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    <Metadata name="Page_topic">Sir Thomas More: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Content">Sir Thomas More: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
    <Metadata name="Title">Sir Thomas More: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;

&lt;IMG height=51 alt=&quot;Sir Thomas More&quot; 

src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/more.gif&quot; width=310&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
    &lt;img border=&quot;2&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/more.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;portrait of Sir Thomas More&quot; width=&quot;250&quot; height=&quot;315&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Thomas More's most famous literary 

work, &lt;I&gt;Utopia&lt;/I&gt;, was first conceived in 1515 when More was sent on a 

diplomatic mission to Flanders.&amp;nbsp; The story, inspired by and modeled upon 

Plato's &lt;I&gt;Republic&lt;/I&gt;, has given its name to a whole genre of 

literature.&amp;nbsp; I do not wish to ignore More's literary and philosophical 

accomplishments at this page, but I simply don't have the time to discuss 

&lt;I&gt;Utopia&lt;/I&gt; within the context of the following biography.&amp;nbsp; I urge 

readers to visit the following links to learn about More's work:&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; &lt;BR&gt;
    &lt;/font&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt; &lt;A 

href=&quot;gopher://gopher.cc.columbia.edu:71/11/miscellaneous/cubooks/offbooks/more&quot;&gt;Read 

the entire text of &lt;I&gt;Utopia&lt;/I&gt; at this link&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; &lt;BR&gt;
    &lt;/font&gt;&lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt; &lt;A 

href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.d-holliday.com%2ftmore%2futopia.htm&quot;&gt;Another electronic version of 

the text&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt; &lt;br&gt;This website lists various 

essays on &lt;I&gt;Utopia&lt;/I&gt; available in electronic format:&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;
    &lt;/font&gt; &lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;A 

href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.d-holliday.com%2ftmore%2fmore.htm&quot;&gt;More about More&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; 

&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.d-holliday.com%2ftmore%2ferasmus.htm&quot;&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;Click 
    here to read 
    Erasmus's famous description of More in a letter from 1519&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;
    &lt;/font&gt;
    &lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Other online biographies of Sir Thomas More:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;br&gt;William 
    Roper was More's son-in-law;
    &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.fordham.edu%2fhalsall%2fmod%2f16Croper-more.html&quot;&gt;click here 
    to read his famous biography&lt;/a&gt; of More.&lt;br&gt;John Farrow's
    &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.cin.org%2ffarmor.html&quot;&gt;biography of More&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;The 
    Catholic Encyclopedia's
    &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.newadvent.org%2fcathen%2f14689c.htm&quot;&gt;biography of More&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;p&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&lt;br&gt;An &lt;A 

href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2f1535exec.html&quot;&gt;eyewitness account of 

More's execution&lt;/A&gt; can be read at the Primary Sources section.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt; 

&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/font&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;You can also read &lt;A 

href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimore.html&quot;&gt;More's final letter&lt;/A&gt;, 

written to his beloved daughter Margaret while he was imprisoned in the 

Tower.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

    &lt;blockquote&gt;

&lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;Chronology of major events in More's life:&lt;br&gt;&lt;/font&gt;
&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Born 7 

  February 1478 at Milk Street, London &lt;BR&gt;Entered Parliament in 1504 

  &lt;BR&gt;Appointed undersheriff of London in 1510 &lt;BR&gt;Became a member of the Privy 

  Council in 1518 &lt;BR&gt;Knighted in 1521 &lt;BR&gt;Made Speaker of the House of Commons 

  in 1523 &lt;BR&gt;Made Lord Chancellor of England in 1529 &lt;BR&gt;Imprisoned in the 

  Tower of London on charges of treason in 1534 &lt;BR&gt;Executed 6 July 1535 at 

  Tower Hill, the Tower of London &lt;BR&gt;Canonized as a saint by the Catholic 

  Church in 1935&lt;/font&gt;&lt;P align=&quot;left&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
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&lt;blockquote&gt;
  &lt;hr&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'[E]ven though we should have no word or deed to charge upon 
  you, yet we have your silence, and that is a sign of your evil intention and a 
  sure proof of malice.'&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp; &lt;/font&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Henry 

    VIII's attorney-general at the trial of Thomas More, 1535&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  &lt;hr&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;



