By: Tracy L. Havill
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| Thomas More was born February 7, 1477 or 1478 to John and Agnes More. He became a page for, Thomas Morton, the archbishop of Canterbury. Morton sensed greatness in More and arranged for him to be sent to Oxford for education. His father wanted More to follow in his footsteps by becoming a lawyer; More achieved this and also taught law. Although practicing law brought in an income he was passionate about studying literature and verse in his spare time. Spiritual matters were very important to More and he contemplated becoming a priest. He spent a number of years devoted to religious practice but then decided to pursue other avenues. He began to take an interest in political issues and in 1504 was elected as a member parliament, which ended quickly because More contradicted the King. In 1504 he married Jane Colt. They had four children together (Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily and John) within four years. When Henry VIII was crowned King he made More under-sheriff of London. In this position he gave legal advice to the court and served as judge. More still kept his hand in literary interests; he was translating Latin verse into English and in 1503 he wrote A Lamentation of Queen Elizabeth. He wrote other English verse that was considered "light-hearted". In 1511 his wife Jane died; More remarried the same year to a woman named Alice Middleton so that there would be someone to look after the children and household. More wrote accounts of Richard III in both English and Latin which were not published until after his death -- both were incomplete. In 1515 he was sent by the King to Flanders on a trade mission and was able to devote much of his time writing his famous work, Utopia, which was first published in 1516. In 1523 More wrote a rebuttal to Martin Luther's theses and by 1526 More was appointed to read and respond to heretical works. In 1529 he was appointed Lord Chancellor of England and was extremely harsh on heretics. During this time, he executed six people during his time as Chancellor. He was conflicted about the King's divorce and in 1526 he resigned from the position because he felt that he was not fit to serve. In 1534 More was required to swear to an oath that would guarantee the succession of Ann Boleyn's children with Henry VIII and said that Henry's marriage to Catherine was not God's will. More agreed to the succession but not the invalidity of Henry's marriage to Catherine. More was imprisoned and in May of 1535 More was tried and found guilty of treason. On July 6, 1535 he was beheaded. |
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By: Tracy L. Havill |
| Sources: Thomas More: A Biography, Dictionary of National Biography, Thomas More, The Achievement of Thomas More Aspects of his Life and Works |