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4<meta name="page_topic" content="Sir Thomas More: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources">
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18<table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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20 <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
21 <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29">&nbsp;</td>
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23 </tr>
24 <tr>
25 <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
26 <td width="50%" height="3"><font size="3"></font></td>
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30 <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
31 <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
32 <p align="center">
33
34<IMG height=51 alt="Sir Thomas More"
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36src="more.gif" width=310></p>
37 <p align="center">
38 <img border="2" src="more.jpg" alt="portrait of Sir Thomas More" width="250" height="315"><p><FONT size=-1>Thomas More's most famous literary
39
40work, <I>Utopia</I>, was first conceived in 1515 when More was sent on a
41
42diplomatic mission to Flanders.&nbsp; The story, inspired by and modeled upon
43
44Plato's <I>Republic</I>, has given its name to a whole genre of
45
46literature.&nbsp; I do not wish to ignore More's literary and philosophical
47
48accomplishments at this page, but I simply don't have the time to discuss
49
50<I>Utopia</I> within the context of the following biography.&nbsp; I urge
51
52readers to visit the following links to learn about More's work:</FONT><font size="2"> <BR>
53 </font><FONT size=-1> <A
54
55href="gopher://gopher.cc.columbia.edu:71/11/miscellaneous/cubooks/offbooks/more">Read
56
57the entire text of <I>Utopia</I> at this link</A></FONT><font size="2"> <BR>
58 </font><FONT
59
60size=-1> <A
61
62href="http://www.d-holliday.com/tmore/utopia.htm">Another electronic version of
63
64the text</A></FONT></p>
65 <p><FONT
66
67size=-1> <br>This website lists various
68
69essays on <I>Utopia</I> available in electronic format:</FONT><font size="2">
70 </font> <FONT
71
72size=-1>&nbsp;<A
73
74href="http://www.d-holliday.com/tmore/more.htm">More about More</A></FONT><font size="2">
75
76<BR></font><a href="http://www.d-holliday.com/tmore/erasmus.htm"><font size="-1">Click
77 here to read
78 Erasmus's famous description of More in a letter from 1519</font></a><font size="2">.</font></p>
79 <p><font size="2"><br>
80 </font>
81 <b><font size="2">Other online biographies of Sir Thomas More:</font></b><FONT size=-1><br>William
82 Roper was More's son-in-law;
83 <a href="http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/16Croper-more.html">click here
84 to read his famous biography</a> of More.<br>John Farrow's
85 <a href="http://www.cin.org/farmor.html">biography of More</a><br>The
86 Catholic Encyclopedia's
87 <a href="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14689c.htm">biography of More</a></FONT></p>
88 <p><FONT size=-1><br>An <A
89
90href="../1535exec.html">eyewitness account of
91
92More's execution</A> can be read at the Primary Sources section.</FONT><font size="2">
93
94<BR></font><FONT size=-1>You can also read <A
95
96href="../primore.html">More's final letter</A>,
97
98written to his beloved daughter Margaret while he was imprisoned in the
99
100Tower.</FONT></p>
101
102 <blockquote>
103
104<P align="left">&nbsp;<P align="left"><u><b><font size="-1">Chronology of major events in More's life:<br></font>
105</b></u><font size="2">Born 7
106
107 February 1478 at Milk Street, London <BR>Entered Parliament in 1504
108
109 <BR>Appointed undersheriff of London in 1510 <BR>Became a member of the Privy
110
111 Council in 1518 <BR>Knighted in 1521 <BR>Made Speaker of the House of Commons
112
113 in 1523 <BR>Made Lord Chancellor of England in 1529 <BR>Imprisoned in the
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115 Tower of London on charges of treason in 1534 <BR>Executed 6 July 1535 at
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117 Tower Hill, the Tower of London <BR>Canonized as a saint by the Catholic
118
119 Church in 1935</font><P align="left">&nbsp;</blockquote>
120 </td>
121 <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
122 </tr>
123</table>
124
125<blockquote>
126 <hr>
127 <p><font size="4">'[E]ven though we should have no word or deed to charge upon
128 you, yet we have your silence, and that is a sign of your evil intention and a
129 sure proof of malice.'&nbsp;&nbsp; </font><i><font size="2">Henry
130
131 VIII's attorney-general at the trial of Thomas More, 1535</font></i></p>
132 <hr>
133 <blockquote>
134
135
136
137<BLOCKQUOTE>
138 <p>Thomas More is perhaps the most famous victim of Henry VIII's
139
140 perverse judicial policies.&nbsp; He was England's most famous and respected
141
142 intellectual, close friends with the great philosopher Erasmus, and beloved by
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144 his closely-knit family and wide circle of friends.&nbsp; He was that most
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146 rare of intellectuals - one who was humble, patient, and truly kind; he spent
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148 his life in ceaseless study, both intellectual and spiritual, and was a
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150 dedicated public servant.&nbsp; He was also an astute judge of character, and
