Thomas More
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Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535),
venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...
in the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
as
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
from October 1529 to May 1532. He wrote ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'', published in 1516, which describes the
political system In political science, a political system means the form of Political organisation, political organization that can be observed, recognised or otherwise declared by a society or state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official gov ...
of an imaginary island state. More opposed the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
, directing polemics against the theology of
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
,
Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...
and
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...
. More also opposed Henry VIII's separation from the Catholic Church, refusing to acknowledge Henry as supreme head of the Church of England and the annulment of his marriage to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
. After refusing to take the
Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in the Kingdom of England, or in its subordinate Kingdom of Ireland, to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church. Failure to do so was to be trea ...
, he was convicted of treason on what he stated was false evidence, and was executed. At his execution, he was reported to have said: "I die the King's good servant, and God's first."
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
canonised More in 1935 as a martyr.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
in 2000 declared him the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of statesmen and politicians. In his proclamation the pope stated: "It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a moral conscience... even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the limits of the culture of his time".


Early life

Born in the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, on 7 February 1478, Thomas More was the son of Sir John More (a successful lawyer and later a judge) and his wife Agnes (''née'' Graunger). John More lived most of his life in Milk Street, London and, from this, many biographers (starting in the seventeenth century with More's great-grandson Cresacre More (1572–1649), the youngest son and eventual heir of Thomas More II) have asserted, without confirmation, that this was the place of Thomas More's birth. No contemporary biographer recorded this. He was the second of six children. More was educated at St. Anthony's School, then considered one of London's best schools. From 1490 to 1492, More served John Morton, the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
and Lord Chancellor of England, as a household page.. Morton enthusiastically supported the " New Learning" (scholarship which was later known as "humanism" or "London humanism"), and thought highly of the young More. Believing that More had great potential, Morton nominated him for a place at the
University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, either in St. Mary Hall or Canterbury College, both now defunct.. More began his studies at Oxford in 1492. He received a classical education studying under Thomas Linacre and
William Grocyn William Grocyn ( 14461519) was a humanist English scholar and friend of Erasmus. Grocyn was a prominent educator born in Colerne, Wiltshire. Intended for the church, he attended Winchester College and later New College, Oxford. He held various po ...
, and he became proficient in both
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
. More left Oxford after only two years—at his father's insistence—to begin legal training in London at New Inn, one of the
Inns of Chancery The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...
. In 1496, More became a student at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
, one of the
Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...
, where he remained until 1502, when he was
called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
. A noted linguist, More could speak and banter in Latin with the same facility as in English, and had competency in Greek and several other languages. He wrote and translated poetry. He was particularly influenced by
Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia ( ; ; ; 24 February 146317 November 1494), known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, ...
and translated the ''Life of Pico'' into English.


Spiritual life

According to his friend, the theologian
Desiderius Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
of
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
, More once seriously contemplated abandoning his legal career to become a
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
. Between 1503 and 1504 More lived near the Carthusian monastery outside the walls of London and joined in the monks' spiritual exercises. Although he deeply admired their piety, More ultimately decided to remain a layman, standing for election to
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
in 1504 and marrying the following year. More continued ascetic practices for the rest of his life, such as wearing a hair shirt next to his skin and occasionally engaging in
self-flagellation Self-flagellation is the disciplinary and devotional practice of Flagellation, flogging oneself with whips or other instruments that inflict pain. In Christianity, self-flagellation is practiced in the context of the doctrine of the mortification ...
. A tradition of the
Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. Francis founded the Third Order, originally called t ...
honours More as a member of that Order on their
calendar of saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
.


Family life

More married Joanna "Jane" Colt, the eldest daughter of John Colt of Essex in 1505. In that year he leased a portion of a house known as the Old Barge (originally there had been a wharf nearby serving the Walbrook river) on Bucklersbury,
St Stephen Walbrook St Stephen Walbrook is a church in the City of London, part of the Church of England's Diocese of London. The present domed building was erected to the designs of Sir Christopher Wren following the destruction of its medieval predecessor in the ...
parish, London. Eight years later he took over the rest of the house and in total he lived there for almost 20 years, until his move to Chelsea in 1525.
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
reported that More wanted to give his young wife a better education than she had previously received at home, and tutored her in music and literature. The couple had four children:
Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
, Elizabeth, Cecily, and John. Jane died in 1511. Going "against friends' advice and common custom," within 30 days, More had married one of the many eligible women among his wide circle of friends. He chose Alice Middleton, a widow, to head his household and care for his small children. The speed of the marriage was so unusual that More had to get a dispensation from the
banns of marriage The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation", rooted in Frankish and thence in Old French), are the public announcement in a Christian parish church, or in the town cou ...
, which, due to his good public reputation, he easily obtained. More had no children from his second marriage, although he raised Alice's daughter from her previous marriage as his own. More also became the guardian of two young girls: Anne Cresacre who would eventually marry his son, John More; and Margaret Giggs (later Clement), who was the only member of his family to witness his execution.Giggs died on the 35th anniversary of More's execution, and her daughter would go on to marry More's nephew
William Rastell William Rastell (150827 August 1565) was an English printer and judge. Life Rastell was born in London, a son of John Rastell and his wife Elizabeth More, sister of Sir Thomas More. At the age of seventeen he went to the University of Oxford, b ...
.
An affectionate father, More wrote letters to his children whenever he was away on legal or government business, and encouraged them to write to him often.. More insisted upon giving his daughters the same classical education as his son, an unusual attitude at the time. His eldest daughter, Margaret, attracted much admiration for her erudition, especially her fluency in Greek and Latin. More told his daughter of his pride in her academic accomplishments in September 1522, after he showed the bishop a letter she had written: More's decision to educate his daughters set an example for other noble families. Even Erasmus became much more favourable once he witnessed their accomplishments. A large portrait of More and his extended family, '' Sir Thomas More and Family'', was painted by
Hans Holbein the Younger Hans Holbein the Younger ( , ; ;  – between 7 October and 29 November 1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style, and is considered one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He ...
; however, it was lost in a fire in the 18th century. More's grandson commissioned a copy, of which two versions survive. The Nostell copy of the portrait shown above also includes the family's two pet dogs and monkey.Erasmus wrote about this monkey in his Colloquy
Amicitia ''Amicitia'' is the Latin word for friendship, either between individuals, between the state and an individual or between states. It was "a technical term of Roman political life" from the 2nd century BC, when, according to Seneca, it was introdu ...
.
Musical instruments such as a lute and viol feature in the background of the extant copies of Holbein's family portrait. More played the recorder and
viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...
, and made sure his wives could join in the family consort."Sir Thomas More's first wife was instructed 'in learning and every kind of music'; his second wife, in middle age, was induced 'to learn to play apon the gittern, the lute, the clavichord and the recorders.'" , p 276


Personality according to Erasmus

Concerning More's personality,
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
gave a consistent portrait over a period of thirty-five years. Soon after meeting the young lawyer More, who became his best friend and invited Erasmus into his household, Erasmus reported in 1500 "Did nature ever invent anything kinder, sweeter or more harmonious than the character of Thomas More?". In 1519, he wrote that More was "born and designed for friendship;"More held that the experience of friendship is a partial anticipation of the secure friendship of heaven, where we may hope that all will "be merry together"—not just our friends in this life but our enemies too." no one is more open-hearted in making friends or more tenacious in keeping them." In 1535, after More's execution, Erasmus wrote that More "never bore ill-intent towards anyone": In a 1532 letter, Erasmus wrote "such is the kindliness of his disposition, or rather, to say it better, such is his piety and wisdom, that whatever comes his way that cannot be corrected, he comes to love just as wholeheartedly as if nothing better could have happened to him." In a 1533 letter, Erasmus described More's character as – commanding, far-ruling, not at all timid. For his part, "Thomas More was an unflagging apologist for Erasmus for the thirty-six years of their adult lives (1499–1535)."


