The allure behind the mysterious figure of Thomas Becket has remained enduring: he was the centerpiece of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; and in our own time, he has resonated with T.S. Eliot, Jean Anouilh, and even Hollywood. The construction and deconstruction of Becket's reputation is central to this provocative new study, which investigates whether the popular conception of Becket is a result of valid assessments of the man and his cause, or a product of a carefully constructed myth.