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152 capable of witty, trenchant observations - he once said of his famous king,
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154 'If a lion knew his strength, it were hard for any man to hold him.'&nbsp;
155
156 And, of course, when his son-in-law mentioned Henry VIII's fondness for More,
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158 the philosopher noted even more famously that if the king thought 'my head
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160 could win him a castle in France it should not fail to go!' </p>
161
162 <P>
163
164 <IMG height=236 alt="sketch of Thomas More as Lord Chancellor, by Holbein"
165
166 src="moresketch1.jpg" width=175 align=left border=0>In the end, Henry did not want More's head in exchange for any French
167
168 castles; he wanted it because More refused to recognize the king's sovereignty
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170 over the English church.&nbsp; But Henry had wanted More's approval
171
172 desperately, and kept his former Lord Chancellor imprisoned for months in
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174 increasingly dire conditions, alternating between threats and flattery in
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176 desperate attempts to secure More's acknowledgment of the king's new
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178 role.&nbsp; Henry knew, none better, that More's approval would carry great
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180 weight throughout Europe, and he offered More his life in return for a few
181
182 simple words.&nbsp; But More refused, and he learned the truth of the medieval
183
184 adage that 'the king's wrath is death'.
185
186 <P>More was the sole surviving son of Sir John More, a prominent lawyer and
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188 later judge, and Agnes Graunger.&nbsp; He was born on 7 February 1478 (some
189
190 sources say 1477), and entered Parliament in 1504.&nbsp; One of his first acts
191
192 in public life was to speak against one of Henry VII's more austere financial
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194 policies; as a result, Sir John was imprisoned and only released after a fine
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196 was paid and Thomas retired from public life.&nbsp; After the king's death in
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198 1509, however, Thomas once again entered public service.&nbsp; His early
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200 education had prepared him well for such a life.&nbsp; His father had sent him
201
202 to St Anthony's School at Threadneedle Street, under the direction of Nicholas
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204 Holt; upon reaching adolescence, More was sent to the household of Cardinal
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206 Morton, then archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England.&nbsp; As
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208 Morton was the most powerful man in England next to the king, and the most
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210 prominent ecclesiastic, his household was an invigorating blend of political
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212 and religious life.&nbsp; It was undoubtedly here that More first learned how
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214 to reconcile a deeply spiritual character with a devotion to secular
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216 affairs.&nbsp; Morton was living proof that a religious leader did not have to
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218 be monkish or retiring; he was also an inveterate gossip, and his twisted tale
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220 of Richard III's brief reign inspired More's awful <I>Life</I> of the last
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222 Plantagenet king.&nbsp; That biography is the only blight upon More's literary
223
224 career.
225
226 <P>Morton was sufficiently impressed with his young charge to sponsor More at
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228 Oxford.&nbsp; The young man entered Canterbury Hall (now part of Christ
229
230 Church) probably around 1492.&nbsp; His time at Oxford was well-spent; under
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232 the tutelage of great scholars such as Thomas Linacre, More studied the
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234 classics and classical languages, as well as the other liberal arts.&nbsp; He
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236 was a bright and engaging student, enthusiastic about learning but also
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238 accustomed to more basic pleasures (he loved to play upon the flute and viol,
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240 and began his lifelong passion for collecting pets - apparently his adult home
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242 in Chelsea was a veritable zoo.)&nbsp; But like many university students, More
243
244 found himself constantly short of money, a ploy his father used to keep the
245
246 young man's mind upon his studies and not other, less academic pursuits.