Early political career

In 1504, More was elected to Parliament to represent
Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
, and in 1510 began representing
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. More first attracted public attention by his conduct in the parliament of 1504, by his daring opposition to the King's demand for money. King Henry VII was entitled, according to feudal laws, to a grant on occasion of his daughter
Margaret Tudor Margaret Tudor (28 November 1489 – 18 October 1541) was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from 1503 until 1513 by marriage to King James IV. She then served as regent of Scotland during her son's minority, and fought to exte ...
's marriage to
James IV of Scotland James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James I ...
. But he came to the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
for a much larger sum than he intended to give with his daughter. The members, unwilling as they were to vote the money, were afraid to offend the King, until the silence was broken by More, whose speech is said to have moved the house to reduce the subsidy of three-fifteenths which the Government had demanded to £30,000. One of the chamberlains went and told his master that he had been thwarted by a beardless boy. Henry never forgave the audacity; but, for the moment, the only revenge he could take was upon More's father, whom upon some pretext he threw into the Tower, and he only released him upon payment of a fine of £100. Thomas More even found it advisable to withdraw from public life into obscurity. Henry died in 1509 and was succeeded by his son, who became King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. From 1510, More served as one of the two
undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient Kingdom of England, English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In Policing ...
s of the
City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...
, a position of considerable responsibility in which he earned a reputation as an honest and effective public servant. Interested in public health, he became a Commissioner for Sewers in 1514. More became Master of Requests in 1514, the same year in which he was appointed as a
Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...
.Rebhorn, W. A. (ed.) p. xviii After undertaking a diplomatic mission to the
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
,
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
, accompanying
Thomas Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal (catholic), cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's Lord High Almoner, almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and ...
,
Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...
, to
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...
(for the Field of the Cloth of Gold) and
Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...
, More was knighted and made under-treasurer of the
Exchequer In the Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''Transaction account, current account'' (i.e., mon ...
in 1521. As secretary and personal adviser to Henry VIII, More became increasingly influential: welcoming foreign diplomats, drafting official documents, attending the court of the
Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...
for his legal prowess but delegated to judge in the under-court for 'poor man's cases' and serving as a liaison between the King and Lord Chancellor Wolsey. More later served as High Steward for the Universities of
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
and
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. In 1523, More was elected as
knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...
(MP) for
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and, on Wolsey's recommendation, the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
elected More its Speaker. In 1525, More became
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...
, with executive and judicial responsibilities over much of northern England.


Chancellorship

After Wolsey fell, More succeeded to the office of
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
(the chief government minister) in 1529; this was the highest official responsible for equity and
common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law primarily developed through judicial decisions rather than statutes. Although common law may incorporate certain statutes, it is largely based on prece ...
, including contracts and royal household cases, and some misdemeanour appeals. He dispatched cases with unprecedented rapidity. Putting into effect his proposals for public sanitation that he had first suggested in ''Utopia'', in 1532 he was responsible for introducing into law the Statute of Sewers (23 Henry VIII, cap.5). As Lord Chancellor he was a member (and probably the Presiding Judge at the court when present, who spoke last and cast the deciding vote in case of ties) of the Court of the
Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...
, an appeals court on civil and criminal matters, including riot and sedition, that was the final appeal in dissenter's trials.It seems this court could affirm a conviction that carried the death penalty, but not impose it. No foreign wars were fought in the time he was Lord Chancellor.


Campaign against the Protestant Reformation

More supported the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and saw the
Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
as
heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...
, a threat to the unity of both church and society. More believed in the theology, argumentation, and ecclesiastical laws of the church, and "heard Luther's call to destroy the Catholic Church as a call to war."Gerard B. Wegemer, ''Portrait of Courage'', p. 136. More wrote a series of books and pamphlets in English and Latin to respond to Protestants, and in his official capacities took action against the illegal book trade, notably fronting a diplomatically-sensitive raid in 1525 of the Hanseatic Merchants in the
Steelyard The Steelyard, from the Middle Low German (sample yard), was the kontor (foreign trading post) of the Hanseatic League in London, and their main trading base in England, between the 13th and 16th centuries. The main goods that the League export ...
in his role as chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster The Duchy of Lancaster is an estate of the British sovereign. The estate has its origins in the lands held by the medieval Dukes of Lancaster, which came under the direct control of the monarch when Henry Bolingbroke, the then duke of Lancast ...
and given his diplomatic experience negotiating with the Hanse.


Debates with Tyndale

More wrote several books against the first edition of Tyndale's English translation of the New Testament. More wrote the ''Dialogue concerning Heresies'' (1529), Tyndale responded with ''An Answer to Sir T. More's Dialogue'' (1530), and More replied with his ''Confutation of Tyndale's Answer'' (1532). More also wrote or contributed to several other anti-Lutheran books. One of More's criticisms of the initial Tyndale translation was that despite claiming to be in the vernacular, Tyndale had employed numerous neologisms: for example, ''Jehovah'', ''scapegoat'', ''Passover'', ''atonement'', ''mercy seat'', ''shewbread''. More also accused Tyndale of deliberately avoiding common translations in favour of biased words: such as using the emotion ''love'' instead of the practical action ''charity'' for Greek , using the neologism ''senior'' instead of ''priest'' for the Greek (Tyndale changed this to ''elder''), and the Latinate ''congregation'' instead of ''church''. Tyndale's Bibles include text other than the scriptures: some of Tyndale's prefaces were direct translations of Martin Luther, and it included marginal glosses which challenged Catholic doctrine. One notable exchange occurred over More's attack on Tyndale's use of ''congregation''. Tyndale pointed out that he was following "your darling" Erasmus' Latin translation of into . More replied that Erasmus needed to coin because there was no good Latin word, while English had the perfectly fine ''church'', but that the intent and theology under the words were all important:


Resignation

As the conflict over supremacy between the Papacy and the King reached its peak, More continued to remain steadfast in supporting the supremacy of the Pope as Successor of Peter over that of the King of England. Parliament's reinstatement of the charge of
praemunire In English history, or ( or ) was the assertion or maintenance of papal jurisdiction, or any other foreign jurisdiction or claim of supremacy in England, against the supremacy of the monarch. The 14th-century law prohibiting this was enforced ...
in 1529 had made it a crime to support in public or office the claim of any authority outside the realm (such as the Papacy) to have a legal jurisdiction superior to the King's. In 1530, More refused to sign a letter by the leading English churchmen and aristocrats asking
Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...
to annul Henry's marriage to
Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the Wives of Henry VIII, first wife of King Henry VIII from their marr ...
, and also quarrelled with Henry VIII over the heresy laws. In 1531, a royal decree required the clergy to take an oath acknowledging the King as Supreme Head of the Church of England. The bishops at the Convocation of Canterbury in 1532 agreed to sign the Oath but only under threat of prosecution for praemunire and only after these words were added: "as far as the law of Christ allows". This was considered to be the final
Submission of the Clergy The Submission of the Clergy was a process by which the Catholic Church in England gave up their power to formulate church laws without the King's licence and assent. It was passed first by the Convocation of Canterbury in 1532 and then by the R ...
. Cardinal
John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...
and some other clergy refused to sign. Henry purged most clergy who supported the papal stance from senior positions in the church. More continued to refuse to sign the Oath of Supremacy and did not agree to support the annulment of Henry's marriage to Catherine. However, he did not openly reject the King's actions and kept his opinions private. On 16 May 1532, More resigned from his role as Chancellor but remained in Henry's favour despite his refusal. His decision to resign was caused by the decision of the convocation of the English Church, which was under intense royal threat, on the day before.