&lt;BLOCKQUOTE&gt;
  &lt;p&gt;Thomas More is perhaps the most famous victim of Henry VIII's 

  perverse judicial policies.&amp;nbsp; He was England's most famous and respected 

  intellectual, close friends with the great philosopher Erasmus, and beloved by 

  his closely-knit family and wide circle of friends.&amp;nbsp; He was that most 

  rare of intellectuals - one who was humble, patient, and truly kind; he spent 

  his life in ceaseless study, both intellectual and spiritual, and was a 

  dedicated public servant.&amp;nbsp; He was also an astute judge of character, and 

  capable of witty, trenchant observations - he once said of his famous king, 

  'If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for any man to hold him.'&amp;nbsp; 

  And, of course, when his son-in-law mentioned Henry VIII's fondness for More, 

  the philosopher noted even more famously that if the king thought 'my head 

  could win him a castle in France it should not fail to go!' &lt;/p&gt;

  &lt;P&gt;

  &lt;IMG height=236 alt=&quot;sketch of Thomas More as Lord Chancellor, by Holbein&quot; 

  src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/moresketch1.jpg&quot; width=175 align=left border=0&gt;In the end, Henry did not want More's head in exchange for any French 

  castles; he wanted it because More refused to recognize the king's sovereignty 

  over the English church.&amp;nbsp; But Henry had wanted More's approval 

  desperately, and kept his former Lord Chancellor imprisoned for months in 

  increasingly dire conditions, alternating between threats and flattery in 

  desperate attempts to secure More's acknowledgment of the king's new 

  role.&amp;nbsp; Henry knew, none better, that More's approval would carry great 

  weight throughout Europe, and he offered More his life in return for a few 

  simple words.&amp;nbsp; But More refused, and he learned the truth of the medieval 

  adage that 'the king's wrath is death'. 

  &lt;P&gt;More was the sole surviving son of Sir John More, a prominent lawyer and 

  later judge, and Agnes Graunger.&amp;nbsp; He was born on 7 February 1478 (some 

  sources say 1477), and entered Parliament in 1504.&amp;nbsp; One of his first acts 

  in public life was to speak against one of Henry VII's more austere financial 

  policies; as a result, Sir John was imprisoned and only released after a fine 

  was paid and Thomas retired from public life.&amp;nbsp; After the king's death in 

  1509, however, Thomas once again entered public service.&amp;nbsp; His early 

  education had prepared him well for such a life.&amp;nbsp; His father had sent him 

  to St Anthony's School at Threadneedle Street, under the direction of Nicholas 

  Holt; upon reaching adolescence, More was sent to the household of Cardinal 

  Morton, then archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England.&amp;nbsp; As 

  Morton was the most powerful man in England next to the king, and the most 

  prominent ecclesiastic, his household was an invigorating blend of political 

  and religious life.&amp;nbsp; It was undoubtedly here that More first learned how 

  to reconcile a deeply spiritual character with a devotion to secular 

  affairs.&amp;nbsp; Morton was living proof that a religious leader did not have to 

  be monkish or retiring; he was also an inveterate gossip, and his twisted tale 

  of Richard III's brief reign inspired More's awful &lt;I&gt;Life&lt;/I&gt; of the last 

  Plantagenet king.&amp;nbsp; That biography is the only blight upon More's literary 

  career. 

  &lt;P&gt;Morton was sufficiently impressed with his young charge to sponsor More at 

  Oxford.&amp;nbsp; The young man entered Canterbury Hall (now part of Christ 

  Church) probably around 1492.&amp;nbsp; His time at Oxford was well-spent; under 

  the tutelage of great scholars such as Thomas Linacre, More studied the 

  classics and classical languages, as well as the other liberal arts.&amp;nbsp; He 

  was a bright and engaging student, enthusiastic about learning but also 

  accustomed to more basic pleasures (he loved to play upon the flute and viol, 

  and began his lifelong passion for collecting pets - apparently his adult home 

  in Chelsea was a veritable zoo.)&amp;nbsp; But like many university students, More 

  found himself constantly short of money, a ploy his father used to keep the 

  young man's mind upon his studies and not other, less academic pursuits. 