247
248 <P>He returned to London after about two years at Oxford, and entered as a law
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250 student at the New Inn in late 1494; in early 1496 he was admitted to
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252 Lincoln's Inn as well, and then called to the outer bar and made a
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254 bencher.&nbsp; He was once again a successful student, now following in his
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256 father's footsteps.&nbsp; He was made a 'reader' (or tutor) at Furnival's Inn,
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258 and was successful enough to retain the appointment for three years.&nbsp; But
259
260 the law was not his true passion, and perhaps More already recognized this
261
262 fact; he wrote poetry in his spare time, and entered into correspondence with
263
264 the great English intellectuals of his age.&nbsp; Most of these men were
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266 introduced to him through his former professor at Oxford, Thomas
267
268 Linacre.&nbsp; More's own reputation as a man of learning and wit was already
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270 begun, but he was beginning to suffer great spiritual conflict.&nbsp; The law
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272 was not wholly satisfying to his character, but religious study might be, or
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274 so he thought.&nbsp; Perhaps his introduction to the famous Dutch humanist
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276 Desiderius Erasmus in 1497 spurred his intense personal examination; the men
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278 became fast friends, and corresponded until More's execution.&nbsp; Whatever
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280 the cause, it is certain that around the turn of the century, More turned his
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282 attention to religious matters; he delivered well-attended lectures on St
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284 Augustine's <I>The City of God</I>, and was seriously considering becoming a
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286 priest.&nbsp; He underwent a dramatic personal struggle, debating whether he
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288 had a true vocation, or calling, to be a priest; he left his comfortable home
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290 in Chelsea and moved near the London Charterhouse.
291
292 <P>At the Charterhouse, More began to examine the possibility of a wholly
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294 religious life.&nbsp; He joined the monks in daily prayer, and wore a hair
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296 shirt; he wavered between joining the Franciscans or Carthusians, and both
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298 orders were particularly dedicated to lives of strictness and denial.&nbsp;
299
300 Perhaps their extreme fervor dismayed More, for he possessed an ironic wit
301
302 which would not rest easy with their single-minded worship.&nbsp; Or perhaps
303
304 he remembered his comfortable home and lifestyle in London.&nbsp; Whatever the
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306 case, he decided to abandon his brief dream of becoming a priest.
307
308 <P>(It is worth noting that Erasmus later referred to his friend's decision in
309 a letter, writing that More 'chose, therefore, to be a chaste husband rather
310
311 than an impure priest.'&nbsp; The implication is obvious, but sexual desires
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313 are normal enough in young men, and - even if Erasmus is correct - it does not
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315 speak ill of More's character.)
316
317 <P>After finally deciding that the priesthood was not his true vocation, More
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319 returned to his law practice with a vengeance.&nbsp; He was soon enough
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321 elected to Parliament, and found himself firmly on the side of his friends,
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323 mostly London merchants, as they battled Henry VII's unjust 'grants'.&nbsp; As
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325 mentioned at the beginning of this biography, his speeches in defense of the
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327 merchants irked the king; as a result of More's persuasive oratory, Parliament
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329 lessened the amount from Henry's request of over £100,000 to about
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331 £30,000.&nbsp; Immediately, the temperamental king imprisoned More's father
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333 upon some pretext, and demanded that the hefty sum of £100 as a fine.&nbsp;
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335 More paid the fine, and thought it wise to disappear a bit from public
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337 life.&nbsp; He had other, more personal matters to occupy him anyway; in 1505,
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339 he married Jane, the eldest daughter of Master John Colte.&nbsp; It was a
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341 happy marriage, and Jane bore four children before her untimely death in 1511
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343 (daughters Margaret, Elizabeth, and Cecilia, and son John.)&nbsp; His
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345 son-in-law William Roper's biography implies that More married Jane out of
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347 pity; he preferred her younger sister, but thought it would bring shame upon
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349 the eldest daughter for her younger sister to be married before her.&nbsp;
350
351 This anecdote was perhaps Roper's attempt to further enshrine More's generous
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353 character.&nbsp; In truth, More loved his wife deeply, and two decades after
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355 her death he called her 'uxorcula Mori'.