Controversy on extent of prosecution of heretics

There is considerable variation in opinion on the extent and nature of More's prosecution of heretics: witness the difference in portrayals of More in ''A Man for All Seasons'' as an urbane hero of conscience and in ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
'' as a "mere dessicated fanatic." The English establishment initially regarded
Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
(and
Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism'; , earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. The term (tra ...
) as akin to the
Lollards Lollardy was a proto-Protestantism, proto-Protestant Christianity, Christian religious movement that was active in England from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic C ...
and
Hussites upright=1.2, Battle between Hussites (left) and Crusades#Campaigns against heretics and schismatics, Catholic crusaders in the 15th century upright=1.2, The Lands of the Bohemian Crown during the Hussite Wars. The movement began during the Prag ...
whose heresies fed their sedition.The intertwining of sedition and heresy can be seen in
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's pronouncement about the Lutherans' heresy "tending principally and chiefly to the withdrawing of the obedience of the Church of Rome, and also of the governance, regyment and supreme dignity of Princes and all nobility." Luther's attacks on German princes were evidence of the seditious nature of his doctrine. Even 150 years later, "one of the assumptions that
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
had to deal with in arguing for religious tolerance was that religious assemblies other than those sponsored by the established church invariably gave rise to sedition"
Ambassador to
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (otherwise spelt Tunstal or Tonstall; 1474 – 18 November 1559) was an England, English humanist, bishop, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser. He served as Bishop of Durham during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI of ...
called
Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
the "foster-child" of the Wycliffite heresy that had underpinned
Lollardy Lollardy was a proto-Protestantism, proto-Protestant Christianity, Christian religious movement that was active in England from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic C ...
. Historian Richard Rex wrote:


Torture allegations

Torture was not officially legal in England, except in pre-trial discovery phase of kinds of extreme cases that the King had allowed, such as seditious heresy. It was regarded as unsafe for evidence, and was not an allowed punishment. Stories emerged in More's lifetime regarding persecution of the Protestant "heretics" during his time as
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
, and he denied them in detail in his (1533). Many stories were later published by the 16th-century English Protestant historian
John Foxe John Foxe (1516/1517 – 18 April 1587) was an English clergyman, theologian, and historian, notable for his martyrology '' Foxe's Book of Martyrs'', telling of Christian martyrs throughout Western history, but particularly the sufferings of En ...
in his polemical '' Book of Martyrs.'' Foxe was instrumental in publicizing accusations of torture, alleging that More had often personally used violence or torture while interrogating heretics. Later Protestant authors such as Brian Moynahan and Michael Farris cite Foxe when repeating these allegations. Biographer
Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
also lists claims from Foxe's ''Book of Martyrs'' and other post-Reformation sources that More "tied heretics to a tree in his Chelsea garden and whipped them", that "he watched as 'newe men' were put upon the rack in the Tower and tortured until they confessed", and that "he was personally responsible for the burning of several of the 'brethren' in Smithfield." Historian John Guy commented that "such charges are unsupported by independent proof.""Serious analysis precludes the repetition of protestant stories that Sir Thomas flogged heretics against a tree in his garden at Chelsea. It must exclude, too, the accusations of illegal imprisonment made against More by John Field and Thomas Phillips. Much vaunted by J.A. Froude, such charges are unsupported by independent proof. More indeed answered them in his Apology with emphatic denial. None has ever been substantiated, and we may hope that they were all untrue." Modern historian
Diarmaid MacCulloch Diarmaid Ninian John MacCulloch (; born 31 October 1951) is an English academic and historian, specialising in ecclesiastical history and the history of Christianity. Since 1995, he has been a fellow of St Cross College, Oxford; he was former ...
finds no evidence that More was directly involved in torture."
ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
...] turned to waging implacable war on enemies of the Church whom he could crush without inhibition. ..He had a positive relish for burning heretics. ..Claims ..that he personally tortured heretics have no evidence to back them up.
Richard Marius records a similar claim, which tells about James Bainham, and writes that "the story Foxe told of Bainham's whipping and racking at More's hands is universally doubted today".Marius suggests that the rumours of More's cruelty started with renegade priest John Constantine, who was arrested, betrayed Bayfield, and escaped from More's house to stay with a friend in Antwerp who he also later betrayed. p.404 More himself denied these allegations: More instead claimed in his ''Apology'' (1533) that he only applied corporal punishment to two "heretics": a child servant in his household who was caned (the customary punishment for children at that time) for repeating a heresy regarding the Eucharist, and a "feeble-minded" man who was whipped for disrupting the mass by raising women's skirts over their heads at the moment of consecration, More taking the action to prevent a lynching.Marius, Richard (1999). Thomas More: A Biography, Harvard University Press


Executions

Burning at the stake was the standard punishment by the English state for obstinate or relapsed, major seditious or proselytizing heresy, and continued to be used by both Catholics and Protestants during the religious upheaval of the following decades. In England, following the
Lollard Lollardy was a proto-Protestantism, proto-Protestant Christianity, Christian religious movement that was active in England from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic C ...
uprisings, heresy had been linked to sedition (see and Suppression of Heresy Act 1414.) Ackroyd and MacCulloch agree that More zealously approved of burning. Richard Marius maintained that in office More did everything in his power to bring about the extermination of heretics. During More's chancellorship, six people were burned at the stake for heresy, the same rate as under Wolsey: they were Thomas Hitton, Thomas Bilney, Richard Bayfield, John Tewkesbury, Thomas Dusgate, and
James Bainham James Bainham (died 30 April 1532) was an English lawyer and Protestant reformer who was burned as a heretic in 1532. Life According to John Foxe he was a son of Sir Alexander Bainham, who was sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1497, 1501, and 1516; ...
. However, the court of the
Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...
, of which More as Lord Chancellor was the presiding judge, could not impose the death sentence: it was a kind of appellate
supreme court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
. More took a personal interest in the three London cases: * John Tewkesbury was a London leather seller found guilty by the
Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...
John Stokesley of harbouring English translated New Testaments; he was sentenced to burning for refusing to recant. More declared: he "burned as there was neuer wretche I wene better worthy." * Richard Bayfield was found distributing Tyndale's Bibles, and examined by Bishop
Cuthbert Tunstall Cuthbert Tunstall (otherwise spelt Tunstal or Tonstall; 1474 – 18 November 1559) was an England, English humanist, bishop, diplomat, administrator and royal adviser. He served as Bishop of Durham during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI of ...
. More commented that he was "well and worthely burned". *
James Bainham James Bainham (died 30 April 1532) was an English lawyer and Protestant reformer who was burned as a heretic in 1532. Life According to John Foxe he was a son of Sir Alexander Bainham, who was sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1497, 1501, and 1516; ...
was arrested on a warrant of Thomas More as Lord Chancellor and detained at his gatehouse. He was examined by Bishop John Stokesley, abjured, penalized and freed. He subsequently re-canted, and was re-arrested, tried and executed as a relapsed heretic. Historian Brian Moynahan alleged that More influenced the eventual execution of
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...
in the Duchy of Brabant, as English agents had long pursued Tyndale. Historian Richard Rex argues that linking the execution to More was "bizarre". Moynihan named Henry Phillips, a student at the University of Louvain and follower of Bishop Stokesley, as the man More commissioned to befriend Tyndale and then betray him. However, the execution took place on 6 October 1536, sixteen months after More himself had been executed, and in a different jurisdiction.


Modern treatment

Modern commentators have been divided over More's character and actions. Some biographers, including
Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
, have taken a relatively tolerant (Online citatio
here
or even positive (CTA=''Confutation of Tyndale's Answer'') view of More's campaign against Protestantism by placing his actions within the turbulent religious climate of the time and the threat of deadly catastrophes such as the German Peasants' Revolt, which More blamed on Luther,"...civil chaos will surely follow" (691–93). This prediction seemed to come true very quickly, as More noted in his next polemical work, ''A dialogue Concerning Heresies''. There he argued that the Peasants' Revolt in Germany (1525), the Lutheran mercenaries' sack of Rome (1527), and the growing unrest in England all stemmed from Luther's inflammatory teachings and especially the lure of false freedom . as did many others, such as
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
. Others have been more critical, such as writer Richard Marius, an American scholar of the Reformation, believing that such persecutions were a betrayal of More's earlier humanist convictions, including More's zealous and well-documented advocacy of extermination for heretics. This supposed contradiction has been called "schizophrenic." He has been called a "zealous legalist .. ith anitchy finesse of cruelty".
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
honoured him by making More
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of statesmen and politicians in October 2000, stating: "It can be said that he demonstrated in a singular way the value of a moral conscience ..even if, in his actions against heretics, he reflected the limits of the culture of his time". Australian High Court judge and President of the
International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...
, Justice Michael Kirby has noted:


