Thomas More

Thomas More

About Sir Thomas More

Thomas More rose from humble origins to achieve the highest political

and judicial office of England, second only to that of the king. He was

recognized throughout early sixteenth-century Europe as one of the great

lawyers, Christian humanists, and classical scholars of his day. ,Even at a

very early age, More gave clear evidence of his uncommon gifts. Because of

this, a family friend successfully persuaded his father to allow him to

attend Oxford University. More so enjoyed his studies there that his father

became alarmed. Two years into the program, he decided that his son should

learn something useful. Under what seems to have been considerable

coercion, Thomas returned to London to study law at New Inn. Although this

law program was among the best and most demanding in London, More found

time to continue his study of Greek, philosophy, literature, and theology

with such world-renowned teachers as Linacre, Grocyn, and Colet, as well as

with the pious and learned Carthusians.

Meanwhile, More excelled at his legal studies at the New Inn. Once

finished, he read through the law again at Lincoln's Inn for two more

years, after which he was chosen as reader at Furnivall's Inn and

reappointed for three successive years - a considerable honor for such a

young man. During these years of studying and teaching, More continued an

intense life of prayer, during which time he sought to discern his vocation

in life. By the age of 25, More was convinced that his place was with city

and family, not monastery and cell. At 26 he was elected to Parliament; at

27 he married Jane Colt and fathered four children in the next five years.

Jane died when More was 33, leaving him with four young children during the

height of his career as a lawyer. Despite his deep sorrow, he married again

within one month for the sake of his children. He married the best woman he

knew, Alice Middleton, who had neither his interests nor his playful

temperament and who was six or seven years his senior. As Erasmus recounts,

she was "neither a pearl nor a girl ... but a shrewd and careful

housewife."He marvels that More's" life with her is as pleasant and

agreeable as if she had all the charm of youth, and with his buoyant gaiety

he wins her to more compliance than he could by severity."

With his gifts of intellectual genius and endearing wit plus his

reputation for virtue, More was much sought after as a lawyer and diplomat.

He was chosen, for example, by the London merchants to represent them on

three major embassies to foreign countries. At the age of 32, he began his

work as a judge, a position that made him well-known and loved among the

general London citizenry.

Throughout these years, More was also active in the areas of

literature and philosophy. The Utopia, a work considered by some to be one

of the finest Socratic dialogues of all time, has long been recognized as

his masterpiece. After fifteen years of prosperous civic life, More was

called to serve the King at court, a position he did not and would not seek

out. Early on, he was well aware of the dangers of political life; he

valued his freedom for family and writing, and he knew that giving up his

lucrative law practice to enter public service would cost him a

considerable portion of his income. Yet as a loyal citizen, More considered

it the "duty of every good man" to contribute to the service of his

country. Once in the King's service, More commanded Henry VIII's

friendship and trust, serving primarily as his personal secretary, but with

some administrative and diplomatic responsibilities. He rose steadily over

the next ten years, finally becoming Chancellor in 1529, at the age of

fifty- one. As Chancellor, More concentrated on two major tasks: (1)

streamlining and improving the judicial system; (2) addressing and

personally refuting errors which he considered seditious and destructive of

both state and church. In fulfilling this latter task, he collected

evidence which resulted in the execution of three persons. Although these

executions have captured the imagination of many scholars today, More spent

most of his working hours trying to fulfill his function as chief justice

of the land. In the assessment of Tudor historian John Guy, More made

substantial contributions in this area, reforming the legal system far more

effectively than Cromwell would later, in his far reaching legislative

reforms of the 1530s. More was Chancellor for only thirty-one months. He

resigned on May 16, 1532, the day after Henry VIII and Cromwell manipulated

the Parliament to take away the traditional freedom of the Church, a

freedom that had been written into English law since the Magna Carta. At

issue was the survival of the Church as well as the nature of law and the

scope of the state's legitimate authority. Imprisoned in the Tower of

London for fifteen months before his execution, More was heavily pressured

by his family and friends to sign the oath accepting Henry VIII as the

Supreme Head of the Church in England. More steadfastly refused but never

expressed animosity towards those who complied. During this time, he wrote

a number of devotional and exegetical works, including A Dialogue of

Comfort Against Tribulation, A Treatise on the Passion, and The Sadness of

Christ. That More was God's servant first and foremost was readily seen

in his life of prayer and penance. From the time he was a young man, More

started each day with private prayer, spiritual reading, and Mass,

regardless of his many duties. He lived demanding mortifications in his

characteristically discreet and merry manner. He generously cared for the

poor and needy, and involved his own children in this same work. He had

special devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, to frequent meditation on the

Passion, and to the rosary. More was executed on July 6, 1535, and

canonized on May 19, 1935. He has become a symbol of professional

integrity, famous for the balanced judgment, ever-present humor, and

undaunted courage that led him to be known, even in his own lifetime, as

the "man for all seasons.

The Trial of Sir Thomas More, 1535

The following, sadly, is a true story. It is the story of Sir Thomas More,

beheaded in London in 1535.

Thomas More was born in London on February 7, 1478. He was educated

at St. Anthony's School in London, then the best in the city. More managed

to get a placement with the family of the Archbishop of Canterbury through

his father's influence. Sir Thomas More, Senior, was a prominent local

barrister. Thomas Junior went on to study at Oxford where he wanted to

learn Greek. But Greek was frowned upon by the elite because it was thought

that it would give young people access to "novel and dangerous ways of

thinking." Couldn't have that. More's father removed him from Oxford and

sent him to tutor in law. More soon became a lawyer (barrister) like his

father but he did not lose his interest in Greek studies and he read all

the Greek books that he could. When he was about twenty, he toyed with the

idea of becoming a monk, fasting every Friday, sleeping on the ground with

only a log as pillow. But he soon bored of that and then befriended

Erasmus, then an "prince of learning" and More renewed his learning of

Greek. He began to translate Greek publications in English. He also

continued his career as a barrister and was elected to Parliament in 1504.

In 1515, Thomas More published Utopia, in which he theorized about the

perfect world. In Utopia, More foresaw cities of 100,000 inhabitants as

being ideal. In his Utopia, there was no money, just a monthly market where

citizens bartered for what they needed. Persons engaged to each other were

allowed to see each other naked before marriage so that they would know if

the other was "deformed". Six years before Utopia was published, Henry the

7th died and he was replaced by son, Henry the 8th. King Henry took a

liking to Thomas More although More did not reciprocate. The King was known

to put his arm around More. "This growing favour, by which many men would

have been carried away," writes the Encyclopedia Britannica "did not impose

upon More. He discouraged the king's advances, showed reluctance to go to

the palace and seemed constrained when he was there. Then the King began to

come to More's house and would dine with him without previous notice."

Privately, More did not like Henry the 8th and told his oldest son-in-law

that "if my head would win him a castle in France, it should not fail to

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