Saint Thomas More

5/21/2018 Saint Thomas More

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Sir Thomas More(/mr/;7 February 14786 July 1535), known to Roman Catholicsas Saint Thomas Moresince 1935,

He was an English lawyer,social philosopher,author,statesman,and notedRenaissance humanist.He was animportant councillor toHenry VIII of Englandand wasLord Chancellorfrom October 1529 to 16 May 1532. He wascanonized byPope Pius XIin 1935 as one of the early martyrs of theschismthat separated the Church ofEngland from Rome in the 16th century. In 2000, Pope John Paul IIdeclared him patron of Catholic statesmenand politicians.More was an opponent of theProtestant Reformation,in particular ofMartin LutherandWilliam Tyndale.However, since 1980, he is also commemorated by the Church of Englandas a reformation martyr.More coined the word "utopia"a name he gave to the ideal and imaginary island nation, the political system ofwhich he described inUtopia,published in 1516. He opposed the King's separation from the Roman CatholicChurchand refused to accept him asSupreme Head of the Church of England,a title which had been given byparliament through theAct of Supremacy of 1534.He was imprisoned in 1534 for his refusal to take the oathrequired by theFirst Succession Act,because the act disparaged Papal Authority and Henrys marriagetoCatherine of Aragon.In 1535, he was tried fortreason,convicted on perjured testimony, and beheaded.More also helped to originate the phrase "grasp at straws" to mean "desperately trying even useless things", inhis Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation.Intellectuals and statesmen across Europe were stunned by More's execution. Erasmussaluted him as one"whose soul was more pure than any snow, whose genius was such that England never had and never again willhave its like". There was a more controversial side to More's life, because he advocated the persecution andexecution ofProtestantswho refused to recant their faith. However, the judgement of history has been largelywilling to forgive this in light of the times he lived in and his martyrdom in the Roman Catholic cause. Twocenturies laterJonathan Swiftsaid More was "the person of the greatest virtue this kingdom ever produced", asentiment with whichSamuel Johnsonagreed. HistorianHugh Trevor-Ropersaid in 1977 that More was "the firstgreat Englishman whom we feel that we know, the most saintly of humanists, the most human of saints, theuniversal man of our cool northern renaissance."

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Early life

Saint Thomas More

Medallion of Thomas More

Martyr

Honoredin

Catholic Church;Anglican Communion

Beatified 1886, Florence byPope Leo XIII

Canonized 19 May 1935, Rome byPope Pius XI

Feast 22 June (Catholic Church)6 July (on some local calendars) 9 July on thetraditionalist Catholic (Latin Mass) calendar

Attributes dressed in the robe of theChancellorand wearing

theCollar of Esses;axe

Patronage

Adopted children; civil servants;court clerks;difficultmarriages; large families; lawyers, politicians,andstatesmen;stepparents;widowers;Ateneo de

Manila Law School;Diocese of Arlington;Diocese of

Pensacola-Tallahassee;Kerala Catholic YouthMovement;University of Malta;University of Santo

Tomas Faculty of Arts and Letters

Born in Milk Street in London on 7 February 1478, Thomas More was the son ofSir John More,a successfullawyer, and his wife Agnes (neGraunger). More was educated at St Anthony's School, considered one of thefinest schools in London at that time. He later spent the years 1490 to 1492 as a page in the household serviceofJohn Morton,theArchbishop of Canterburyand Lord Chancellor of England. Morton enthusiastically supported

the "New Learning"of the Renaissance, and thought highly of the young More. Believing that More showed great

potential, Morton nominated him for a place at Oxford University (either inSt. Mary's Hall (Oriel)orCanterbury

College), where More began his studies in 1492. More may have lived and studied at nearby St. Marys Hall. Both

Canterbury College and St Marys Hall have since disappeared; part of Christ Church College is on the site ofCanterbury, and part of Oriel College is on the site of St Marys. More received a classical education at Oxfordand was a pupil ofThomas LinacreandWilliam Grocyn,becoming proficient in both Greek and Latin. He leftOxford in 1494after only two yearsat the insistence of his father, to begin his legal training in London at NewInn, one of the Inns of Chancery. In 1496, he became a student at Lincolns Inn, one of the Inns of Court, wherehe remained until 1502, when he was called to the Bar.