Indictment, trial and execution

In 1533, More refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn as Queen of England. Technically, this was not an act of treason, as More had written to Henry seemingly acknowledging Anne's queenship and expressing his desire for the King's happiness and the new Queen's health. Despite this, his refusal to attend was widely interpreted as a snub against Anne, and Henry took action against him. Shortly thereafter, More was charged with accepting bribes, but the charges had to be dismissed for lack of any evidence. In early 1534, More was accused by
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
of having given advice and counsel to the "Holy Maid of Kent,"
Elizabeth Barton Elizabeth Barton (1506 – 20 April 1534), known as "The Nun of Kent", "The Holy Maid of London", "The Holy Maid of Kent" and later "The Mad Maid of Kent", was an English Catholic nun. She was executed as a result of her prophecies against the ...
, a nun who had prophesied that the King had ruined his soul and would come to a quick end for having divorced Queen Catherine. This was a month after Barton had confessed, which was possibly done under royal pressure, and was said to be concealment of treason. Though it was dangerous for anyone to have anything to do with Barton, More had met her and was impressed by her fervour. However, More was prudent and told her not to interfere with state matters. More was called before a committee of the Privy Council to answer these charges of treason and, after his respectful answers, the matter seemed to have been dropped. On 13 April 1534, More was asked to appear before a commission and swear his allegiance to the parliamentary Act of Succession.In March 1534, the First Succession Act passed parliament, "investing Henry VIII with the power to "visit, redress, reform, correct or amend all errors, heresies and enormities;" to define faith; and to appoint bishops. This law also directed the monies which had previously been paid to Rome to the King's coffers. The Treason Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 13) passed in the same month among other things made it treasonable to deny the King's role as Supreme Head of the Church.' More accepted Parliament's right to declare
Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...
the legitimate Queen of England, though he refused "the spiritual validity of the King's second marriage" and, holding fast to the teaching of
papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...
, he steadfastly refused to take the oath of supremacy of the Crown in the relationship between the kingdom and the church in England. More also publicly refused to uphold Henry's annulment from Catherine.
John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...
, Bishop of Rochester, refused the oath along with More. The oath reads in part: In addition to refusing to support the King's annulment or supremacy, More refused to sign the 1534 Oath of Succession confirming Anne's role as queen and the rights of their children to succession. More's fate was sealed. While he had no argument with the basic concept of succession as stated in the Act, the preamble of the Oath repudiated the authority of the Pope.


Indictment

More's enemies had enough evidence to have the King arrest him on treason. Four days later, Henry had More imprisoned in the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
. There More prepared a devotional, '' Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation''. While More was imprisoned in the Tower, Thomas Cromwell made several visits, urging More to take the oath, which he continued to refuse. In his unfinished ''History of the Passion'', written in the Tower to his daughter Meg, he wrote of feeling favoured by God: "For methinketh God maketh me a wanton, and setteth me on his lap and dandleth me." The charges of
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...
related to More's violating the statutes as to the King's supremacy (malicious silence) and conspiring with Bishop
John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...
in this respect (malicious conspiracy) and, according to some sources, included asserting that Parliament did not have the right to proclaim the King's Supremacy over the English Church. One group of scholars believes that the judges dismissed the first two charges (malicious acts) and tried More only on the final one, but others strongly disagree. Regardless of the specific charges, the indictment related to violation of the
Treasons Act 1534 The Treasons Act 1534 or High Treason Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 13) was an act of the Parliament of England passed in 1534, during the reign of King Henry VIII. Background This act was passed after the Act of Supremacy 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 1 ...
which declared it treason to speak against the King's Supremacy:


Trial

The trial was held on 1 July 1535, before a panel of judges that included the new Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas Audley, as well as Anne Boleyn's uncle
Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, (10 March 1473 – 25 August 1554) was an English politician and nobleman of the Tudor era. He was an uncle of two of the wives of King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, both of whom were beh ...
, her father Thomas Boleyn, and her brother George Boleyn. Norfolk offered More the chance of the King's "gracious pardon" should he "reform his ..obstinate opinion". More responded that, although he had not taken the oath, he had never spoken out against it either and that his silence could be accepted as his "ratification and confirmation" of the new statutes. Thus More was relying upon legal precedent and the maxim ("one who keeps silent seems to consent"), understanding that he could not be convicted as long as he did not explicitly deny that the King was Supreme Head of the Church, and he therefore refused to answer all questions regarding his opinions on the subject. Thomas Cromwell, at the time the most powerful of the King's advisors, brought forth
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
Richard Rich Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex in 1564. He was ...
to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the King was the legitimate head of the Church. This testimony was characterised by More as being extremely dubious. Witnesses Richard Southwell and Mr. Palmer (a servant to Southwell) were also present and both denied having heard the details of the reported conversation. As More himself pointed out: The jury took only fifteen minutes to find More guilty. After the jury's verdict was delivered and before his sentencing, More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be the head of the spirituality" (take over the role of the Pope). According to William Roper's account, More was pleading that the Statute of Supremacy was contrary to
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
, to Church laws and to the laws of England, attempting to void the entire indictment against him. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (the usual punishment for traitors who were not of the nobility), but the King commuted this to execution by decapitation.


Execution

The execution took place on 6 July 1535 at
Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
. When he came to mount the steps to the scaffold, its frame seeming so weak that it might collapse, More is widely quoted as saying (to one of the officials): "I pray you, master Lieutenant, see me safe up and ormy coming down, let me shift for my self"; while on the scaffold he declared that he died "the king's good servant, and God's first." Theologian Scott Hahn notes that the misquoted " God's first" is a line from
Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for '' Lawrence of Arabia'', '' Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', the latter two of which w ...
's stage play '' A Man For All Seasons'', which differs from More's actual words. After More had finished reciting the while kneeling, the executioner reportedly begged his pardon, then More rose up, kissed him and forgave him.


Relics

Another comment More is believed to have made to the executioner is that his beard was completely innocent of any crime, and did not deserve the axe; he then positioned his beard so that it would not be harmed. More asked that his adopted daughter Margaret Clement (née Giggs) be given his headless corpse to bury. She was the only member of his family to witness his execution. He was buried at the Tower of London, in the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in an unmarked grave. His head was fixed upon a pike over
London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
for a month, according to the normal custom for traitors. More's daughter Margaret Roper (née More) later rescued the severed head. It is believed to rest in the Roper Vault of St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury, perhaps with the remains of Margaret and her husband's family. Some have claimed that the head is buried within the tomb erected for More in Chelsea Old Church. Among other surviving relics is his hair shirt, presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clement.. This was long in the custody of the community of Augustinian canonesses who until 1983 lived at the convent at Abbotskerswell Priory, Devon. Some sources, including one from 2004, claimed that the shirt, made of goat hair, was then kept at the Martyr's church on the Weld family's estate in Chideock, Dorset. It is now preserved at Buckfast Abbey, near Buckfastleigh in Devon.


Epitaph

In 1533, More wrote to Erasmus and included what he intended should be the epitaph on his family tomb:


Scholarly and literary work


''History of King Richard III''

Between 1512 and 1519 More worked on a ''History of
King Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'', which he never finished but which was published after his death. The ''History'' is a Renaissance biography, remarkable more for its literary skill and adherence to classical precepts than for its historical accuracy. Some consider it an attack on royal tyranny, rather than on Richard III himself or the
House of York The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York ...
. More uses a more dramatic writing style than had been typical in medieval chronicles; Richard III is limned as an outstanding, archetypal tyrant—however, More was only seven years old when Richard III was killed at the
Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( ) was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 ...
in 1485, so he had no first-hand knowledge of him. The ''History of King Richard III'' was written and published in both English and Latin, each written separately, and with information deleted from the Latin edition to suit a European readership.Logan (2011) p168 It greatly influenced
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play ''
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
''. Modern historians attribute the unflattering portraits of Richard III in both works to both authors' allegiance to the reigning
Tudor dynasty The House of Tudor ( ) was an English and Welsh dynasty that held the throne of England from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd, a Welsh noble family, and Catherine of Valois. The Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Eng ...
that wrested the throne from Richard III in the
Wars of the Roses The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought over control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fo ...
. According to Caroline Barron, Archbishop John Morton, in whose household More had served as a page , had joined the 1483 Buckingham rebellion against Richard III, and Morton was probably one of those who influenced More's hostility towards the defeated king.
Clements Markham Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president fo ...
asserts that the actual author of the chronicle was, in large part, Archbishop Morton himself and that More was simply copying, or perhaps translating, Morton's original material.