  &lt;P&gt;He returned to London after about two years at Oxford, and entered as a law 

  student at the New Inn in late 1494; in early 1496 he was admitted to 

  Lincoln's Inn as well, and then called to the outer bar and made a 

  bencher.&amp;nbsp; He was once again a successful student, now following in his 

  father's footsteps.&amp;nbsp; He was made a 'reader' (or tutor) at Furnival's Inn, 

  and was successful enough to retain the appointment for three years.&amp;nbsp; But 

  the law was not his true passion, and perhaps More already recognized this 

  fact; he wrote poetry in his spare time, and entered into correspondence with 

  the great English intellectuals of his age.&amp;nbsp; Most of these men were 

  introduced to him through his former professor at Oxford, Thomas 

  Linacre.&amp;nbsp; More's own reputation as a man of learning and wit was already 

  begun, but he was beginning to suffer great spiritual conflict.&amp;nbsp; The law 

  was not wholly satisfying to his character, but religious study might be, or 

  so he thought.&amp;nbsp; Perhaps his introduction to the famous Dutch humanist 

  Desiderius Erasmus in 1497 spurred his intense personal examination; the men 

  became fast friends, and corresponded until More's execution.&amp;nbsp; Whatever 

  the cause, it is certain that around the turn of the century, More turned his 

  attention to religious matters; he delivered well-attended lectures on St 

  Augustine's &lt;I&gt;The City of God&lt;/I&gt;, and was seriously considering becoming a 

  priest.&amp;nbsp; He underwent a dramatic personal struggle, debating whether he 

  had a true vocation, or calling, to be a priest; he left his comfortable home 

  in Chelsea and moved near the London Charterhouse. 

  &lt;P&gt;At the Charterhouse, More began to examine the possibility of a wholly 

  religious life.&amp;nbsp; He joined the monks in daily prayer, and wore a hair 

  shirt; he wavered between joining the Franciscans or Carthusians, and both 

  orders were particularly dedicated to lives of strictness and denial.&amp;nbsp; 

  Perhaps their extreme fervor dismayed More, for he possessed an ironic wit 

  which would not rest easy with their single-minded worship.&amp;nbsp; Or perhaps 

  he remembered his comfortable home and lifestyle in London.&amp;nbsp; Whatever the 

  case, he decided to abandon his brief dream of becoming a priest. 

  &lt;P&gt;(It is worth noting that Erasmus later referred to his friend's decision in 
  a letter, writing that More 'chose, therefore, to be a chaste husband rather 

  than an impure priest.'&amp;nbsp; The implication is obvious, but sexual desires 

  are normal enough in young men, and - even if Erasmus is correct - it does not 

  speak ill of More's character.) 

  &lt;P&gt;After finally deciding that the priesthood was not his true vocation, More 

  returned to his law practice with a vengeance.&amp;nbsp; He was soon enough 

  elected to Parliament, and found himself firmly on the side of his friends, 

  mostly London merchants, as they battled Henry VII's unjust 'grants'.&amp;nbsp; As 

  mentioned at the beginning of this biography, his speeches in defense of the 

  merchants irked the king; as a result of More's persuasive oratory, Parliament 

  lessened the amount from Henry's request of over £100,000 to about 

  £30,000.&amp;nbsp; Immediately, the temperamental king imprisoned More's father 

  upon some pretext, and demanded that the hefty sum of £100 as a fine.&amp;nbsp; 

  More paid the fine, and thought it wise to disappear a bit from public 

  life.&amp;nbsp; He had other, more personal matters to occupy him anyway; in 1505, 

  he married Jane, the eldest daughter of Master John Colte.&amp;nbsp; It was a 

  happy marriage, and Jane bore four children before her untimely death in 1511 

  (daughters Margaret, Elizabeth, and Cecilia, and son John.)&amp;nbsp; His 

  son-in-law William Roper's biography implies that More married Jane out of 

  pity; he preferred her younger sister, but thought it would bring shame upon 

  the eldest daughter for her younger sister to be married before her.&amp;nbsp; 

  This anecdote was perhaps Roper's attempt to further enshrine More's generous 

  character.&amp;nbsp; In truth, More loved his wife deeply, and two decades after 

  her death he called her 'uxorcula Mori'. 