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According to his friend, the theologianDesiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam,More once seriously contemplatedabandoning his legal career to become amonk.

[13]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 admiredthe piety of the monks, he ultimately decided on the life of a layman upon his marriage and election to Parliamentin 1504. In spite of his choice to pursue a secular career, More continued to observe certain ascetical practices forthe rest of his life, such as wearing a hair shirtnext to his skin and occasionally engaging inflagellation.
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Family lifeMore married Jane Colt in 1505.

[11]:118She was nearly ten years his junior and was said by More's friends to be

quiet and good-natured.[11]:119

Erasmusreported that More had taken an interest early on in giving his young wife abetter education than she had previously received at home, and became a personal tutor to her in the areas ofmusic and literature. More had four children with Jane:Margaret,Elizabeth, Cicely, and John.

[11]:132When Jane

died in 1511, More remarried almost immediately, choosing as his second wife a rich widow named Alice

Middleton. Alice More did not enjoy the reputation for docility that her predecessor had and was instead known asa strong and outspoken woman. More's friend Andrew Ammonius derided Alice as a "hook-nosed harpy",although Erasmus attested that the marriage was a happy one. More and Alice did not have children together,although More raised Alice's daughter from her previous marriage as his own. More became the guardian of ayoung girl named Anne Cresacre, who would eventually marry his son, John More. More was an affectionatefather who wrote letters to his children whenever he was away on legal or government business, and encouragedthem to write to him often.More took a serious interest in the education of women, an attitude that was highly unusual at the time. Believingwomen to be just as capable of academic accomplishment as men, More insisted upon giving his daughters thesame classical education given to his son. The academic star of the family was More's eldest daughter Margaret,who attracted much admiration for her erudition, especially her fluency in Greek and Latin. More recounted amoment of such admiration in a letter to Margaret in September 1522, when the Bishop of Exeter was shown aletter written by Margaret to More:

When he saw from the signature that it was the letter of a lady, his surprise led him to read it more eagerly... hesaid he would never have believed it to be your work unless I had assured him of the fact, and he began to praiseit in the highest terms... for its pure Latinity, its correctness, its erudition, and its expressions of tender affection.He took out at once from his pocket a portague [A Portuguese gold coin]... to send to you as a pledge and tokenof his good will towards youThe success More enjoyed in educating his daughters set an example for other noble families. Even Erasmusbecame much more favourable towards the idea once he witnessed the accomplishments of More's daughters

Early political career

Study for a portrait of Thomas More's family, c. 1527, byHans Holbein the Younger

In 1504 he was elected to Parliament to represent Great Yarmouthand in 1510 to representLondon.From 1510, More served as one of the twoundersheriffsof theCity of London,a position of considerable

responsibility in which he earned a reputation as an honest and effective public servant. More became Master ofRequestsin 1514, the same year in which he was appointed as aPrivy Councillor,a member of His Majesty's

Most Honourable Privy Council. After undertaking a diplomatic mission to theHoly Roman Emperor,Charles V,

accompanyingThomas WolseytoCalaisandBruges,More was knighted and made under-treasurer of

theExchequerin 1521As secretary and personal adviser toKing Henry VIII,More became increasingly influential in the government,

welcoming foreign diplomats, drafting official documents, and serving as a liaison between the King and his LordChancellor:Thomas Wolsey,theCardinalArchbishop of York.

In 1523 he was elected asknight of the shire(MP) forMiddlesexand, recommended by Wolsey, was elected

theSpeakerof theHouse of Commons.