356
357 <P>In any case, More was not a widower for long.&nbsp; He was left with four
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359 young children to care for, and soon decided to marry again.&nbsp; This time
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361 he chose a widow, Alice Middleton, seven years his senior.&nbsp; She had a
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363 good dowry and became exceptionally devoted to More and his children.&nbsp; The
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365 marriage was quite happy, and Alice maintained the household in London as a
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367 refuge for her busy, scholarly husband.&nbsp; More became a renowned 'family
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369 man', loathe to leave his home and kin, and truly dedicated to their
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371 happiness.<P align="center">
372 <img border="0" src="morefamilysmall.jpg" alt="Holbein's famous portrait of Sir Thomas More and his family" width="550" height="370"><P align="center">
373 <i><font size="2">Rowland Lockey's 1593 copy of Holbein's famous portrait of
374 Sir Thomas More and his family</font></i><P>But More's love of family and learning were soon to become secondary to the
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376 desires of his king.&nbsp; Henry VIII was crowned in 1509, and More's
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378 reputation for learning and wit was already well-known.&nbsp; In 1510, he was
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380 made Under-Sheriff of London, and four years later the Lord Chancellor,
381
382 <a href="wolsey.html">Cardinal Thomas Wolsey</a>, appointed More as ambassador to Flanders.&nbsp; The
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384 mission was close to More's heart for it involved the rights of London
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386 merchants.&nbsp; But he was unhappy in Flanders; the salary was insufficient
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388 for his needs, and he missed his family.&nbsp; But it was in Flanders that he
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390 first began his most famous literary work, <I>Utopia</I>; it was published
391
392 shortly after his return to England and helped secure his fame throughout
393
394 Europe.
395
396 <P>Wolsey and Henry VIII were impressed enough by More's services that they
397 offered him a position at Court.&nbsp; In 1516, after returning from Flanders,
398 he was officially granted a pension of £100 for life, a significant sum at the
399 time.&nbsp; In 1517, the government
400
401 duties began in earnest - missions to the all-important Calais, and
402
403 appointment to the Privy Council.&nbsp; Other honors soon followed; he
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405 attended Henry personally at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, was knighted and
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407 made treasurer to the king in 1521, and secured lands in Kent and
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409 Oxford.&nbsp; In 1523 Wolsey secured More's appointment as Speaker of the
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411 House of Commons, and a few years later More was appointed High Steward of
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413 Cambridge University and Chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, all honorable
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415 and important offices.
416
417 <P>It is obvious that both Henry VIII and Wolsey greatly favored More, though
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419 how More himself thought of his government service is unclear.&nbsp; He
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421 performed his offices with aplomb, but undoubtedly wished for
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423 more time with his family - and even more time with his studies.&nbsp; Life at
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425 court held little attraction for him; he was not ambitious (which intrigued
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427 the king and Wolsey) and he thought little of the gossip and mad scramble for
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429 power which characterized the Tudor court.&nbsp; But he did admire Henry and
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431 the king's intelligent and pious wife, Katharine of Aragon.&nbsp; For her
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433 part, Henry's queen once commented that, of all her husband's ministers, only
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435 Thomas More had deserved the title 'Lord Chancellor', a remarkable comment
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437 considering More was the first layman to hold the office.
438
439 <P>More first purchased the land for his famous home in Chelsea in 1523; soon
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441 enough his mansion upon the Thames was built, complete with a large garden
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443 bordering the river.&nbsp; It was here that he retreated as often as possible
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445 from court; here, too, that he entertained his many friends, including
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447 Erasmus.&nbsp; Often the king would arrive unannounced for dinner and stroll
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449 about the garden with More.&nbsp; Despite his later decision to imprison and
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451 execute More, it is clear that the king was truly fond of his councilor.&nbsp;
452
453 Henry enjoyed intellectual debate and More was arguably the most learned man
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455 in England; he was also witty and kind-hearted.&nbsp; And for a long while, he
456
457 basked in the king's service.
458
459 <P>The conflict within More between government service and personal time was
460
461 never fully resolved, though for many successful years he remained a respected
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463 and influential friend to the king and an independent philosopher.&nbsp; It
464
465 was simply that he and Henry, for a long while, shared similar philosophical
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467 and religious views.&nbsp; Henry had, after all, jumped to the defense of the
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469 Catholic faith with a religious treatise of his own, and thus won the title
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471 'Defender of the Faith' from the pope.&nbsp; More had little reason to suspect
472
473 that Henry, originally raised as the second son destined for the church, would
474
475 one day force papal power from England.&nbsp; But in the mid-1520s, More was
476
477 aware - like everyone in England - that the king's long marriage to
478 <a href="../monarchs/aragon.html">Katharine
479
480 of Aragon</a> was unlikely to produce a male heir.&nbsp; Of the four sons
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482 Katharine had borne, all had died - and only the Princess Mary, born in 1516,
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484 survived as a viable heir for the Tudor throne.&nbsp; It was clear to everyone
485
486 - especially the king - that something had to be done, though Henry never
487
488 envisioned anything as drastic as what has come to be known as the '<a href="../faq.html">Henrician
489
490 Reformation</a>'.&nbsp; It was only after years of frustration, delays,
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492 double-talk, and interference from Charles V that Henry finally denounced the
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494 pope's authority on religious matters.