''Utopia''

More's best known and most controversial work, ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'', is a frame narrative written in Latin. More completed the book, and theologian
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
published it in
Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
in 1516. It was only translated into English and published in his native land in 1551 (16 years after his execution), and the 1684 translation became the most commonly cited. More (who is also a character in the book) and the narrator/traveller, Raphael Hythlodaeus (whose name alludes both to the healer archangel
Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...
, and 'speaker of nonsense', the surname's Greek meaning), discuss modern ills in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, as well as describe the political arrangements of the imaginary island country of Utopia (a Greek pun on 'ou-topos' o placeand 'eu-topos' ood place among themselves as well as to Pieter Gillis and
Hieronymus van Busleyden Hieronymus van Busleyden (Dutch: Jeroen van Busleyden; French: Jérôme de Busleyden) (c.1470 – 27 August 1517) was a patron of learning and a humanist from the Habsburg Netherlands. His name is usually partially Latinized in English, and c ...
. Utopia's original edition included a symmetrical " Utopian alphabet" omitted by later editions, but which may have been an early attempt or precursor of
shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to Cursive, longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Gr ...
. ''Utopia'' is structured into two parts, both with much
irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...
: Book I has conversations between friends on various European political issues: the treatment of criminals, the enclosure movement, etc.; Book II is a remembered discourse by Raphael Hythlodaeus on his supposed travels, in which the earlier issues are revisited in fantastical but concrete forms that has been called ''mythical idealism''. For example, the proposition in the Book I "no republic can be prosperous or justly governed where there is private property and money is the measure of everything." ''Utopia'' contrasts the contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia and its environs (Tallstoria, Nolandia, and Aircastle). In Utopia, there are no lawyers because of the laws' simplicity and because social gatherings are in public view (encouraging participants to behave well), communal ownership supplants private property, men and women are educated alike, and there is almost complete religious toleration (except for atheists, who are allowed but despised). More may have used monastic communalism as his model, although other concepts he presents such as legalising
euthanasia Euthanasia (from : + ) is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different Legality of euthanasia, euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select committee (United Kingdom), se ...
remain far outside Church doctrine. Hythlodaeus asserts that a man who refuses to believe in a god or an afterlife could never be trusted, because he would not acknowledge any authority or principle outside himself. A scholar has suggested that More is most interested in the type of citizen Utopia produces. Some take the novel's principal message to be the social need for order and discipline rather than liberty. Ironically, Hythlodaeus, who believes philosophers should not get involved in politics, addresses More's ultimate conflict between his humanistic beliefs and courtly duties as the King's servant, pointing out that one day those morals will come into conflict with the political reality. ''Utopia'' gave rise to a literary genre,
Utopian and dystopian fiction Utopian and dystopian fiction are subgenres of speculative fiction that explore extreme forms of social and political structures. Utopian fiction portrays a setting that agrees with the author's ethos, having various attributes of another reality ...
, which features ideal societies or perfect cities, or their opposite. Works influenced by ''Utopia'' included ''
New Atlantis ''New Atlantis'' is a utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published posthumously in 1626. It appeared unheralded and tucked into the back of a longer work of natural history, ''Sylva Sylvarum'' (forest of materials). In ''New Atlantis'', Bac ...
'' by
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
, ''
Erewhon ''Erewhon: or, Over the Range'' () is a utopian novel by English writer Samuel Butler (novelist), Samuel Butler, first published in 1872, set in a fictional country discovered and explored by the protagonist. The book is a satire on Victorian ...
'' by Samuel Butler, and ''
Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
'' by
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
. Although
Utopianism A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
combined classical concepts of perfect societies (
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
and
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
) with Roman rhetorical finesse (cf.
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
,
Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...
,
epideictic The epideictic oratory, also called ceremonial oratory or praise-and-blame rhetoric, is one of the three branches, or "species" (eidē), of rhetoric, as outlined in Aristotle's ''Rhetoric'', to be used to praise or blame, during ceremonies. Orig ...
oratory), the Renaissance genre continued into the
Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...
and survives in modern science fiction.


Epigrams

Erasmus in Basel collected and had published a book of More's latin epigrams: the final 1523 edition ''Epigrammata'' contained 253 of the short poems, described by historian Damian Grace as "Political theory in a poetic idiom." In the 1510s, More had the habit of composing these formal paragraphs, variously serious or facetious, for correspondents. Some show a concern about royal tyranny and may suggest a preference for Roman republican government.


Religious polemics

In 1520 the reformer
Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...
published three works in quick succession: ''An Appeal to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation'' (Aug.), ''Concerning the Babylonish Captivity of the Church'' (Oct.), and ''On the Liberty of a Christian Man'' (Nov.). In these books, Luther set out his doctrine of salvation through faith alone, rejected certain Catholic practices, and attacked abuses and excesses within the Catholic Church. In 1521, Henry VIII formally responded to Luther's criticisms with the ''Assertio'', written with More's assistance.
Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...
rewarded the English king with the title "''Fidei defensor"'' ("Defender of the Faith") for his work combating Luther's heresies. Martin Luther then attacked Henry VIII in print, calling him a "pig, dolt, and liar". At the King's request, More composed a rebuttal: the '' Responsio ad Lutherum'' was published at the end of 1523. In the ''Responsio'', More defended papal supremacy, the sacraments, and other Church traditions. More, though considered "a much steadier personality", described Luther as an "ape", a "drunkard", and a "lousy little friar" amongst other epithets. Writing under the pseudonym of Gulielmus Rosseus, More tells Luther that:
for as long as your reverend paternity will be determined to tell these shameless lies, others will be permitted, on behalf of his English majesty, to throw back into your paternity's shitty mouth, truly the shit-pool of all shit, all the muck and shit which your damnable rottenness has vomited up, and to empty out all the sewers and privies onto your crown divested of the dignity of the priestly crown, against which no less than the kingly crown you have determined to play the buffoon.Rex (2011) p.102
His saying is followed with a kind of apology to his readers, while Luther possibly never apologized for his sayings. Stephen Greenblatt argues, "More speaks for his ruler and in his opponent's idiom; Luther speaks for himself, and his scatological imagery far exceeds in quantity, intensity, and inventiveness anything that More could muster. If for More scatology normally expresses a communal disapproval, for Luther, it expresses a deep personal rage." Confronting Luther confirmed More's theological conservatism. He thereafter avoided any hint of criticism of Church authority. In 1528, More published another religious polemic, ''A Dialogue Concerning Heresies'', that asserted the Catholic Church was the one true church, established by Christ and the Apostles, and affirmed the validity of its authority, traditions and practices. In 1529, the circulation of
Simon Fish Simon Fish (died 1531) was a 16th-century Protestant rebel and English propagandist. He is best known for helping to spread William Tyndale's New Testament and for writing the vehemently anti-clerical pamphlet ''Supplication for the Beggars'' (' ...
's ''Supplication for the Beggars'' prompted More to respond with the ''Supplycatyon of Soulys''. In 1531, a year after More's father died,
William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...
published ''An Answer unto Sir Thomas More's Dialogue'' in response to More's ''Dialogue Concerning Heresies.'' More responded with a half million words: the ''Confutation of Tyndale's Answer''. The ''Confutation'' is an imaginary dialogue between More and Tyndale, with More addressing each of Tyndale's criticisms of Catholic rites and doctrines. More, who valued structure, tradition and order in society as safeguards against tyranny and error, vehemently believed that Lutheranism and the Protestant Reformation in general were dangerous, not only to the Catholic faith but to the stability of society as a whole.


Correspondence

Most major humanists were prolific letter writers, and Thomas More was no exception. As in the case of his friend Erasmus of Rotterdam, however, only a small portion of his correspondence (about 280 letters) survived. These include everything from personal letters to official government correspondence (mostly in English), letters to fellow humanist scholars (in Latin), several epistolary tracts, verse epistles, prefatory letters (some fictional) to several of More's own works, letters to More's children and their tutors (in Latin), and the so-called "prison-letters" (in English) which he exchanged with his oldest daughter Margaret while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London awaiting execution. More also engaged in controversies, most notably with the French poet Germain de Brie, which culminated in the publication of de Brie's ''Antimorus'' (1519). Erasmus intervened, however, and ended the dispute. More also wrote about more spiritual matters. They include: ''A Treatise on the Passion'' (a.k.a. Treatise on the Passion of Christ), ''A Treatise to Receive the Blessed Body'' (a.k.a. Holy Body Treaty), and ''De Tristitia Christi'' (a.k.a. The Agony of Christ). More handwrote the last in the Tower of London while awaiting his execution. This last manuscript, saved from the confiscation decreed by Henry VIII, passed by the will of his daughter Margaret to Spanish hands through Fray Pedro de Soto, dominican confessor of the count of Oropesa ambassador of the Emperor Charles V, that presented to saint Juan de Ribera archbishop of Valencia at that time and founder of Real Colegio Seminario del Corpus Christi and its museum where it remains in the collection.