He later served asHigh Stewardfor the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In 1525 he becameChancellor of

the Duchy of Lancaster,a position that entailed administrative and judicial control of much of northern England.[17]

Scholarly and literary work
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Roperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Roperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Roperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Youngerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Youngerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Youngerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Yarmouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Yarmouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Yarmouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersheriffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersheriffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersheriffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Councillorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Councillorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchequerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchequerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchequerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_(Catholicism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_(Catholicism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_shirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_shirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_shirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Steward_(academia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Steward_(academia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Steward_(academia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-rebhorn-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-rebhorn-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-rebhorn-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_for_portrait_of_the_More_family,_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_for_portrait_of_the_More_family,_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_for_portrait_of_the_More_family,_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_for_portrait_of_the_More_family,_by_Hans_Holbein_the_Younger.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-rebhorn-17http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancasterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Steward_(academia)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Speakers_of_the_House_of_Commons_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_of_the_shirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archbishop_of_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_(Catholicism)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exchequerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calaishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Emperorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Councillorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_of_Requests_(England)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Undersheriffhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Yarmouth_(UK_Parliament_constituency)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Youngerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Roperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11


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WoodcutbyAmbrosius Holbeinfor a 1518 edition of Utopia.The traveller Raphael Hythlodeaus is depicted in the lower left-handcorner describing to a listener the island ofUtopia,whose layout is schematically shown above him.

History o f King Ric hard IIIBetween 1512 and 1519, Thomas More worked on a History of King Richard III, which was never finished, butwhich greatly influencedWilliam Shakespeare's playRichard III.Both More's and Shakespeare's works are

controversial to contemporary historians for their unflattering portrait of King Richard III, a bias partly due to bothauthors' allegiance to the reigningTudor dynastythat wrested the throne from Richard III in theWars of the

Roses.More's work, however, little mentionsKing Henry VII,the first Tudor king, perhaps for having persecuted

his father, Sir John More. Some historians see an attack on royal tyranny, rather than on Richard III himself or on

theHouse of York.The History of King Richard IIIis aRenaissancehistory, remarkable more for its literary skill and adherence toclassical precepts than for its historical accuracy. More's work, and that of contemporary historianPolydore Vergil,reflects a move from mundanemedievalchronicles to a dramatic writing style; for example, the shadowy KingRichard is an outstanding, archetypal tyrant drawn from the pages ofSallust,and should be read as a meditationon power and corruption as well as a history of the reign of Richard III. The History of King Richard IIIwas writtenand published in both English andLatin,each written separately, and with information deleted from the Latinedition to suit a European readership.

UtopiaMain article:Utopia (book)

More sketched out his best known and most controversial work,Utopia(completed and published in 1516), a

novel in Latin. In it a traveller, Raphael Hythlodeaus (in Greek, his name and surname allude to archangel

Raphael, purveyor of truth, and mean "speaker of nonsense"), describes the political arrangements of theimaginary island country of Utopia (Greek pun on ou-topos[no place], eu-topos[good place]) to himself andtoPieter Gillis.This novel describes the city of Amaurote by saying, "Of them all this is the worthiest and of mostdignity".Utopiacontrasts the contentious social life of European states with the perfectly orderly, reasonable socialarrangements of Utopia and its environs (Tallstoria, Nolandia, and Aircastle). In Utopia, with communal ownershipof land, private property does not exist, men and women are educated alike, and there is almostcompletereligious toleration.Some take the novel's principal message to be the social need for order and

discipline rather than liberty. The country of Utopia tolerates different religious practices but does not tolerateatheists. Hythlodeaus theorises that if a man did not believe in a god or in an afterlife he could never be trusted,because he would not acknowledge any authority or principle outside himself.More used the novel describing an imaginary nation as a means of freely discussing contemporary controversialmatters; speculatively, he based Utopia on monastic communalism, based upon the biblical communalism in

theActs of the Apostles.

Utopiais a forerunner of the utopian literary genre, wherein ideal societies and perfect cities are detailed.Although Utopianism is typically a Renaissance movement, combining the classical concepts of perfect societiesofPlatoandAristotlewith Romanrhetoricalfinesse (cf.Cicero,Quintilian,epideicticoratory), it continued into

theEnlightenment.Utopia's original edition included the symmetrical "Utopian alphabet" that was omitted from

later editions; it is a notable, early attempt atcryptographythat might have influenced the development

ofshorthand.Utopiaironically points out, through Raphael, More's ultimate conflict between his beliefs as a humanist and aservant of the King at court. More tries to illustrate how he can try to influence courtly figures including the King to
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the humanist way of thinking but, as Raphael points out, one day they will come into conflict with the politicalreality.