495
496 <P>Both the king and More had responded to the growing threat of Lutheranism
497
498 with religious works (as mentioned above, Henry's work won special praise from the
499
500 pope.)&nbsp; Today More's work strike us as bigoted and narrow-minded, but
501
502 it should be read within the context of his time and beliefs, and it is often less inflammatory than other Catholic polemics.&nbsp; Also, the
503
504 Lutherans were hardly decorous in their prose.&nbsp; More was eventually
505
506 persuaded to write in English so he could reach a wider audience; he had also
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508 watched as the Lutheran 'heretics' wrote in the vernacular and attracted
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510 numerous followers.
511
512 <P>But More's response to this new heresy was reinforced by the fall of
513
514 Cardinal Wolsey, once his great patron.&nbsp; Henry's decision to annul his
515
516 marriage to Katharine of Aragon was simple enough, and quite common among
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518 monarchs and other high nobles in Europe.&nbsp; It was a necessary way to end
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520 unsuccessful (i.e., childless) unions.&nbsp; Henry had every reason to expect
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522 that the pope would grant his petition for an annulment; he even had a
523
524 stronger claim that most men.&nbsp; Henry could quote liberally from
525
526 Leviticus, particularly the injunction against marrying a brother's
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528 wife.&nbsp; On grounds of strict theology, he certainly had a case for
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530 annulment.&nbsp; But he had two problems - a stubborn wife who refused to see
531
532 reason, and her very powerful nephew, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who
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534 virtually controlled the pope.&nbsp; As a result, the simple matter of an
535
536 annulment became a major European political issue.
537
538 <P>
539 <img border="0" src="../monarchs/anne2.jpg" alt="portrait of Anne Boleyn, whose marriage to King Henry VIII brought about More's downfall" align="left" width="139" height="194">Matters were complicated by Henry's growing - and
540 scandalously open - passion for
541 <a href="../monarchs/boleyn.html">Anne
542
543 Boleyn</a>, the daughter of Thomas Boleyn and niece of the duke of Norfolk.&nbsp; More knew
544
545 the Boleyns well enough for Thomas was an ambassador and well-liked; like
546
547 More, he was from humble beginnings but used his skill and intelligence to
548
549 rise quickly in Henry's service.&nbsp; His eldest daughter Mary had been
550 Henry's mistress, and possibly borne his son.&nbsp; Anne, however, was more
551 ambitious than her sister.&nbsp; She recognized
552
553 the king's predicament; he needed heirs, and she was young and healthy.&nbsp;
554
555 And Henry loved her passionately, at least for a time.&nbsp; But it is far too
556
557 simplistic to argue, as many biographers have, that Henry defied the Catholic
558
559 Church because of Anne Boleyn.&nbsp; The king was dissatisfied with his
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561 marriage before they met and there had been talk of an annulment as
562
563 well.&nbsp; His love for Anne simply gave new impetus to an existing desire to
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565 break with Katharine.
566
567 <P>
568
569 Wolsey's hatred of the Boleyns was spurred by jealousy.&nbsp; He had been the king's closest advisor and confidante
570
571 until his failure to secure an annulment earned royal displeasure.&nbsp; Anne and her supporters were quick to put distance between Henry
572
573 and the elderly cardinal.&nbsp; Wolsey's time had passed, and he died while on
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575 the way to the Tower for trial.&nbsp; And so, in October of 1529, Thomas More
576
577 became the first layperson appointed Lord Chancellor of England.&nbsp; He was
578
579 now Keeper of the Great Seal, and second only to the king in power.&nbsp; It
580
581 was a heady appointment, but More probably greeted the appointment with his
582
583 usual ironic stance - particularly since he had just witnessed Wolsey's fall
584
585 from grace.
