sir thomas more

Thomas More, in full Sir Thomas More, also called Saint Thomas More, (born February 7, 1478, London, England—died July 6, 1535, London; canonized May 19, 1935; feast day June 22), English humanist and statesman, chancellor of England (1529–32), who was beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. Adam Bede. About Sir Thomas More, Chancellor of England and Saint. More served as an important counselor to King Henry VIII of England, serving as his key counselor in the early 1500s, but after he refused to accept the king as head of the Church of England, he was tried for treason and beheaded (he died in London, England, in 1535). In 1501 More became an “utter barrister,” a full member of the profession. Thomas More is known for his 1516 book 'Utopia' and for his untimely death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Through dialogue More speaks in favour of the mitigation of evil rather than its cure, human nature being fallible. Though never finished, it influenced succeeding historians. The Mayor congratulates the Sheriff, and he and More make arrangements for keeping the peace over the next night. He was left a widower with four children, and within weeks of his first wife’s death he married Alice Middleton, the widow of a London mercer. Thomas More (1478 - 1535) Sir Thomas More © More was an English lawyer, scholar, writer, member of parliament and chancellor in the reign of Henry VIII. He read avidly from Holy Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the classics and tried his hand at all literary genres. She was several years his senior and had a daughter of her own; she did not bear More any children. Saint, knight, Lord Chancellor of England, author and martyr, born in London, 7 February, 1477-78; executed at Tower Hill, 6 July, 1535. More is thought to have written History of King Richard III (in Latin and in English) between 1513 and 1518. Thomas More (1478-1535) I am seriously not going to attempt a proper biography of Thomas More – books have been written on the subject. Her rule precipitated the collapse of Russia's imperial government. With respect to his philosophy, Thomas More belonged very much to the early or Erasmian period of the English Renaissance in his emotional and intellectual attitudes—toleration of eclecticism, search for simplicity, stress on ethics, return to Greek sources, and desire for reform: social, political, educational, religious, and philosophical. Alexandra Feodorovna was consort of the Russian Czar Nicholas II. More’s Utopia describes a pagan and communist city-state in which the institutions and policies are entirely governed by reason. More tried to share the king's viewpoint, but it was in vain, and More could not sign off on Henry's plan for divorce. Thomas More was beheaded on July 6, 1535. He was rowed downstream to about a half mile from his destination and finished his journey on foot. According to the Bible, Saint Matthew was one of Jesus's 12 apostles and the first author of the New Testament. The important negotiations More conducted in 1509 on behalf of a number of London companies with the representative of the Antwerp merchants confirmed his competence in trade matters and his gifts as an interpreter and spokesman. The prayer, fasting and partaking in penance would stay with him for the rest of his life (as would the practice of wearing a hair shirt), but his sense of duty to serve his country overcame his desire for monasticism, and he entered Parliament in 1504. By this time, More had become treasurer of England's exchequer, but he also served as "Henry's intellectual courtier," secretary and confidant, and, in 1523, he was elected speaker of the House of Commons. The future cardinal, a shrewd judge of character, predicted that the bright and winsome page would prove to be a “marvellous man.” His interest sent the boy to the University of Oxford, where More seems to have spent two years, mastering Latin and undergoing a thorough drilling in formal logic. But a very quick summary maybe. Although Sir Thomas More had been sentenced to the full traitor’s death, the King commuted his sentence to death by beheading and he was executed two weeks after his good friend, John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester. More is … Thomas More wrote Utopia in 1516, which was the forerunner of the utopian literary genre. More’s History of King Richard III, written in Latin and in English between about 1513 and 1518, is the first masterpiece of English historiography. Sir Thomas More is an Elizabethan play and a dramatic biography based on particular events in the life of the Catholic martyr Thomas More, who rose to become the Lord Chancellor of England during the reign of Henry VIII.The play is considered to be written by Anthony Munday and Henry Chettle and revised by several writers. Reading List! Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) was a lawyer, statesman, humanist, and martyr. More was unlucky to have been born in a time of great societal change and disorder. He argued valiantly and brilliantly but to no avail. He began in the Low Countries and completed after his return to London his Utopia, which was published at Leuven in December 1516. In order to understand the real Thomas More, not as self-righteous villain nor as saintly hero but as flesh-and-blood individual, we have to find the Thomas More who walked the streets of London and called Cheapside home. More had a large family, remarrying quickly after his wife’s death and taking on another child to raise as well as acting as a guardian for a further two young girls. The latter may be divided int… He graduated from Oxford University in 1496 CE and went on to study lawat Lincoln’s Inn. And in February 1496, More was admitted to Lincoln's Inn, one of England's four legal societies, to prepare for admission to the bar, and in 1501 he became a full member of the profession. Thomas More - Thomas More - Career as king’s servant: On May 1, 1517, a mob of London apprentices attacked foreign merchants in the city. Reading List! Also around this time, More became close friends with Erasmus during the latter's first visit to England. She was murdered, along with her entire family, in 1918. To that end, in 1503, he moved to a monastery outside the London city limits and subjected himself to the discipline of the Carthusians, taking part of the monastic life as much as his legal career would allow. Sir Thomas More Characters Sir Thomas More Even though Bolt announces in his preface that he tried to avoid the perils of having his characters represent something, symbolism turns out to be a major force driving the action of the play, as most characters are motivated by More’s reputation as a moral man, not by More’s individual characteristics. Sir Thomas More was a saint, a Rennaissance humanist, and a civil servant to King Henry in the sixteenth century. More did not attend the subsequent coronation of Anne Boleyn in June 1533, and the king did not view this in a very kind light, and his vengeance was imminent. The young Thomas was educated at Saint Anthony’s school in the capital while as a teenager he worked as a page at the house of Archbishop John Morton. More was educated at St Anthony's School, then considered one of London's finest schools. Sir Thomas More. Utopia also became the forerunner of a new literary genre: the utopian romance. Professor of Philology, Catholic University of the West, Angers, France. More’s role in quenching this Evil May Day riot inspired a scene, attributed to Shakespeare, in Sir Thomas More, a composite Elizabethan play. She was a competent hostess for non-English visitors, such as the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus, who was given permanent rooms in the Old Barge on the Thames side in Bucklersbury in the City of London, More’s home for the first two decades of his married life. Among the topics discussed by More in Utopia were penology, state-controlled education, religious pluralism, divorce, euthanasia, and women’s rights. One of the Twelve Apostles, Saint Thomas or “Doubting Thomas” was initially skeptical about Jesus’ resurrection, but later proclaimed Jesus, “My Lord and My God.”. T.E. Omissions? St. Thomas More died in defense of Catholicism, politics, Merry Old England, and marriage, and it’s a shame he wasn’t canonized a century or more earlier. Utopia covered such far-reaching topics as theories of punishment, state-controlled education, multi-religion societies, divorce, euthanasia and women's rights, and the resulting display of learning and skill established More as a foremost humanist. Around 1494, his father, a prominent attorney, brought More back to London to study common law. He has also been deemed a "Reformation martyr" by the Church of England. Morton is said to have thought that More would become a "marvelous man.". In 2000, Pope John Paul II declared that Sir Thomas More was “the heavenly patron of statesmen and politicians.” In 1520, reformer Martin Luther published three works setting out his doctrine of salvation, which, according to Luther, could be attained through grace alone; the series rejected certain Catholic practices and attacked others. Please select which sections you would like to print: While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Thomas More (1477/78–1535), humanist scholar, author, and statesman, served Henry VIII as diplomatic envoy and Privy Councillor prior to his election as speaker of the House of Commons in 1523. Sir Thomas More was a well-known Renaissance humanist, lawyer, author, philosopher and statesman, who lived from 1478 to 1535 and is particularly revered among Roman Catholics for his views on religion. In 1504 CE More began his 30-year political career and entered Parlia… From September 1510 to July 1518, when he resigned to be fully in the king’s service, More was one of the two undersheriffs of London, “the pack-horses of the City government.” He endeared himself to the Londoners—as an impartial judge, a disinterested consultant, and “the general patron of the poor.”. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Although bowing to his father’s decision that he should become a lawyer, More was prepared to be disowned rather than disobey God’s will. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Lawrence was a British military officer who took part in the Great Arab Revolt and later wrote the memoir 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.'. More entered royal service in the 1510s, and went on to represent England’s interests on the continent. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship and professional relationship, and the pair worked on Latin translations of Lucian's works during Erasmus' second visit. The real reason, however, was probably his disapproval of Henry's recent disregard of the laws of the church and his divorce of Catherine. Updates? In 1516, More published Utopia, a work of fiction primarily depicting a pagan and communist island on which social and political customs are entirely governed by reason. This amounted to More essentially refusing to accept the king as head of the Church of England, which More believed would disparage the power of the pope. Thomas came from wealthy families, from trade (his father was a wealthy baker) and the law. On July 1, 1535, Thomas More was tried before eight judges and eleven courtiers for not taking the oath. Thomas More was born in London in 1478 CE, his father being the lawyer Sir John More. In 1532, More resigned from the House of Commons, citing poor health. St. Thomas More, patron saint of lawyers, politicians, stepparents, large families, blended families, Catholic fathers, adopted children, widowers, difficult marriages, civil servants, court workers, homeschoolers, university students, and of those who … These traits appear not only in his highly imaginative and durably significant creation, Utopia, but also in his most pertinent pronouncements in real life. Sir Thomas More: Biography, Facts and Information Today we know Sir Thomas More primarily as the author of Utopia, and as one of the more famous martyrs of Henry VIII’s reign. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935, and has been commemorated by the Church of England as a "Reformation martyr. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes Utopia Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays. Soon translated into most European languages, Utopia became the ancestor of a new literary genre, the utopian romance. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. has been added to your. More was sent to the Tower of London on April 17, 1534, and was found guilty of treason. Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, The Frick Collection, New York. Thomas More, in full Sir Thomas More, also called Saint Thomas More, (born February 7, 1478, London, England—died July 6, 1535, London; canonized May 19, 1935; feast day June 22), English humanist and statesman, chancellor of England (1529–32), who was beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. We have to understand his cares and his concerns, which were intimately wrapped up with his sense of duty to his community. The conference was held at Brugge, with long intervals that More used to visit other Belgian cities. More's fate would begin to turn when, in the summer of 1527, King Henry tried to use the Bible to prove to More that Henry's marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had failed to produce a male heir, was void. The book was an immediate success with the audience for which More wrote it: the humanists and an elite group of public officials. Sir Thomas More Biography Critical Essays The Composition of Utopia; Study Help Quiz Essay Questions Cite this Literature Note × Back to Top. In late 1504 or early 1505, More married Joan Colt, the eldest daughter of an Essex gentleman farmer. On Erasmus' third visit, in 1509, he stayed in More's home and wrote Praise of Folly, dedicating it to More. He proved himself to be a caring and devoted father to all of the children, encouraging them and communicating with them whilst he was away. has been added to your. Capt. The popular image is of a man – principled, steadfast, courageous – who placed his own conscience above his king’s demands. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He was condemned to death and escorted back to the Tower. More was highly intelligent, and is recognised as one of the most influential thinkers of early modern Europe. At Odds With Henry & Subsequent Beheading. The Oxford DNB summarises thus – ‘lord chancellor, humanist, and martyr’. The order and dignity of such a state provided a notable contrast with the unreasonable polity of Christian Europe, divided by self-interest and greed for power and riches, which More described in Book I, written in England in 1516. Thomas More (pictured below) was born in London on February 7, 1478. He was educated at St Anthony's School in London. The chain More wears in this portrait is an emblem of service to the King, not of any specific office. He left behind the final words: "The king's good servant, but God's first." 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