Religious polemicsIn 1520 the reformerMartin Lutherpublished three works in quick succession:An Appeal to the Christian Nobilityof the German Nation(Aug.), Concerning the Babylonish Captivity of the Church (Oct.), and On the Liberty of a

Christian Man(Nov.).[11]:225In these works Luther set out his doctrine of salvation through grace alone, rejectedcertain Catholic practices, and attacked the abuses and excesses of the Catholic Church .

[11]:2256In 1521,Henry

VIIIresponded to Luthers criticisms with a work knownas theAssertio, written with the editorial assistance ofMore. In light of this work,Pope Leo Xrewarded Henry VIII with the title Fidei defensor(Defender of the Faith)

for his efforts in combating Luthers heresies.[11]:2267

Martin Luther then attacked Henry VIII in print, calling him a pig, dolt, and liar.

[11]:227At the request of Henry VIII,

More set about composing a rebuttal: the resulting Responsio ad Lutherumwas published at the end of 1523. Inthe Responsio, More defended the supremacy of the Papacy, the sacraments, and other Church traditions.Mores language, like Luthers, was virulent, and he branded Luther an ape, a drunkard, and a lousy little friaramongst other insults.

[11]:230While writing under the pseudonym of Rosseus, More mirrors Luther's own

unscholarly use of language. At one point More offers to:"throw back into your paternity's shitty mouth, truly the shit-pool of all shit, all the muck and shit which yourdamnable rottenness has vomited up".

[18]

This confrontation with Luther confirmed Mores theological conservatism, and from then on his work was devoidof all hints of criticism of Church authority.

[11]:230In 1528, More produced another religious polemic,A Dialogue

Concerning Heresiesthat asserted that theCatholic Churchwas the one true church, whose authority had beenestablished by Christ and the Apostles, and that its traditions and practices were valid .

[11]:27981In 1529, the

circulation ofSimon FishsSupplication for the Beggarsprovoked a response from More entitled, TheSupplication of Souls.In 1531,William TyndalepublishedAn Answer unto Sir Thomas Mores Dialoguein response to MoresDialogue

Concerning Heresies. After having read Tyndales work, More wrote his half-a-million-word-long Confutation ofTyndales Answerover the next several months. The Confutationis written as a dialogue between More andTyndale in which More responds to each of Tyndales criticisms of Catholic rites and doctrines.

[11]:3079These

literary battles convinced More, who valued structure, tradition, and order in society above all else,that Lutheranismand theProtestant Reformationin general were dangerous, not only to the Catholic faith but tothe stability of society as a whole.

[11]:3079

CorrespondenceMost major humanists were prolific letter writers, and Thomas More was no exception. However, as in the case ofhis friendErasmus of Rotterdam,only a small portion of his correspondence (about 280 letters), survived. Theseletters include everything from personal letters to official government correspondence (mostly in English), lettersto fellow humanist scholars (in Latin), including several epistolary tracts,verse epistles,prefatory letters (some

fictional) to several of More's own works, letters to his children and their tutors (in Latin), and the so-called "prison-letters" (in English) which he exchanged with his oldest daughter,Margaret Roperwhile he was imprisoned intheTower of Londonawaiting execution.

[19]More also engaged in controversies, most notably with the French

poetGermain de Brie,which culminated in the publication of de Brie's attackAntimorus(1519). Erasmusintervened to end the dispute.

[20]

More wrote about the more spiritual aspects of religion. This is how he wroteA Treatise on the Passion(Treatiseon the Passion of Christ),A Treatise to Receive the Blessed Body(Holy Body Treaty), and De Tristitia

Christi(The Agony of Christ), which reads his own hand in the Tower of London at the time he was confinedbefore his beheading on 6 July 1535. This lastmanuscript,saved from the confiscation decreed by Henry VIII,

passed by the will of his daughter Margaret to Spanish hands and through Fray Pedro de Soto, confessorofEmperor Charles V,went to Valencia, home ofLuis Vives,a close friend of More. It is now kept in the collection

ofReal Colegio Seminario del Corpus ChristiMuseum inValencia,Spain.