  &lt;P&gt;In any case, More was not a widower for long.&amp;nbsp; He was left with four 

  young children to care for, and soon decided to marry again.&amp;nbsp; This time 

  he chose a widow, Alice Middleton, seven years his senior.&amp;nbsp; She had a 

  good dowry and became exceptionally devoted to More and his children.&amp;nbsp; The 

  marriage was quite happy, and Alice maintained the household in London as a 

  refuge for her busy, scholarly husband.&amp;nbsp; More became a renowned 'family 

  man', loathe to leave his home and kin, and truly dedicated to their 

  happiness.&lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
  &lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/morefamilysmall.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Holbein's famous portrait of Sir Thomas More and his family&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; height=&quot;370&quot;&gt;&lt;P align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
  &lt;i&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;2&quot;&gt;Rowland Lockey's 1593 copy of Holbein's famous portrait of 
  Sir Thomas More and his family&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;P&gt;But More's love of family and learning were soon to become secondary to the 

  desires of his king.&amp;nbsp; Henry VIII was crowned in 1509, and More's 

  reputation for learning and wit was already well-known.&amp;nbsp; In 1510, he was 

  made Under-Sheriff of London, and four years later the Lord Chancellor, 

  &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens%2fwolsey.html&quot;&gt;Cardinal Thomas Wolsey&lt;/a&gt;, appointed More as ambassador to Flanders.&amp;nbsp; The 

  mission was close to More's heart for it involved the rights of London 

  merchants.&amp;nbsp; But he was unhappy in Flanders; the salary was insufficient 

  for his needs, and he missed his family.&amp;nbsp; But it was in Flanders that he 

  first began his most famous literary work, &lt;I&gt;Utopia&lt;/I&gt;; it was published 

  shortly after his return to England and helped secure his fame throughout 

  Europe. 

  &lt;P&gt;Wolsey and Henry VIII were impressed enough by More's services that they 
  offered him a position at Court.&amp;nbsp; In 1516, after returning from Flanders, 
  he was officially granted a pension of £100 for life, a significant sum at the 
  time.&amp;nbsp; In 1517, the government 

  duties began in earnest - missions to the all-important Calais, and 

  appointment to the Privy Council.&amp;nbsp; Other honors soon followed; he 

  attended Henry personally at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, was knighted and 

  made treasurer to the king in 1521, and secured lands in Kent and 

  Oxford.&amp;nbsp; In 1523 Wolsey secured More's appointment as Speaker of the 

  House of Commons, and a few years later More was appointed High Steward of 

  Cambridge University and Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, all honorable 

  and important offices. 

  &lt;P&gt;It is obvious that both Henry VIII and Wolsey greatly favored More, though 

  how More himself thought of his government service is unclear.&amp;nbsp; He 

  performed his offices with aplomb, but undoubtedly wished for 

  more time with his family - and even more time with his studies.&amp;nbsp; Life at 

  court held little attraction for him; he was not ambitious (which intrigued 

  the king and Wolsey) and he thought little of the gossip and mad scramble for 

  power which characterized the Tudor court.&amp;nbsp; But he did admire Henry and 

  the king's intelligent and pious wife, Katharine of Aragon.&amp;nbsp; For her 

  part, Henry's queen once commented that, of all her husband's ministers, only 

  Thomas More had deserved the title 'Lord Chancellor', a remarkable comment 

  considering More was the first layman to hold the office. 

  &lt;P&gt;More first purchased the land for his famous home in Chelsea in 1523; soon 

  enough his mansion upon the Thames was built, complete with a large garden 

  bordering the river.&amp;nbsp; It was here that he retreated as often as possible 

  from court; here, too, that he entertained his many friends, including 

  Erasmus.&amp;nbsp; Often the king would arrive unannounced for dinner and stroll 

  about the garden with More.&amp;nbsp; Despite his later decision to imprison and 

  execute More, it is clear that the king was truly fond of his councilor.&amp;nbsp; 

  Henry enjoyed intellectual debate and More was arguably the most learned man 

  in England; he was also witty and kind-hearted.&amp;nbsp; And for a long while, he 

  basked in the king's service. 

  &lt;P&gt;The conflict within More between government service and personal time was 

  never fully resolved, though for many successful years he remained a respected 

  and influential friend to the king and an independent philosopher.&amp;nbsp; It 

  was simply that he and Henry, for a long while, shared similar philosophical 

  and religious views.&amp;nbsp; Henry had, after all, jumped to the defense of the 

  Catholic faith with a religious treatise of his own, and thus won the title 

  'Defender of the Faith' from the pope.&amp;nbsp; More had little reason to suspect 

  that Henry, originally raised as the second son destined for the church, would 

  one day force papal power from England.&amp;nbsp; But in the mid-1520s, More was 

  aware - like everyone in England - that the king's long marriage to 
  &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2faragon.html&quot;&gt;Katharine 

  of Aragon&lt;/a&gt; was unlikely to produce a male heir.&amp;nbsp; Of the four sons 

  Katharine had borne, all had died - and only the Princess Mary, born in 1516, 

  survived as a viable heir for the Tudor throne.&amp;nbsp; It was clear to everyone 

  - especially the king - that something had to be done, though Henry never 

  envisioned anything as drastic as what has come to be known as the '&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ffaq.html&quot;&gt;Henrician 

  Reformation&lt;/a&gt;'.&amp;nbsp; It was only after years of frustration, delays, 

  double-talk, and interference from Charles V that Henry finally denounced the 

  pope's authority on religious matters. 