586
587 <P>More did not like the Boleyns.&nbsp; They represented a new generation at
588
589 court - greedy, flamboyant, and openly ambitious.&nbsp; They were quick to
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591 make enemies, and difficult to please.&nbsp; More, who had no love of gossip
592
593 and admired Katharine of Aragon's deep piety (the old queen spent several
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595 hours a day on her knees in prayer), was aware that Henry was drifting from
596
597 him intellectually and spiritually.&nbsp; Anne Boleyn had come to represent
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599 the Lutheran cause in More's mind as well, though not because she was a
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601 Lutheran.&nbsp; It was simply that her marriage to Henry would mean defiance
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603 of papal law, and would place England in spiritual jeopardy.&nbsp; And so, to
604
605 More and most Englishmen, Katharine represented the piety and virtues of the
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607 old faith, and Anne represented the startling spiritual changes sweeping
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609 throughout Europe.
610
611 <P>More used his position as Lord Chancellor to wipe out as much of the new
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613 heresy as possible; he had always been a great lawyer and judge, and he used
614
615 these talents formidably.&nbsp; He never equaled Wolsey's power or prestige,
616
617 simply because Henry had temporarily lost his taste for all-powerful political
618
619 advisors.&nbsp; But More was completely successful in ridding the English
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621 court of cases - he actually exhausted the case log!&nbsp; And, of course, he
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623 didn't simply judge cases; he also enforced the existing heresy laws with
624
625 great zeal.&nbsp; One cannot condemn More for following the tenets of his own
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627 religious convictions, and it is worth noting that he specifically
628
629 distinguished between the vice of heresy and the actual heretic.&nbsp; He
630
631 hesitated to bring the full force of the law against heretics; he was
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633 scrupulous about offering them every possible opportunity to recant.&nbsp; In
634
635 this he was successful, and only four people were actually executed for heresy
636
637 during his tenure as Lord Chancellor.
638
639 <P>More's religious views were shortly to conflict with his king's
640
641 desires.&nbsp; Henry was frustrated with the pope's endless delays in deciding
642
643 his case, and he was determined to establish some control over the church in
644
645 England.&nbsp; He did not tell More of his plans, preferring to confide in
646
647 more liberal members of his council and parliament.&nbsp; And so, just a few
648
649 months after More's elevation to the position of lord chancellor, a new
650
651 parliament began to pass the sweeping laws which would end the supremacy of
652
653 the Roman Catholic Church in England.&nbsp; First there was a royal
654
655 proclamation that all members of the clergy must acknowledge the king as
656
657 'Supreme Head' of English affairs 'as far as the law of God will
658
659 permit'.&nbsp; More realized the threat to his own spiritual beliefs and
660
661 immediately proffered his resignation.&nbsp; Henry refused angrily, and
662
663 promised More that he would never have to agree to anything proclamation that
664
665 went against his conscience.&nbsp; Was this promise a deliberate lie on the
666
667 king's part?&nbsp; Probably not, for Henry truly believed in the religious
668
669 righteousness of his own cause and undoubtedly expected all to do the same.
670
671 <P>But More could not hold out for long, and nor could Henry - whose designs
672
673 were becoming more sweeping and offensive to the old faith - ignore his chief
674
675 minister's open opposition.&nbsp; It was an embarrassment, and in May 1532 he
676
677 finally accepted More's resignation.&nbsp; By this time, More had lost his
678
679 close friendship with the king; there were no more impromptu dinner visits, or
680
681 intense conversations about philosophical matters.&nbsp; It was clear to
682
683 everyone that a line would soon be clearly drawn, and everyone would be either
684
685 for or against the king - always remembering, of course, the old adage that
686
687 'the king's wrath is death'.
688
689 <P>More still had powerful friends and allies, and Henry was always far more
690
691 eager to have More's cooperation than his disobedience.&nbsp; More was still,
692
693 after all, the most famous English philosopher, widely read and respected on
694
695 the continent.&nbsp; And in England he even had the friendship of Thomas
696
697 Cranmer, the very Protestant archbishop of Canterbury and, along with Thomas
698
699 Cromwell, the chief advisor to the king.&nbsp; But English Catholics, feeling
700
701 their faith under siege, were also looking to More as their most prominent
702
703 champion.&nbsp; And so he was faced with the simple fact that despite his own
704
705 longing for retirement and personal peace, he was too much a public figure to
706
707 fade into the background.&nbsp; His opinion mattered too much, and was sought
708
709 by too many.