ChancellorshipAfterWolseyfell, More succeeded to the office ofChancellorin 1529. He dispatched cases with unprecedented

rapidity. Fully devoted to Henry and theroyal prerogative,More initially co-operated with the King's new policy,

denouncing Wolsey in Parliament and joining the opinion of the theologians at Oxford and Cambridge that themarriage of Henry to Catherine had been unlawful. But as Henry began to deny Papal Authority, More's qualmsgrew.

Campaign against the ReformationMore supported theCatholic Churchand saw theProtestant Reformationasheresy,a threat to the unity of both

church and society. Believing in the theology, polemics, and ecclesiastical laws of the church, More "heardLuther's call to destroy the Catholic Church as a call to war. "

[21]

His early actions against theReformationincluded aiding Wolsey in preventing Lutheran books from beingimported into England, spying on and investigating suspected Protestants, especially publishers, and arrestingany one holding in his possession, transporting, or selling the books of the Protestant reformation. More
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al_prerogativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-21http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chancellorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Wolseyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valencia,_Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Colegio_Seminario_del_Corpus_Christihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Viveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Charles_Vhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuscripthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-20http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germain_de_Briehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-19http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Londonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Roperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Verse_epistles&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_of_Rotterdamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheranismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tyndalehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Churchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-18http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Leo_Xhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_VIII_of_Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-Ackroyd-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther


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vigorously suppressed the travelling country ministers who usedTyndale'sEnglish translation of the New

Testament.[citation needed]

It contained translations of certain wordsfor example Tyndale used "elder" rather than

"priest" for the Greek "presbuteros"and some footnotes which challenged Catholic doctrine.[22]

It was during this

time that most of his literary polemics appeared.

Sir Thomas More is commemorated with a sculpture at the late-19th-century Sir Thomas More House, opposite theRoyal Courts of

Justice,Carey Street, London.

Rumours circulated during and after More's lifetime regarding ill-treatment of heretics during his time as LordChancellor. The popular anti-Catholic polemicistJohn Foxe,who "placed Protestant sufferings against thebackground of... the Antichrist"

[23]was instrumental in publicising accusations of torture in his famousBook of

Martyrs,claiming that More had often personally used violence or torture while interrogating heretics. Later

authors, such asBrian MoynahanandMichael Farris,cite Foxe when repeating these allegations.[24]

More himself

denied these allegations:Stories of a similar nature were current even in More's lifetime and he denied them forcefully. He admitted that hedid imprison heretics in his house 'theyr sure kepynge'he called itbut he utterly rejected claims of tortureand whipping... 'so helpe me God.'

[11]:298

In total there were six burned at the stake for heresy during More's chancellorship:Thomas Hitton,ThomasBilney,Richard Bayfield,John Tewkesbery, Thomas Dusgate, andJames Bainham.

[11]:299306More's influential

role in the burning of Tyndale is reported by Moynahan.[25]

Burning at the stake had long been a standardpunishment for heresyabout thirty burnings had taken place in the century before More's elevation toChancellor, and burning continued to be used by both Catholics and Protestants during the religious upheaval ofthe following decades.

[26]Ackroyd notes that More explicitly "approved of Burning"

[11]:298After the case of John

Tewkesbury, a London leather-seller found guilty by More of harbouring banned books and sentenced to burning

for refusing to recant, More declared: he "burned as there was neuer wretche I wene better worthy."[27]

Historians have been long divided over More's religious actions as Chancellor. While biographers such asPeterAckroyd,a Catholic English biographer, have taken a relatively tolerant view of More's campaign against

Protestantism by placing his actions within the turbulent religious climate of the time, other equally eminenthistorians, such asRichard Marius,an American scholar of the Reformation, have been more critical, believingthat persecutionsincluding what he perceives as the advocacy of extermination for Protestants were abetrayal of More's earlier humanist convictions. As Marius writes in his biography of More: "To stand before a manat an inquisition, knowing that he will rejoice when we die, knowing that he will commit us to the stake and itshorrors without a moment's hesitation or remorse if we do not satisfy him, is not an experience much less cruelbecause our inquisitor does not whip us or rack us or shout at us. . . More believed that they (Protestants) shouldbe exterminated, and while he was in office he did everything in his power to bring that extermination to pass. "