Veneration


Catholic Church

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...
Thomas More,
John Fisher John Fisher (c. 19 October 1469 – 22 June 1535) was an English Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Rochester from 1504 to 1535 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He is honoured as a martyr and saint by the Catholic Chu ...
, and fifty-two other English Martyrs on 29 December 1886.
Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...
More and Fisher on 19 May 1935 pre-eminently for their martyrdom, saying: The British press greeted the 1935 canonisation ceremony, which
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and universities officially boycotted, with a "minimal and hostile" reception. More's feast day was established as 9 July. Since 1970 the
General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
has celebrated More with St John Fisher on 22 June (the date of Fisher's execution). On 31 October 2000
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
declared More "the heavenly
Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
of Statesmen and Politicians". Apostolic letter issued ''
motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...
'' proclaiming Saint Thomas More Patron of Statesmen and Politicians, 31 October 200
Vatican.va
/ref> More is the patron of the German Catholic youth organisation Katholische Junge Gemeinde.


Anglican Communion

In 1980, despite their staunch opposition to the
English Reformation The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
, More and Fisher were added as martyrs of the reformation to the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
's
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
of "Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church", to be commemorated every 6 July (the date of More's execution) as "Thomas More, scholar, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Reformation Martyrs, 1535". The annual remembrance of 6 July, is recognised by all Anglican Churches in communion with Canterbury, including Australia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa. In an essay examining the events around the addition to the Anglican calendar, scholar
Bill Sheils William J. Sheils , known as Bill Sheils, is professor emeritus in history at the University of York and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Sheils is a specialist in the early modern religious and social history of Britain. Education She ...
links the reasoning for More's recognition to a "long-standing tradition hinted at in Rose Macaulay's ironic debating point of 1935 about More's status as an 'unschismed Anglican', a tradition also recalled in the annual memorial lecture held at St. Dunstan's Church in Canterbury, where More's head is said to be buried." Sheils also noted the influence of the 1960s play and film '' A Man for All Seasons'', which gave More a "reputation as a defender of the right of conscience". Thanks to the play's depiction, this "brought his life to a broader and more popular audience" with the film "extending its impact worldwide following the Oscar triumphs". Around this time the atheist Oxford historian and intellectual
Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...
held More up as "the first great Englishman whom we feel that we know, the most saintly of Humanists...the universal man of our cool northern Renaissance." In 1978, the quincentenary of More's birth, Trevor-Roper wrote an essay putting More in the Renaissance Platonist tradition, claiming his reputation was "quite independent of his Catholicism." (Only, later on, did a more critical view arise in academia, led by Professor Sir Geoffrey Elton, which "challenged More's reputation for saintliness by focusing on his dealings with heretics, the ferocity of which, in fairness to him, More did not deny. In this research, More's role as a prosecutor, or persecutor, of dissidents has been at the centre of the debate.")


Legacy

The steadfastness and courage with which More maintained his religious convictions, and his dignity during his imprisonment, trial, and execution, contributed much to More's posthumous reputation, particularly among Roman Catholics. His friend
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...
defended More's character as "more pure than any snow" and described his genius as "such as England never had and never again will have." Upon learning of More's execution,
Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
said: "Had we been master of such a servant, we would rather have lost the best city of our dominions than such a worthy councillor."Quoted in ''Britannica – The Online Encyclopedia'', article
''Sir Thomas More''
/ref> G. K. Chesterton, a Roman Catholic convert from the Church of England, predicted More "may come to be counted the greatest Englishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history." He wrote "the mind of More was like a diamond that a tyrant threw away into a ditch, because he could not break it." Historian
Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...
called More "the first great Englishman whom we feel that we know, the most saintly of humanists, the most human of saints, the universal man of our cool northern renaissance."Cited in
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
, an Anglican, wrote that More was "a person of the greatest virtue this kingdom ever produced". Some consider this quote to be of Samuel Johnson, although it is not found in Johnson's writings. Swift put More in the company of Socrates, Brutus, Epaminondas and Junius. The metaphysical poet
John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...
, also honoured in their calendar by Anglicans, was More's great-great-nephew. US Senator
Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...
had a portrait of More in his office. Marxist theoreticians such as
Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...
considered More's ''Utopia'' a critique of economic and social exploitation in pre-modern Europe and More is claimed to have influenced the development of socialist ideas. In 1963, '' Moreana'', an academic journal focusing on analysis of More and his writings, was founded. In 2002, More was placed at number 37 in the BBC's poll of the
100 Greatest Britons ''100 Greatest Britons'' is a television series that was broadcast by the BBC in 2002. It was based on a television poll conducted to determine who the British people at that time considered the greatest Britons in history. The series included i ...
.


Legal

More debated the lawyer and pamphleteer Christopher St. Germain through various books: while agreeing on various issues on equity, More disagreed with secret witnesses, the admissibility of hearsay, and found St Germain's criticism of religious courts superficial or ignorant. More and St Germain's views on equity owed in part to the 15th-century humanist theologian,
Jean Gerson Jean Charlier de Gerson (13 December 1363 – 12 July 1429) was a French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Cou ...
, who taught that consideration of the individual circumstances should be the norm not the exception. Before More, English
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
s tended to be clerics (with a role as
Keeper of the King's Conscience Keeper of the King's Conscience was a position in the English judiciary before the advent of parliamentary representative democracy. The person appointed as Keeper of the King's Conscience was usually a bishop. He was responsible for overseeing t ...
); from More on, they tended to be lawyers. A 1999 poll of legal British professionals nominated More as the person who most embodies the virtues of the law needed at the close of the millennium. The virtues were More's views on the primacy of conscience and his role in the practical establishment of the principle of equity in English secular law through the
Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
.