  &lt;P&gt;Both the king and More had responded to the growing threat of Lutheranism 

  with religious works (as mentioned above, Henry's work won special praise from the 

  pope.)&amp;nbsp; Today More's work strike us as bigoted and narrow-minded, but 

  it should be read within the context of his time and beliefs, and it is often less inflammatory than other Catholic polemics.&amp;nbsp; Also, the 

  Lutherans were hardly decorous in their prose.&amp;nbsp; More was eventually 

  persuaded to write in English so he could reach a wider audience; he had also 

  watched as the Lutheran 'heretics' wrote in the vernacular and attracted 

  numerous followers. 

  &lt;P&gt;But More's response to this new heresy was reinforced by the fall of 

  Cardinal Wolsey, once his great patron.&amp;nbsp; Henry's decision to annul his 

  marriage to Katharine of Aragon was simple enough, and quite common among 

  monarchs and other high nobles in Europe.&amp;nbsp; It was a necessary way to end 

  unsuccessful (i.e., childless) unions.&amp;nbsp; Henry had every reason to expect 

  that the pope would grant his petition for an annulment; he even had a 

  stronger claim that most men.&amp;nbsp; Henry could quote liberally from 

  Leviticus, particularly the injunction against marrying a brother's 

  wife.&amp;nbsp; On grounds of strict theology, he certainly had a case for 

  annulment.&amp;nbsp; But he had two problems - a stubborn wife who refused to see 

  reason, and her very powerful nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who 

  virtually controlled the pope.&amp;nbsp; As a result, the simple matter of an 

  annulment became a major European political issue. 

  &lt;P&gt;
  &lt;img border=&quot;0&quot; src=&quot;_httpdocimg_/anne2.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;portrait of Anne Boleyn, whose marriage to King Henry VIII brought about More's downfall&quot; align=&quot;left&quot; width=&quot;139&quot; height=&quot;194&quot;&gt;Matters were complicated by Henry's growing - and 
  scandalously open - passion for 
  &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html&quot;&gt;Anne 

  Boleyn&lt;/a&gt;, the daughter of Thomas Boleyn and niece of the duke of Norfolk.&amp;nbsp; More knew 

  the Boleyns well enough for Thomas was an ambassador and well-liked; like 

  More, he was from humble beginnings but used his skill and intelligence to 

  rise quickly in Henry's service.&amp;nbsp; His eldest daughter Mary had been 
  Henry's mistress, and possibly borne his son.&amp;nbsp; Anne, however, was more 
  ambitious than her sister.&amp;nbsp; She recognized 

  the king's predicament; he needed heirs, and she was young and healthy.&amp;nbsp; 

  And Henry loved her passionately, at least for a time.&amp;nbsp; But it is far too 

  simplistic to argue, as many biographers have, that Henry defied the Catholic 

  Church because of Anne Boleyn.&amp;nbsp; The king was dissatisfied with his 

  marriage before they met and there had been talk of an annulment as 

  well.&amp;nbsp; His love for Anne simply gave new impetus to an existing desire to 

  break with Katharine. 

  &lt;P&gt;

  Wolsey's hatred of the Boleyns was spurred by jealousy.&amp;nbsp; He had been the king's closest advisor and confidante 

  until his failure to secure an annulment earned royal displeasure.&amp;nbsp;  Anne and her supporters were quick to put distance between Henry 

  and the elderly cardinal.&amp;nbsp; Wolsey's time had passed, and he died while on 

  the way to the Tower for trial.&amp;nbsp; And so, in October of 1529, Thomas More 

  became the first layperson appointed Lord Chancellor of England.&amp;nbsp; He was 

  now Keeper of the Great Seal, and second only to the king in power.&amp;nbsp; It 

  was a heady appointment, but More probably greeted the appointment with his 

  usual ironic stance - particularly since he had just witnessed Wolsey's fall 

  from grace. 