[28]

ResignationAs the conflict over supremacy between the Papacy and the King reached its apogee, More continued to remainsteadfast in supporting the supremacy of the Pope as Successor of Peter over that of the King of England. In1530, More refused to sign a letter by the leading English churchmen and aristocrats asking Pope Clement VIItoannul Henry's marriage to Catherine, and also quarrelled with Henry VIII over the heresy laws. In 1531, Henry hadisolated More by purging most clergy who supported the papal stance from senior positions in the church. Inaddition, Henry had solidified his denial of the Papacy's control of England by passing the Statute ofPraemunirewhich forbade appeals to theRoman Curiafrom England. Realizing his isolated position, Moreattempted to resign after being forced to take an oath declaring the King the Supreme Head of the English Church"as far as the law of Christ allows". Furthermore, the Statute of Praemunire made it a crime to support in public oroffice the claims of the Papacy. Thus, he refused to take the oath in the form in which it would renounce all claimsof jurisdiction over the Church except the sovereign's. Nonetheless, the reputation and influence of More as wellas his long relationship with Henry, kept his life secure for the time being and consequently, he was not relievedof office. However, with his supporters in court quickly disappearing, in 1532 he asked the King again to relieve

him of his office, claiming that he was ill and suffering from sharp chest pains. This time Henry granted hisrequest.

Trial and execution
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Rowland LockeyafterHans Holbein the Younger,The Family of Sir Thomas More, c. 1594

In 1533, More refused to attend thecoronationofAnne Boleynas theQueen of England.Technically, this was not

an act of treason, as More had written to Henry acknowledging Anne's queenship and expressing his desire forthe King's happiness and the new Queen's health.

[29]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 anyevidence. In early 1534, More was accused of conspiring with the "Holy Maid of Kent," Elizabeth Barton,a nunwho had prophesied against the king's annulment, but More was able to produce a letter in which he hadinstructed Barton not to interfere with state matters

[citation needed].

On 13 April 1534, More was asked to appear before a commission and swear his allegiance to theparliamentaryAct of Succession.More accepted Parliament's right to declareAnne Boleynthe legitimate Queen

of England, but he steadfastly refused to take the oath of supremacy of the Crown in the relationship between thekingdom and the church in England. Holding fast to the teaching ofpapal supremacy,More refused to take the

oath and furthermore publicly refused to uphold Henry's annulment from Catherine.John Fisher,Bishop ofRochester, refused the oath along with More. The oath reads:...By reason whereof the Bishop of Rome and See Apostolic, contrary to the great and inviolable grants ofjurisdictions given by God immediately to emperors, kings and princes in succession to their heirs, hath presumedin times past to invest who should please them to inherit in other men's kingdoms and dominions, which thing weyour most humble subjects, both spiritual and temporal, do most abhor and detest;

[30]

With his refusal to support the King's annulment, More's enemies had enough evidence to have the King arresthim on treason. Four days later, Henry had More imprisoned in the Tower of London. There More prepared adevotional Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation. While More was imprisoned in the Tower,ThomasCromwellmade several visits, urging More to take the oath, which More continued to refuse.

Site of scaffold atTower Hillwhere More was executed by decapitation

Commemorative plaque at the site of the ancient scaffold at Tower Hill, with Sir Thomas More listed among other notables executedat the site.

On 1 July 1535, More was tried before a panel of judges that included the new Lord Chancellor, Sir ThomasAudley,as well as Anne Boleyn'sfather,brother,and uncle. He was charged withhigh treasonfor denying the

validity of the Act of Succession. More, relying on legal precedent and the maxim "qui tacet consentire videtur"

(literally, who (is) silent is seen to consent), understood that he could not be convicted as long as he did notexplicitly deny that the King was Supreme Head of the Church, and he therefore refused to answer all questionsregarding his opinions on the subject.Thomas Cromwell,at the time the most powerful of the King's advisors,brought forth theSolicitor General,Richard Rich,to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the King
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mas_Audley,_1st_Baron_Audley_of_Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Audley,_1st_Baron_Audley_of_Waldenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Hillhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cromwell,_1st_Earl_of_Essexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cromwell,_1st_Earl_of_Essexhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-30http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Fisherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_supremacyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleynhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Succession_Acthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_neededhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Bartonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_More#cite_note-29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_consorthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Boleynhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holbein_the_Youngerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowland_Lockey