In literature and popular culture

William Roper's biography of More (his father-in-law) was one of the first biographies in Modern English. ''
Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry V ...
'' is a play written circa 1592 in collaboration between Henry Chettle, Anthony Munday,
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, and others, or with multiple script-doctors in view of the dangerous topic. In it More is portrayed as a wise and honest statesman. The original manuscript has survived as a handwritten text that shows many revisions by its several authors, as well as the censorious influence of Edmund Tylney,
Master of the Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberla ...
in the government of Queen
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
. The script has since been published and has had several productions.Long, William B. ''The Occasion of the Book of Sir Thomas More''. Howard-Hill, T.H. editor. ''Shakespeare and Sir Thomas More; essays on the play and its Shakespearean Interest''. Cambridge University Press. (1989) . pages 49–54 One of the verses in the manuscript in Shakespeare's hand has a small
soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin 'alone' and 'to speak', ) is a speech in drama in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, typically while alone on stage. It serves to reveal the character's inner feelings, motivations, or plans directly to ...
of More that includes:
... But More, the more that thou hast Either of honour, office, wealth, and calling, Which might accite thee to embrace and hug them, The more do thou e'en serpent's natures think them: Fear their gay skins, with thought of their stings,...
In Europe in the two centuries after his death, there were at least 50
Neo-Latin Neo-LatinSidwell, Keith ''Classical Latin-Medieval Latin-Neo Latin'' in ; others, throughout. (also known as New Latin and Modern Latin) is the style of written Latin used in original literary, scholarly, and scientific works, first in Italy d ...
school plays written about More, performed at
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
schools. In 1941, the 20th-century British author Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984) wrote a short story, "The King's Servant", based on the last few years of Thomas More's life, seen through his family, and especially his adopted daughter, Anne Cresacre More. The 20th-century agnostic playwright
Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for '' Lawrence of Arabia'', '' Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', the latter two of which w ...
portrayed Thomas More as the
tragic hero A tragic hero (or sometimes tragic heroine if they are female) is the protagonist of a tragedy. In his ''Poetics (Aristotle), Poetics'', Aristotle records the descriptions of the tragic hero to the playwright and strictly defines the place that t ...
of his 1960 play '' A Man for All Seasons''.
More is a man of an angel's wit, and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of that gentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, and sometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons.
This passage is derived from an exercise in Robert Whittington's 1520 Latin grammar ''Vulgaria'' (which may have some provenance from ''vir omnium horarum'' — "man for all hours" — in Erasmus's dedication to More of his 1511 essay '' Moriae Encomium'') that called the student to translate:
Moore is a man of an aungel's wyt and synglar lernyng. He is a man of many excellent vertues (yf I shold say as it is) I knowe not his felowe. For where is the man (in whome is so many godly vertues) of yt gentylnes, lowlynes and affabylyte? And, as tyme requyreth, a man of merveylous myrth and pastymes, and somtyme of as sad gravyte, as who say: a man for all seasons. (modernized puntuation)
In 1966, the play '' A Man for All Seasons'' was adapted into a
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
with the same title. It was directed by
Fred Zinnemann Alfred Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an American film director and producer. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thriller film, thrillers, western (genre), westerns, film ...
and adapted for the screen by the playwright. It stars
Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...
, a noted British actor, who said that the part of Sir Thomas More was "the most difficult part I played." The film won the
Academy Award for Best Picture The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards (also known as Oscars) presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film a ...
and Scofield won the Best Actor Oscar. In 1988
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
starred in and directed a made-for-television film that restored the character of "the common man" that had been cut from the 1966 film. In the 1969 film ''Anne of the Thousand Days'', More is portrayed by actor William Squire. In the 1972 BBC TV series ''Henry VIII and his Six Wives'' More was played by Michael Goodliffe. Catholic science fiction writer R. A. Lafferty wrote his novel ''Past Master (novel), Past Master'' as a modern equivalent to More's ''Utopia'', which he saw as a satire. In this novel, Thomas More travels through time to the year 2535, where he is made king of the world "Astrobe", only to be beheaded after ruling for a mere nine days. One character compares More favourably to almost every other major historical figure: "He had one completely honest moment right at the end. I cannot think of anyone else who ever had one." Karl Zuchardt's novel, ''Stirb du Narr!'' ("Die you fool!"), about More's struggle with King Henry VIII of England, Henry, portrays More as an idealist bound to fail in the power struggle with a ruthless ruler and an unjust world. In her 2009 novel ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
'', its 2012 sequel ''Bring Up the Bodies'', and the final book of the trilogy, her 2020 ''The Mirror & the Light'', the novelist Hilary Mantel portrays More (from the perspective of a sympathetically portrayed
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
) as an unsympathetic persecutor of Protestants and an ally of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg empire. Literary critic James Wood (critic), James Wood in his book ''The Broken Estate'', a collection of essays, is critical of More and refers to him as "cruel in punishment, evasive in argument, lusty for power, and repressive in politics". Aaron S. Zelman's non-fiction book ''The State Versus the People'' includes a comparison of ''Utopia'' with Plato's ''Republic''. Zelman is undecided as to whether More was being ironic in his book or was genuinely advocating a police state. Zelman comments, "More is the only Christian saint to be honoured with a statue at the Kremlin." By this Zelman implies that ''Utopia'' influenced Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks, despite their brutal repression of religion. Other biographers, such as
Peter Ackroyd Peter Ackroyd (born 5 October 1949) is an English biographer, novelist and critic with a specialist interest in the history and culture of London. For his novels about English history and culture and his biographies of, among others, William ...
, have offered a more sympathetic picture of More as both a sophisticated philosopher and man of letters, as well as a zealous Catholic who believed in the authority of the Holy See over Christendom. The protagonist of Walker Percy's novels, ''Love in the Ruins'' and ''The Thanatos Syndrome'', is "Dr Thomas More", a reluctant Catholic and descendant of More. More is the focus of the Al Stewart song "A Man For All Seasons" from the 1978 album ''Time Passages'', and of the Far (band), Far song "Sir", featured on the limited editions and 2008 re-release of their 1994 album ''Quick (album), Quick''. In addition, the song "So Says I" by indie rock outfit The Shins alludes to the socialist interpretation of More's ''Utopia''. Jeremy Northam depicts More in the television series ''The Tudors ''as a peaceful man, as well as a devout Roman Catholic and loving family patriarch. In David Starkey's 2009 documentary series ''Henry VIII: The Mind of a Tyrant'', More is depicted by Ryan Kiggell. More is depicted by Andrew Buchan in the television series ''The Spanish Princess''. In the years 1968–2007 the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library Associates awarded the annual Sir Thomas More Medal for Book Collecting to private book collectors of note, including Elmer Belt, Otto Schaefer, Albert Sperisen, John S. Mayfield and Lord Wardington. In the 2024 video game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, the narrative focuses on a book depicting a fictional Utopia (book), utopia written by a character named More.


Institutions named after More


Communism, socialism and anti-communism

Having been praised "as a Communist hero by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and
Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian Marxism, Marxist theorist. A leading theorist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the Second International, Kautsky advocated orthodox Marxism, a ...
" because of the Communist attitude to property in his ''Utopia'', under Soviet Communism the name of Thomas More was in Alexander Garden Obelisk#Inscribed names, ninth position from the top of Moscow's Stele of Freedom (also known as the Alexander Garden Obelisk, Obelisk of Revolutionary Thinkers), as one of the most influential thinkers "who promoted the liberation of humankind from oppression, arbitrariness, and exploitation." This monument was erected in 1918 in Aleksandrovsky Garden near the Kremlin at Lenin's suggestion. ''The Great Soviet Encyclopedias English translation (1979) described More as "the founder of Utopian socialism", the first person "to describe a society in which private property ... had been abolished" (a society in which the family was "a cell for the communist way of life"), and a thinker who "did not believe that the ideal society would be achieved through socialist revolution, revolution", but who "greatly influenced reformers of subsequent centuries, especially Morelly, François-Noël Babeuf, G. Babeuf, Henri de Saint-Simon, Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, C. Fourier, Étienne Cabet, E. Cabet, and other representatives of Utopian socialism." ''Utopia'' also inspired socialists such as William Morris. Many see More's communism or socialism as purely satirical. In 1888, while praising More's communism, Karl Kautsky pointed out that "perplexed" historians and economists often saw the name ''Utopia'' (which means "no place") as "a subtle hint by More that he himself regarded his communism as an impracticable dream". Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize-winning, anti-Communist author of ''The Gulag Archipelago'', argued that Soviet communism needed enslavement and forced labour to survive, and that this had been " ...foreseen as far back as Thomas More, the great-grandfather of Socialism (Marxism), socialism, in his ''Utopia''". In 2008, More was portrayed on stage in Hong Kong as an allegorical symbol of the pan-democracy camp resisting the Chinese Communist Party in a translated and modified version of
Robert Bolt Robert Oxton Bolt (15 August 1924 – 20 February 1995) was an English playwright and a screenwriter, known for writing the screenplays for '' Lawrence of Arabia'', '' Doctor Zhivago'', and '' A Man for All Seasons'', the latter two of which w ...
's play ''A Man for All Seasons''.


Historic sites


Westminster Hall

A plaque in the middle of the floor of London's Westminster Hall commemorates More's trial for treason and condemnation to execution in that original part of the Palace of Westminster. The building, which houses Parliament, would have been well known to More, who served several terms as a member and became Speaker of the House of Commons before his appointment as England's Lord Chancellor.


Beaufort House

As More's royal duties frequently required his attendance at the King's River Thames, Thames-side palaces in both Richmond Palace, Richmond and Palace of Placentia, Greenwich, it was convenient to select a riverside property situated between them (the common method of transport being by boat) for his home. In about 1520 he purchased a parcel of land comprising "undisturbed wood and pasture", stretching from the Thames in Chelsea, London, Chelsea to the present-day King's Road. There he caused to be built a dignified red-brick mansion (known simply as More's house or Chelsea House) in which he lived until his arrest in 1534. In the bawdy poem ''The Twelve Mery Jestes of Wyddow Edyth'', written in 1525 by a member of More's household (or even by More himself) using the pseudonym of "Walter Smith", the widow arrives by boat at "Chelsay...where she had best cheare of all/in the house of Syr Thomas More." Upon More's arrest the estate was confiscated, coming into the possession of the Comptroller of the Royal Household, William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester, William Paulet. In 1682, the property was renamed ''Beaufort House'' after Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort, 1st Duke of Beaufort, a new owner.