  &lt;P&gt;More did not like the Boleyns.&amp;nbsp; They represented a new generation at 

  court - greedy, flamboyant, and openly ambitious.&amp;nbsp; They were quick to 

  make enemies, and difficult to please.&amp;nbsp; More, who had no love of gossip 

  and admired Katharine of Aragon's deep piety (the old queen spent several 

  hours a day on her knees in prayer), was aware that Henry was drifting from 

  him intellectually and spiritually.&amp;nbsp; Anne Boleyn had come to represent 

  the Lutheran cause in More's mind as well, though not because she was a 

  Lutheran.&amp;nbsp; It was simply that her marriage to Henry would mean defiance 

  of papal law, and would place England in spiritual jeopardy.&amp;nbsp; And so, to 

  More and most Englishmen, Katharine represented the piety and virtues of the 

  old faith, and Anne represented the startling spiritual changes sweeping 

  throughout Europe. 

  &lt;P&gt;More used his position as Lord Chancellor to wipe out as much of the new 

  heresy as possible; he had always been a great lawyer and judge, and he used 

  these talents formidably.&amp;nbsp; He never equaled Wolsey's power or prestige, 

  simply because Henry had temporarily lost his taste for all-powerful political 

  advisors.&amp;nbsp; But More was completely successful in ridding the English 

  court of cases - he actually exhausted the case log!&amp;nbsp; And, of course, he 

  didn't simply judge cases; he also enforced the existing heresy laws with 

  great zeal.&amp;nbsp; One cannot condemn More for following the tenets of his own 

  religious convictions, and it is worth noting that he specifically 

  distinguished between the vice of heresy and the actual heretic.&amp;nbsp; He 

  hesitated to bring the full force of the law against heretics; he was 

  scrupulous about offering them every possible opportunity to recant.&amp;nbsp; In 

  this he was successful, and only four people were actually executed for heresy 

  during his tenure as Lord Chancellor. 

  &lt;P&gt;More's religious views were shortly to conflict with his king's 

  desires.&amp;nbsp; Henry was frustrated with the pope's endless delays in deciding 

  his case, and he was determined to establish some control over the church in 

  England.&amp;nbsp; He did not tell More of his plans, preferring to confide in 

  more liberal members of his council and parliament.&amp;nbsp; And so, just a few 

  months after More's elevation to the position of lord chancellor, a new 

  parliament began to pass the sweeping laws which would end the supremacy of 

  the Roman Catholic Church in England.&amp;nbsp; First there was a royal 

  proclamation that all members of the clergy must acknowledge the king as 

  'Supreme Head' of English affairs 'as far as the law of God will 

  permit'.&amp;nbsp; More realized the threat to his own spiritual beliefs and 

  immediately proffered his resignation.&amp;nbsp; Henry refused angrily, and 

  promised More that he would never have to agree to anything proclamation that 

  went against his conscience.&amp;nbsp; Was this promise a deliberate lie on the 

  king's part?&amp;nbsp; Probably not, for Henry truly believed in the religious 

  righteousness of his own cause and undoubtedly expected all to do the same. 

  &lt;P&gt;But More could not hold out for long, and nor could Henry - whose designs 

  were becoming more sweeping and offensive to the old faith - ignore his chief 

  minister's open opposition.&amp;nbsp; It was an embarrassment, and in May 1532 he 

  finally accepted More's resignation.&amp;nbsp; By this time, More had lost his 

  close friendship with the king; there were no more impromptu dinner visits, or 

  intense conversations about philosophical matters.&amp;nbsp; It was clear to 

  everyone that a line would soon be clearly drawn, and everyone would be either 

  for or against the king - always remembering, of course, the old adage that 

  'the king's wrath is death'. 

  &lt;P&gt;More still had powerful friends and allies, and Henry was always far more 

  eager to have More's cooperation than his disobedience.&amp;nbsp; More was still, 

  after all, the most famous English philosopher, widely read and respected on 

  the continent.&amp;nbsp; And in England he even had the friendship of Thomas 

  Cranmer, the very Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and, along with Thomas 

  Cromwell, the chief advisor to the king.&amp;nbsp; But English Catholics, feeling 

  their faith under siege, were also looking to More as their most prominent 

  champion.&amp;nbsp; And so he was faced with the simple fact that despite his own 

  longing for retirement and personal peace, he was too much a public figure to 

  fade into the background.&amp;nbsp; His opinion mattered too much, and was sought 

  by too many. 