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was the legitimate head of the church. This testimony was extremely dubious: witnessesRichard SouthwellandMr. Palmer both denied having heard the details of the reported conversation, and as More himself pointed out:"Can it therefore seem likely to your Lordships, that I should in so weighty an Affair as this, act so unadvisedly, asto trust Mr. Rich, a Man I had always so mean an Opinion of, in reference to his Truth and Honesty, ...that Ishould only impart to Mr. Rich the Secrets of my Conscience in respect to the King's Supremacy, the particularSecrets, and only Point about which I have been so long pressed to explain my self? which I never did, nor never

would reveal; when the Act was once made, either to the King himself, or any of his Privy Councillors, as is wellknown to your Honours, who have been sent upon no other account at several times by his Majesty to me in theTower. I refer it to your Judgments, my Lords, whether this can seem credible to any of your Lordships."However, the jury took only fifteen minutes to find More guilty.More was tried, and found guilty, under the following section of theTreason Act 1534:If any person or persons, after the first day of February next coming, do maliciously wish, will or desire, by wordsor writing, or by craft imagine, invent, practise, or attempt any bodily harm to be done or committed to the king'smost royal person, the queen's, or their heirs apparent, or to deprive them or any of them of their dignity, title, orname of their royal estates...

That then every such person and persons so offending... shall have and suffer such pains of death and otherpenalties, as is limited and accustomed in cases of high treason.

[31]

After the jury's verdict was delivered and before his sentencing, More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporalman may be the head of the spirituality". He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, and quartered(the usual

punishment for traitors who were not the nobility), but the King commuted this to execution by decapitation. Theexecution took place on 6 July 1535. When he came to mount the steps to the scaffold, he is widely quoted assaying (to the officials): "I pray you, I pray you, Mr Lieutenant, see me safe up and for my coming down, I can shiftfor myself"; while on the scaffold he declared that he died "the king's good servant, but God's first."

[32]

Relics

Another comment he is believed to have made to the executioner is that his beard was completely innocent of anycrime, and did not deserve the axe; he then positioned his beard so that it would not be harmed .

[33]More asked

that his foster/adopted daughterMargaret Clement(ne Giggs) be given his headless corpse to bury.[34]

He was

buried at the Tower of London, in the chapel ofSt Peter ad Vinculain an unmarked grave. His head was fixed

upon a pike overLondon Bridgefor a month, according to the normal custom for traitors. His daughterMargaret

(Meg) Roperrescued it, possibly by bribery, before it could be thrown in theRiver Thames.

The skull is believed to rest in the Roper Vault ofSt Dunstan's Church, Canterbury,though some researchers

have claimed it might be within the tomb he erected for More in Chelsea Old Church (see below). The evidence,however, seems to be in favour of its placement in St Dunstan's, with the remains of his daughter, MargaretRoper, and her husband's family, whose vault it was.Among other surviving relics is hishair shirt,presented for safe keeping by Margaret Clements (150870), hisadopted daughter.This was long in the custody of the community of Augustinian canonesses who until 1983 livedat the convent atAbbotskerswell Priory,Devon. It is now preserved at Syon Abbey, nearSouth Brent.

Canonization
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Statue of Thomas More by Leslie Cubitt Bevis in front ofChelsea Old Church,Cheyne Walk,London.

Statue of Thomas More at theAteneo Law Schoolchapel.

More wasbeatifiedbyPope Leo XIIIin 1886 andcanonised,withJohn Fisher,on 19 May 1935 by Pope Pius XI,

and his feast day was established as 9 July. This day is still observed as his feast day by traditionalistCatholics[Latin Mass]. Following a series of post-Vatican II reforms, his feast day was changed and his namewas added to theCatholic calendar of saintsin 1970 for celebration on 22 June jointly with St John Fisher, theonly remaining bishop (owing to the coincident natural deaths of eight aged bishops) who, during the EnglishReformation,maintained, at the King's mercy, allegiance to the Pope.

