Thomas More

Sir Thomas More (7 February, 1478–6 July, 1535), posthumously known also as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, writer, and politician. During his lifetime he earned a reputation as a leading humanist scholar and occupied many public offices, including that of Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. More coined the word "utopia", a name he gave to an ideal, imaginary island nation whose political system he described in a book published in 1516. He is chiefly remembered for his principled refusal to accept King Henry VIII's claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England, a decision which ended his political career and led to his execution as a traitor. More was canonized in 1935 by Pope Pius XII as a rebuke to the political extremists in Germany who championed putting considerations of State ahead of all others, even ahead of one's duties towards God. More became the patron saint of statesmen, lawyers, and politicians.

Trial and execution

The last straw for Henry came in 1533, when More refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn as the queen of England. Shortly thereafter More was charged with accepting bribes, but the charges had to be dismissed for lack of any evidence. In 1534 he was accused of conspiring with Elizabeth Barton, a nun who had prophesized against the king's divorce, but More was able to produce a letter in which he had instructed Barton not to interfere with state matters.

Related Topics:
1533 - Bribe - 1534 - Elizabeth Barton - Nun

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On 13 April of that year More was asked to appear before a commission and swear his allegiance to the parliamentary Act of Succession. More accepted Parliament's right to declare Anne the legitimate queen of England, but he refused to take the oath because it would have required him to recognize Parliament's authority to legislate in matters of religion by denying the authority of the Pope. Four days later he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. There he wrote his devotional Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation.

Related Topics:
13 April - Act of Succession - Tower of London

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On 1 July 1535, More was tried before a panel of judges that included the new Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas Audley, as well as Anne Boleyn's father, brother, and uncle. He was charged with high treason for denying the validity of the Act of Succession. More believed he could not be convicted as long as he did not explicitly deny that the king was the head of the church, and he therefore refused to answer all questions regarding his opinions on the subject. Thomas Cromwell, at the time the most powerful of the king's advisors, brought forth the Solicitor General, Richard Rich, to testify that More had, in his presence, denied that the king was the legitimate head of the church. This testimony was almost certainly perjured, but on the strength of it the jury voted for More's conviction.

Related Topics:
1 July - 1535 - Thomas Audley - Thomas Cromwell - Solicitor General - Richard Rich

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After his conviction, More spoke freely of his belief that "no temporal man may be head of the spirituality". He was sentenced to be drawn and quartered, but the king commuted this to execution by beheading. Some contemporary reports claim that More's hair turned white overnight before his execution. On the scaffold he declared that he died "the king's good servant and God's first." The execution took place on 6 July. More's body was buried at the Tower of London, in the Church of St. Peter ad Vincula. His head was placed over London Bridge for a month and was rescued by his daughter, Margaret Roper, before it could be thrown in the River Thames. The skull resided for many centuries in the Roper Vault of St. Dunstan's Church, in Canterbury before being sold to a church in the United States.

Related Topics:
Drawn and quartered - 6 July - London Bridge - Margaret Roper - River Thames - Canterbury

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