  &lt;P&gt;After resigning from the lord chancellorship, More had immediately lost a 

  great deal of his income but he scaled back his lifestyle and happily returned 

  to Chelsea.&amp;nbsp; His greatest wish was to simply stay at home with his 

  beloved family and write; he wanted no part in the politics of Henry's 

  court.&amp;nbsp; But he couldn't escape so easily.&amp;nbsp; Still, it is worth 

  remembering that More did not hurry toward his fate; he did not accept death 

  as inevitable and put himself directly in opposition to the king.&amp;nbsp; He 

  wanted to live, and in the following years he did much to avoid his eventual 

  fate - everything except betray his conscience. 

  &lt;P&gt;For about eighteen months he was able to escape the king's wrath.&amp;nbsp; He 

  stayed away from Anne Boleyn's coronation, deliberately avoiding a public 

  confrontation with the king.&amp;nbsp; And when his nephew, William Rastell, wrote 

  a pro-Catholic treatise, More immediately wrote to Cromwell and Henry denying 

  any involvement.&amp;nbsp; More specifically stressed that he knew his duty as a 

  citizen, and supported his prince completely - too completely to criticize any 

  of his decisions.&amp;nbsp; But such dissembling - and from such a famous man - 

  would not please Henry for long.&amp;nbsp; Soon enough More's name was included in 

  the Bill of Attainder against the Catholic mystic Elizabeth Barton, the Holy 

  Maid of Kent.&amp;nbsp; More had once visited the woman, but was too skeptical to 

  believe in her increasingly dramatic 'visions'.&amp;nbsp; He was brought before 

  the Council and asked about his religious views; he explained that he had 

  discussed his feelings to the king on various occasions, and never incurred 

  Henry's wrath.&amp;nbsp; More was popular enough, and quite innocent, and so Henry 

  grudgingly removed his name from the bill.&amp;nbsp; But he had intended the 

  measure as a warning to More, and it was well-taken.&amp;nbsp; The duke of 

  Norfolk, Anne Boleyn's uncle, warned More that 'the king's wrath is death' and 

  More replied wittily, 'Is that all, my lord?&amp;nbsp; Then, in good faith, 

  between your grace and me is but this - that I shall die today, and you 

  tomorrow'.&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;

  &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  &lt;hr&gt; 

    &lt;P&gt;&lt;font size=&quot;4&quot;&gt;'Thou wilt give me this day a greater benefit than ever any mortal man 

    can be able to give me.&amp;nbsp; Pluck up thy spirits, man, and be not afraid 

    to do thine office.&amp;nbsp; My neck is very short: take heed, therefore, thou 

    strike not awry for saving of thine honesty.'&lt;/font&gt;&amp;nbsp; &lt;i&gt; &lt;FONT size=-1&gt;&amp;nbsp;Thomas 

    More's last words to his executioner, 6 July 

1535&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;/P&gt;&lt;hr&gt;
  &lt;blockquote&gt;



&lt;BLOCKQUOTE&gt;

  &lt;P&gt;Today came quickly for More; in March of 1534, just months after the birth 

  of Henry and Anne's 
  &lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz.html&quot;&gt;daughter&lt;/a&gt;, the Act of Succession was passed which ordered 

  everyone the government called upon to swear an oath acknowledging the 

  legitimacy of Anne and Henry's heirs, and - most significantly - including a 

  clause which repudiated the power of any 'foreign authority' in English 

  affairs.&amp;nbsp; On the 14th of April More was summoned from Chelsea to take the 

  oath at Lambeth; he refused.&amp;nbsp; He was turned over to the custody of the 

  abbot of Westminster, and four days later taken to the Tower of London where he was 

  lodged in the Bell Tower.&amp;nbsp; Months passed, and the king both threatened 

  and cajoled his former friend, sending various emissaries while also keeping 

  More in increasingly dire conditions.&amp;nbsp; More did not break.&amp;nbsp; 

  Imprisoned with John Fisher, the bishop of Rochester, More took strength from 

  that great man's equal courage. 

  &lt;P&gt;When not entertaining a rare visitor with his wit and charm, More engaged 

  in prayer and writing.&amp;nbsp; In the spring of 1535 Cromwell visited the Tower 

  personally to ask More's opinion of recently-passed statutes which gave Henry 

  the title 'Supreme Head of the Church of England'.&amp;nbsp; More judiciously 

  replied that he was a faithful servant of the king; in June, the 

  solicitor-general interviewed him and reported to Henry and Cromwell that More 

  had denied parliament's power to confer supreme ecclesiastical authority upon 

  the king.&amp;nbsp; Henry now turned both petty and cruel - he used the pretext of 

  More and Fisher's occasional letters to one another to confiscate all of 

  More's writing materials.&amp;nbsp; He was now reduced to writing upon scraps with 

  a stick of charcoal. 