710
711 <P>After resigning from the lord chancellorship, More had immediately lost a
712
713 great deal of his income but he scaled back his lifestyle and happily returned
714
715 to Chelsea.&nbsp; His greatest wish was to simply stay at home with his
716
717 beloved family and write; he wanted no part in the politics of Henry's
718
719 court.&nbsp; But he couldn't escape so easily.&nbsp; Still, it is worth
720
721 remembering that More did not hurry toward his fate; he did not accept death
722
723 as inevitable and put himself directly in opposition to the king.&nbsp; He
724
725 wanted to live, and in the following years he did much to avoid his eventual
726
727 fate - everything except betray his conscience.
728
729 <P>For about eighteen months he was able to escape the king's wrath.&nbsp; He
730
731 stayed away from Anne Boleyn's coronation, deliberately avoiding a public
732
733 confrontation with the king.&nbsp; And when his nephew, William Rastell, wrote
734
735 a pro-Catholic treatise, More immediately wrote to Cromwell and Henry denying
736
737 any involvement.&nbsp; More specifically stressed that he knew his duty as a
738
739 citizen, and supported his prince completely - too completely to criticize any
740
741 of his decisions.&nbsp; But such dissembling - and from such a famous man -
742
743 would not please Henry for long.&nbsp; Soon enough More's name was included in
744
745 the Bill of Attainder against the Catholic mystic Elizabeth Barton, the Holy
746
747 Maid of Kent.&nbsp; More had once visited the woman, but was too skeptical to
748
749 believe in her increasingly dramatic 'visions'.&nbsp; He was brought before
750
751 the Council and asked about his religious views; he explained that he had
752
753 discussed his feelings to the king on various occasions, and never incurred
754
755 Henry's wrath.&nbsp; More was popular enough, and quite innocent, and so Henry
756
757 grudgingly removed his name from the bill.&nbsp; But he had intended the
758
759 measure as a warning to More, and it was well-taken.&nbsp; The duke of
760
761 Norfolk, Anne Boleyn's uncle, warned More that 'the king's wrath is death' and
762
763 More replied wittily, 'Is that all, my lord?&nbsp; Then, in good faith,
764
765 between your grace and me is but this - that I shall die today, and you
766
767 tomorrow'.</BLOCKQUOTE>
768
769 </blockquote>
770 <hr>
771
772 <P><font size="4">'Thou wilt give me this day a greater benefit than ever any mortal man
773
774 can be able to give me.&nbsp; Pluck up thy spirits, man, and be not afraid
775
776 to do thine office.&nbsp; My neck is very short: take heed, therefore, thou
777
778 strike not awry for saving of thine honesty.'</font>&nbsp; <i> <FONT size=-1>&nbsp;Thomas
779
780 More's last words to his executioner, 6 July
781
7821535</FONT></i></P><hr>
783 <blockquote>
784
785
786
787<BLOCKQUOTE>
788
789 <P>Today came quickly for More; in March of 1534, just months after the birth
790
791 of Henry and Anne's
792 <a href="../monarchs/eliz.html">daughter</a>, the Act of Succession was passed which ordered
793
794 everyone the government called upon to swear an oath acknowledging the
795
796 legitimacy of Anne and Henry's heirs, and - most significantly - including a
797
798 clause which repudiated the power of any 'foreign authority' in English
799
800 affairs.&nbsp; On the 14th of April More was summoned from Chelsea to take the
801
802 oath at Lambeth; he refused.&nbsp; He was turned over to the custody of the
803
804 abbot of Westminster, and four days later taken to the Tower of London where he was
805
806 lodged in the Bell Tower.&nbsp; Months passed, and the king both threatened
807
808 and cajoled his former friend, sending various emissaries while also keeping
809
810 More in increasingly dire conditions.&nbsp; More did not break.&nbsp;
811
812 Imprisoned with John Fisher, the bishop of Rochester, More took strength from
813
814 that great man's equal courage.
815
816 <P>When not entertaining a rare visitor with his wit and charm, More engaged
817
818 in prayer and writing.&nbsp; In the spring of 1535 Cromwell visited the Tower
819
820 personally to ask More's opinion of recently-passed statutes which gave Henry
821
822 the title 'Supreme Head of the Church of England'.&nbsp; More judiciously
823
824 replied that he was a faithful servant of the king; in June, the
825
826 solicitor-general interviewed him and reported to Henry and Cromwell that More
827
828 had denied parliament's power to confer supreme ecclesiastical authority upon
829
830 the king.&nbsp; Henry now turned both petty and cruel - he used the pretext of
831
832 More and Fisher's occasional letters to one another to confiscate all of
833
834 More's writing materials.&nbsp; He was now reduced to writing upon scraps with
835
836 a stick of charcoal.