Crosby Hall

In June 1523 More bought the "very large and beautiful" Crosby Place (Crosby Hall) in Bishopsgate, London, but this was not a simple transaction: eight months later he sold the property (never having lived there) at a considerable profit to his friend and business partner Antonio Bonvisi who, in turn, leased it back to More's son-in-law William Roper and nephew
William Rastell William Rastell (150827 August 1565) was an English printer and judge. Life Rastell was born in London, a son of John Rastell and his wife Elizabeth More, sister of Sir Thomas More. At the age of seventeen he went to the University of Oxford, b ...
; possibly this was an agreed means of dealing with a debt between More and Bonvisi. Because of this the Crown did not confiscate the property after More's execution.


Chelsea Old Church

Across a small park and Old Church Street from Crosby Hall is Chelsea Old Church, an Anglican church whose southern chapel More commissioned and in which he sang with the parish choir. Except for his chapel, the church was largely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in 1958. The capitals on the medieval arch connecting the chapel to the main sanctuary display symbols associated with More and his office. On the southern wall of the sanctuary is the tomb and epitaph he erected for himself and his wives, detailing his ancestry and accomplishments in Latin, including his role as peacemaker between the various Christian European states as well as a curiously altered portion about his curbing heresy. When More served Mass, he would leave by the door just to the left of it. He is not, however, buried here, nor is it entirely certain which of his family may be. It is open to the public at specific times. Outside the church, facing the River Thames, is a statue by British Sculptor, Leslie Cubitt Bevis erected in 1969, commemorating More as "saint", "scholar", and "statesman"; the back displays his coat-of-arms. Nearby, on Upper Cheyne Row, the Roman Catholic Church of Our Most Holy Redeemer & St. Thomas More honours the martyr.


Tower Hill

A plaque and small garden commemorate the famed execution site on
Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...
, London, just outside the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
, as well as all those executed there, many as religious martyrs or as prisoners of conscience. More's corpse, minus his head, was unceremoniously buried in an unmarked mass grave beneath the Church of St Peter ad Vincula, Royal Chapel of St. Peter Ad Vincula, within the walls of the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
, as was the custom for traitors executed at Tower Hill. The chapel is accessible to Tower visitors.


St Katharine Docks

Thomas More is commemorated by a stone Commemorative plaque, plaque near St Katharine Docks, just east of the Tower where he was executed. The street in which it is situated was formerly called Nightingale Lane, a corruption of "Knighten Guild", derived from the original owners of the land. It is now renamed Thomas More Street in his honour.


St Dunstan's Church and Roper House, Canterbury

St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, St Dunstan's Church, an Anglican parish church in Canterbury, possesses More's head, rescued by his daughter Margaret Roper, whose family lived in Canterbury down and across the street from their parish church. A stone immediately to the left of the altar marks the sealed Roper family vault beneath the Nicholas Chapel, itself to the right of the church's sanctuary or main altar. St. Dunstan's, Canterbury, St Dunstan's Church has carefully investigated, preserved and sealed this burial vault. The last archaeological investigation revealed that the suspected head of More rests in a niche separate from the other bodies, possibly from later interference. Displays in the chapel record the archaeological findings in pictures and narratives. Roman Catholics donated stained glass to commemorate the events in More's life. A small plaque marks the former home of William and Margaret Roper; another house nearby and entitled Roper House is now a home for deaf people.


Works

Note: The reference "CW" is to the relevant volume of the ''Yale Edition of the Complete Works of St. Thomas More'' (New Haven and London 1963–1997)


Published during More's life (with dates of publication)

* ''A Merry Jest'' (c. 1516) (CW 1) * ''
Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictiona ...
'' (1516) (CW 4) * ''Epigrammata'' or ''Latin Poems'' (1518, 1520) (CW 3, Pt.2) * ''Letter to Brixius'' (1520) (CW 3, Pt. 2, App C) * '' Responsio ad Lutherum'' (The Answer to Luther, 1523) (CW 5) * ''A Dialogue Concerning Heresies'' (1529, 1530) (CW 6) * ''Supplication of Souls'' (1529) (CW 7) * ''Letter Against Frith'' (1532) (CW 7
pdf
* ''The Confutation of Tyndale's Answer'' (1532, 1533) (CW 8) Books 1–4
Books 5–9
* ''Apology'' (1533) (CW 9) * ''Debellation of Salem and Bizance'' (1533) (CW 10
pdf
* ''The Answer to a Poisoned Book'' (1533) (CW 11
pdf


Published after More's death (with likely dates of composition)

* ''The History of King Richard III'' (–1518) (CW 2 & 15) * ''The Four Last Things'' () (CW 1) * ''A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation'' (1534) (CW 12) * ''Treatise Upon the Passion'' (1534) (CW 13) * ''Treatise on the Blessed Body'' (1535) (CW 13) * ''Instructions and Prayers'' (1535) (CW 13) * ''De Tristitia Christi'' (1535) (CW 14) (preserved in the Real Colegio Seminario del Corpus Christi, Valencia)


Translations

* ''Translations of Lucian'' (many dates 1506–1534) (CW 3, Pt.1) * ''The Life of
Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico dei conti della Mirandola e della Concordia ( ; ; ; 24 February 146317 November 1494), known as Pico della Mirandola, was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, ...
'', by Gianfrancesco Pico della Mirandola (c. 1510) (CW 1)


Media portrayals

* ''A Man for All Seasons (1966 film), A Man for All Seasons'', 1966 film: More was portrayed by
Paul Scofield David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was an English actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award for his work. Scofield ...
. * ''Anne of the Thousand Days'', 1969 film: More was portrayed by William Squire. * ''God's Outlaw (1986 film), God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale'', 1986 film: More was portrayed by Bernard Archard. * ''A Man for All Seasons (1988 film), A Man for All Seasons'', 1988 made-for-TV film: More was portrayed by
Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American actor. He gained stardom for his leading man roles in numerous Cinema of the United States, Hollywood films including biblical epics, science-fiction f ...
. * ''The Tudors'', 2007–2010 TV series: More was portrayed by Jeremy Northam. * ''Wolf Hall (TV series), Wolf Hall'', 2015 TV miniseries: More was portrayed by Anton Lesser.


Notes


References


Sources


Biographies

* * * (Note: this is a 2009 translation (from the original German, by Hector de Cavilla) of Berglar's 1978 work ''Die Stunde des Thomas Morus – Einer gegen die Macht''. Freiburg 1978; Adamas-Verlag, Köln 1998, ) * * Henri Brémond, Brémond, Henri (1904) – ''Le Bienheureux Thomas More 1478–1535'' (1904) as'' Sir Thomas More'' (1913) translated by Henry Child;
(Note: Brémond is frequently cited in Berglar (2009)) *
1920 edition
published by R. & T. Washbourne Limited, ; ** Paperback edition by Kessinger Publishing, LLC (2006), ** published in French in Paris by Gabalda, 1920, * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * *


Historiography

* . * * Miles, Leland. "Persecution and the Dialogue of Comfort: A Fresh Look at the Charges against Thomas More." ''Journal of British Studies'', vol. 5, no. 1, 1965, pp. 19–30
online


Primary sources

* . * * . * . * . * .


External links

* *
The Center for Thomas More Studies
at the University of Dallas
Thomas More Studies database
contains several of More's English works, including dialogues, early poetry and letters, as well as journal articles and biographical material. * * * * * . Presents a critical view of More's anti-Protestantism * .
Thomas More and Utopias
– a learning resource from the British Library. * .
The Essential Works of Thomas More
– The Center for Thomas More Studies at the University of Dallas *
Patron Saints Index entry
– Saint Thomas More biography, prayers, quotes, Catholic devotions to him.
Trial of Sir Thomas More
Professor Douglas O. Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Law
John Fisher and Thomas More: Martyrs of England and Wales
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