  &lt;P&gt;The king was further angered when the pope made Fisher a cardinal, 

  essentially a prince of the church, even while the bishop was imprisoned for 

  treason.&amp;nbsp; The king caustically remarked that he would soon send Fisher's 

  head to Rome so it could wear the red cardinal's hat.&amp;nbsp; By now, Henry had 

  pushed aside all thought of popular reaction; he was flush with his own power, 

  and determined to have his way.&amp;nbsp; More refused to submit to royal 

  authority, and he would pay the ultimate price.&amp;nbsp; And so, on the 1st of 

  July 1535, he was indicted for high treason at Westminster Hall.&amp;nbsp; More 

  denied the chief charges and defended himself ably, but it was of no 

  matter.&amp;nbsp; The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to hang at 

  Tyburn.&amp;nbsp; A few days later news arrived that the king would be merciful - 

  More would instead be beheaded at Tower Hill.&amp;nbsp; On the 6th of July, a bit 

  before nine o'clock in the morning, More was executed; he met his end with 

  great dignity, grace, and courage.&amp;nbsp; His body was buried at the Tower 

  church of St Peter ad Vincula, but his head was parboiled and stuck on a pike 

  in Tower Bridge.&amp;nbsp; His beloved daughter Margaret bribed a worker to give 

  it to her and it was interred in the Roper family vault in Canterbury, 

  Margaret having married William Roper some years before. 

  &lt;P&gt;King Henry VIII was increasingly tyrannical and hated as his reign 
  progressed.&amp;nbsp; Anne Boleyn was beheaded less than a year after More on 
  false charges of witchcraft, adultery and incest; the king would eventually 
  marry four more times.&amp;nbsp; His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was also 
  executed.&lt;/P&gt; 

  &lt;P&gt;On 29 December 1886, Pope Leo XIII formally beatified Thomas More, and his 

  reputation for learning and saintliness has only grown.&lt;/P&gt;&lt;/BLOCKQUOTE&gt;

&lt;HR width=&quot;100%&quot;&gt;

    &lt;p&gt;

&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Note:&lt;/b&gt; Modern studies of More often discuss his religious 
conservatism and intolerance of more progressive views.&amp;nbsp; He openly 
denounced and persecuted members of the Protestant faith, and much of his 
writing was both vitriolic and inflammatory on this point.&amp;nbsp; But to condemn 
More for his religious intolerance is unfair.&amp;nbsp; He (and Bishop Fisher, et 
al) represented the last gasp of Catholicism in England.&amp;nbsp; After his death, 
the faith never regained its intellectual breadth and stature.&lt;/font&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt;In our own increasingly secular age, it is easy to be cynical and 

dismissive of deeply held religious beliefs.&amp;nbsp; But to judge More by modern 

standards is obviously wrong; the following books do an admirable job of placing 

More in the context of his time, and I recommend them to students for further 

study:&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;CENTER&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;The Life of Thomas More&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;by Peter 

Ackroyd.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;The King's Good Servant but God's First: The 

Life and Writings of Saint Thomas More&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;by James 

Monti.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Thomas More: A Biography&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt;by Richard Marius.&lt;/FONT&gt; &lt;BR&gt;&lt;i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;Thomas More: A Portrait of 

Courage&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;BR&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;FONT size=-1&gt;by Gerard B. Wegemer.&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
    &lt;/CENTER&gt;

&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;&lt;FONT 

size=-1&gt;&lt;A href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fcitizens.html&quot;&gt;to Tudor 

Citizens&lt;/A&gt;&lt;A 

href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=1&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor.html&quot;&gt;&lt;br&gt;to Tudor England&lt;/A&gt;&lt;/FONT&gt;&lt;p align=&quot;center&quot;&gt;
&lt;font size=&quot;-1&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;_httpextlink_&amp;amp;rl=0&amp;amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2fimages.html&quot;&gt;Visit &lt;i&gt;Tudor 
England: Images&lt;/i&gt; to view portraits of the Tudor monarchs and their courtiers&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
&lt;/blockquote&gt;



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