult to justify. The difficulty was greater when the archbishop's departure occurred at such a time of crisis and brought such disturbances in its wake. Moreover, Thomas abandoned his see and his land at a time when theoretical discussions of the subject in canon law collections, theological works and correspondence were weighted in favour of stability, allowing little scope for the legitimate exile of a prelate.