[36]In 2000,Pope John Paul IIdeclared

More the "heavenly patron of statesmen and politicians".[37]

In 1980, More was added to the Church of England'scalendar of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church, jointly withJohn Fisheras Reformation Martyrs. More iscommemorated on 6 July.

[38]

Influence and reputationThe steadfastness and courage with which More held on to his religious convictions in the face of ruin and deathand the dignity with which he conducted himself during his imprisonment, trial, and execution, contributed much toMore's posthumous reputation, particularly among Catholics, although his zealous persecution of Protestantswhile Lord Chancellor makes him a poor example for modern notions of religious liberty. Many historians arguethat his conviction for treason was unjust, and even among some Protestants his execution was viewed as heavy-handed.

[citation needed]His friendErasmusdefended More's character as "more pure than any snow" and described

his genius as "such as England never had and never again will have." When he knew of the execution, Emperor

Charles Vsaid: "Had we been master of such a servant, we would rather have lost the best city of our dominionsthan such a worthy councillor."

[39]

More was greatly admired by the Anglican writerJonathan Swift.Swift wrote that More was "a person of thegreatest virtue this kingdom ever produced".

[40][41]Samuel Johnson is often cited as the origin of that

quote,[42][43]

but mistakenly: it is not to be found in his writings or recorded by Boswell.The English Roman Catholic writerG. K. Chestertonsaid of More that "He may come to be counted the greatestEnglishman, or at least the greatest historical character in English history."

[44]

Popular culture
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William Roper's biography of More was one of the first biographies in the English language.

More was portrayed as a wise and honest statesman in the 1592 play Sir Thomas More,which was probablywritten in collaboration byHenry Chettle,Anthony Munday,William Shakespeare,and others, and which survives

only in fragmentary form after being censored by Edmund Tylney, Master of the Revelsin the governmentofQueen Elizabeth I(any direct reference to the Act of Supremacy was censored out).As the author of Utopia, More has attracted the admiration of modern socialists. While Catholic scholars maintainthat More's attitude in composing Utopiawas largely ironic and that he was an orthodox Christian, MarxisttheoreticianKarl Kautskyargued in the book Thomas More and his Utopia(1888) that Utopiawas a shrewd

critique of economic and social exploitation in pre-modern Europe and that More was one of the key intellectualfigures in the early development of socialist ideas. Others have seen in it an attempt at mythologising Indiancultures in the New World during a time when the Catholic Church was still debating over how to view thedecidedly non-Christian cultures of the Indians.The 20th-century agnostic playwrightRobert Boltportrayed Thomas More as thetragic heroof his 1960 playAMan for All Seasons.The title being drawn from whatRobert Whittingtonin 1520 wrote of More:

"More is a man of an angel's wit and singular learning. I know not his fellow. For where is the man of thatgentleness, lowliness and affability? And, as time requireth, a man of marvelous mirth and pastimes, andsometime of as sad gravity. A man for all seasons."

[8]

In 1966, the play was made into the successful film A Man for All Seasonsdirected byFred Zinnemann,adapted for the screen by the playwright himself, and starringPaul Scofieldin anOscar-winning performance.The film won theAcademy Award for Best Picturefor that year. In 1988,Charlton Hestonstarred and directed

in a made-for-television film that followed Bolt's original play almost verbatim, restoring for example thecommentaries of "the common man".Catholic science fiction writerR. A. Laffertywrote his novelPast Masteras a modern equivalent to

More's Utopia, which he saw as a satire. In this novel, Thomas More is brought through time to the year2535, where he is made king of the future world of "Astrobe", only to be beheaded after ruling for a mere ninedays. One of the characters in the novel compares More favourably to almost every other major historicalfigure: "He had one completely honest moment right at the end. I cannot think of anyone else who ever hadone."Karl Zuchardt's novel,Stirb du Narr!("Die you fool!"), about More's struggle withKing Henry,portrays More

as an idealist bound to fail in the power struggle with a ruthless ruler and an unjust world.A number of modern historians and writers, such asRichard Marius,have evaluated More in his politicalc

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Saint Thomas More

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