Sir Thomas More Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Thomas More (1478–1535) was an English statesman and humanist. He was educated at St. Anthony’s School in London, after which he entered into the service of the household of Cardinal John Morton, the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop had him pursue studies at the University of Oxford, presumably at Canterbury College (and/or St. Mary’s Hall). While More was at Oxford, the 1519 publication of the second edition of the New Testament by Desiderius Erasmus caused a disagreement between two opposing communities. The so-called Trojans (primarily friars) opposed the revival of the biblical languages, since it was thought that such would negatively affect the influence of the Latin Bible, and that men would become pagans by studying Greek, and Jews by studying Hebrew. The so-called Greeks, conversely, embraced an entirely contrary view. Having been instructed by Erasmus, who was also an intimate friend, More supported the revival of the biblical languages and sought to suppress the Trojan movement. More returned to London by 1496 and studied law as a member of Lincoln’s Inn.

In 1504, as a member of the Parliament at Westminster, More persuaded the House to moderate a grant to Henry VII in honor of the marriage of his daughter, Margaret (Tudor), to James IV of Scotland. More’s actions earned him some political disapproval, which allegedly resulted in his father’s brief imprisonment in the Tower of London until payment of a fine was made. Although the parliamentary achievement likely earned More both fame and favor in the city government, he would have been persuaded to leave England as a consequence of his opposition in Parliament to Henry VII’s additional taxation, if the king had not died late in April 1509. When Henry VIII ascended the throne, More was regarded favorably by the new king and was allowed to hold a series of public offices with tremendous haste.

In 1523, when reformer Martin Luther began to question the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church and earned the ire of the king, More, then the speaker of the House of Commons, supported the king by writing Responsio ad-Lutherum. However, his opposition to the king’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon forced his resignation as Lord Chancellor in 1532. He returned to private life but continued a religious controversy with Protestant scholar William Tyndale.

More was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534 for refusing to swear the oath required by the Act of Succession, which sanctioned Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn. During his imprisonment, he wrote A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation (1534) and experienced five interrogations. In the same year, he also opposed the Act of Supremacy, which established the English monarch as the head of the Church of England, and was tried at Westminster Hall for treason. More was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill on July 6, 1535; his head was impaled on a pole and exhibited on London Bridge. In 1886, Pope Leo XIII beatified More, and in 1935 Pope Pius XI canonized him.

More is regarded as one of the foremost humanists of the Renaissance, primarily due to his reputation from the publication of Utopia (1516) in London, which was translated into English by Ralph Robinson in 1551. Utopia is the description of an ideal city-state that is revered by both Catholics and communists as their exclusive property.

Bibliography:

Guy, John A. The Public Career of Sir Thomas More. Brighton, U.K.: Harvester Press, 1980.
O’Sullivan, Richard, ed. Under God and the Law: Papers Read to the Thomas More Society of London. Oxford: Blackwell, 1949.
Roper,William. The Lyfe of Sir Thomas More. Edited by Elsie Vaughan Hitchcock. London: Humphrey Milford, 1935.
Surtz, Edward, and J. H. Hexter, eds. The Complete Works of St.Thomas More, 15 vols. New Haven, Conn.:Yale University Press, 1965.
Sylvester, Richard S., ed. St.Thomas More: Action and Contemplation. New Haven, Conn.:Yale University Press, 1972.
Sylvester, Richard S., and Germain P. Marc’hadour, eds. Essential Articles for the Study of Thomas More. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1977.

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