837
838 <P>The king was further angered when the pope made Fisher a cardinal,
839
840 essentially a prince of the church, even while the bishop was imprisoned for
841
842 treason.&nbsp; The king caustically remarked that he would soon send Fisher's
843
844 head to Rome so it could wear the red cardinal's hat.&nbsp; By now, Henry had
845
846 pushed aside all thought of popular reaction; he was flush with his own power,
847
848 and determined to have his way.&nbsp; More refused to submit to royal
849
850 authority, and he would pay the ultimate price.&nbsp; And so, on the 1st of
851
852 July 1535, he was indicted for high treason at Westminster Hall.&nbsp; More
853
854 denied the chief charges and defended himself ably, but it was of no
855
856 matter.&nbsp; The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to hang at
857
858 Tyburn.&nbsp; A few days later news arrived that the king would be merciful -
859
860 More would instead be beheaded at Tower Hill.&nbsp; On the 6th of July, a bit
861
862 before nine o'clock in the morning, More was executed; he met his end with
863
864 great dignity, grace, and courage.&nbsp; His body was buried at the Tower
865
866 church of St Peter ad Vincula, but his head was parboiled and stuck on a pike
867
868 in Tower Bridge.&nbsp; His beloved daughter Margaret bribed a worker to give
869
870 it to her and it was interred in the Roper family vault in Canterbury,
871
872 Margaret having married William Roper some years before.
873
874 <P>King Henry VIII was increasingly tyrannical and hated as his reign
875 progressed.&nbsp; Anne Boleyn was beheaded less than a year after More on
876 false charges of witchcraft, adultery and incest; the king would eventually
877 marry four more times.&nbsp; His fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was also
878 executed.</P>
879
880 <P>On 29 December 1886, Pope Leo XIII formally beatified Thomas More, and his
881
882 reputation for learning and saintliness has only grown.</P></BLOCKQUOTE>
883
884<HR width="100%">
885
886 <p>
887
888<font size="-1"><b>Note:</b> Modern studies of More often discuss his religious
889conservatism and intolerance of more progressive views.&nbsp; He openly
890denounced and persecuted members of the Protestant faith, and much of his
891writing was both vitriolic and inflammatory on this point.&nbsp; But to condemn
892More for his religious intolerance is unfair.&nbsp; He (and Bishop Fisher, et
893al) represented the last gasp of Catholicism in England.&nbsp; After his death,
894the faith never regained its intellectual breadth and stature.</font> <BR><FONT
895
896size=-1>In our own increasingly secular age, it is easy to be cynical and
897
898dismissive of deeply held religious beliefs.&nbsp; But to judge More by modern
899
900standards is obviously wrong; the following books do an admirable job of placing
901
902More in the context of his time, and I recommend them to students for further
903
904study:</FONT></p>
905
906<CENTER>
907<p><i><FONT size=-1>The Life of Thomas More</FONT><BR></i><FONT size=-1>by Peter
908
909Ackroyd.</FONT> <BR><i><FONT size=-1>The King's Good Servant but God's First: The
910
911Life and Writings of Saint Thomas More</FONT><BR></i><FONT size=-1>by James
912
913Monti.</FONT> <BR><i><FONT size=-1>Thomas More: A Biography</FONT><BR></i><FONT
914
915size=-1>by Richard Marius.</FONT> <BR><i><FONT size=-1>Thomas More: A Portrait of
916
917Courage</FONT><BR></i><FONT size=-1>by Gerard B. Wegemer.</FONT></p>
918 </CENTER>
919
920<p align="center"><FONT
921
922size=-1><A href="../citizens.html">to Tudor
923
924Citizens</A><A
925
926href="http://englishhistory.net/tudor.html"><br>to Tudor England</A></FONT><p align="center">
927<font size="-1"><a href="http://www.marileecody.com/images.html">Visit <i>Tudor
928England: Images</i> to view portraits of the Tudor monarchs and their courtiers</a>.</font></blockquote>
929</blockquote>
930
931</body>
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