Thomas More Introduction

Thomas More was born in London in 1477, during the later half of The Wars Of The Roses. John More, his father, was a prominent citizen, and acquired for his son a good education, during which More became known as “the young scholar” on account of his intelligence. More then became apprentice to Bishop Morton, who then resided at Lambeth Palace. This is where he met many of the people he would later work with as Lord Chancellor. More then went to Oxford in order to study law, before returning to London at the behest of his father.

In 1501, More began taking his legal career more seriously at the behest of his father. He also began giving academic lectures. In 1505, he married his first wife, Joan, with which he had four daughters. Although he loved his wife, the first year of their union was recorded as strained. Nevertheless, they remained married until Joan’s death in 1511 from influenza. After the required period of mourning, Thomas married a widow named Alice, who had also suffered the recent loss of her spouse. They would remain married until Thomas’ death 30 years later, however there is speculation that they cohabitated as friends, rather than as spouses.

Around this time, Thomas took in a man who would become his secretary: a man named John Clement. John Clement is a mysterious figure who some believe to be Richard, Duke of York, the younger Prince in The Tower. Much of the evidence about his time in the More household points to this as a possibility.

In 1518, More entered the service of His Majesty King Henry VIII, and served at his court. More had known Henry as a child, and was a familiar face for the king. Although the unlikely pair were close friends for many years, More would compare his friendship with the King to that of a “caged lion.” This would serve to be prophetic, as twenty years of friendship would end very tragically in 1535.

More was knighted by Henry VIII in 1521, and in 1525 gave him the position of Chancellor of The Duchy of Lancaster. A year later, More was appointed to The Subcommittee of The Four, which oversaw the major concerns of the realm. When Wolsey fell from favour in 1529, More replaced him as Lord Chancellor. However, this position would be short-lived, due to Henry’s dealings with Anne Boleyn; something that More disagreed with.

Sometime around 1533, More resigned as Lord Chancellor in order to retire to his estate in Chelsea. This was due to his outspoken views on The King’s Matter: setting aside Katherine of Aragon for Anne Boleyn. More was a Catholic, and did not believe Henry could make the decision as to if a marriage was legitimate or not. Shortly after the coronation of Anne Boleyn, a declaration was made that all of the peers of England were to sign a declaration declaring the King’s marriage to Boleyn legitimate, and denouncing his previous marriage to Katherine of Aragon. More and his secretary refused to sign, and were promptly imprisoned. More was given many opportunities to sign, yet refused; he believed his soul would be damned if he did so. As time went on, it became clear to the powers that were that More was never going to sign, and so he was put on trial for treason, where he was found guilty in part due to testimony from those he had called peers for decades.

He was executed by beheading on the 6th of July, 1535.

In the wake of his death, More’s memory was weaponised by the Catholic church in order to raise support against Henry’s Church of England. More and Fisher (another dissenting voice against the bill) were beatified immediately following their deaths. More would be canonised in 1934 as the patron saint of troubled marriages, an omage to the first years of his marriage to Joan. It is also said that More’s daughter, Meg Roper, became a staunch catholic, who had her father’s head removed from Tower Bridge and kept in a leadden box, which was shown to people for money. Roper’s grave was excavated in the modern era, and her father’s head was found with her.

Thomas More was a great mind of his time, who advocated for women to be educated, for humanism, and against war. However, his legacy was tainted by his religious fanaticism, which was so intense that it cost him his life. His legacy serves as a testament to the dangers of religiosity, and how it can destroy those who we cherish.