Thomas More Lord Chancellor Rise and Demise
From his humble beginnings, he would climb to the highest levels of government,
always supported by his family and friends, and a quest to be a man for all
seasons. Yet his king saw things differently and the Reformation would cause him
much sorrow and lead to a catastrophic ending. We now look at the life of Thomas More.
Thomas was born in London on the seventh of February 1478. He was the son
Sir John More, a lawyer, and his mother was Agnes. Thomas was educated at what was
considered as one of the best schools in London, St. Anthony's.
Between 1490 and 1492, he would serve as a household page under John Morton, the Archbishop
of Canterbury, and the new Lord Chancellor of England. Morton was an
enthusiastic supporter of "New Learning", also known as "humanism". Thomas was well
thought of by Morton to the point he nominated him for a place at Oxford
University. Not the one we see today, it was either St. Mary's hall or Canterbury college.
Thomas began his studies there in 1492, receiving a
classical education including Latin and Greek. His father, though demanded he
and two years later, he began some legal training at London's New Inn.
He would remain there until 1502, at which point he was called to the Bar.
Thomas's good friend Erasmus once said that Thomas had given thought to give up
his legal training to become a monk. Thomas had lived close to a monastery
within London and at times and joined him with their spiritual pastimes.
However, he would eventually remain in his current position, and even stand for Parliament in 1504.
Thomas married in 1505 to Jane Colt, and it would be the
same year that he leased part of his house known as the Old Barge. But eight
years later, he took over the whole property continuing to live there, for at
least the next 20 years. Thomas would also become a teacher, Erasmus said that
Thomas wanted to educate his wife to better understand the world around her, and
he did and successfully taught music and literature. The couple would go on to
have four children, Margaret, Elizabeth, Cicely and John. Sadly Jane passed away in
1511, just six years into their marriage. Thomas now turned his attentions to
another woman. Yet this was very quick and many friends and colleagues warned
him about his speed to start a new relationship. Within a month, Thomas married
this time to a lady called Alice Middleton. She was a widow, but now would
become a wife for the second time and head to the household with a position to
care for the children. Thomas had no children with this new union. Although he
took Alice's daughter and became guardian to two other children. Thomas had an
excellent reputation, his family and others loved him. He was affectionate and
always ready to encourage others. He would write many times to his children and
ask them to return the favour as much as possible, especially when he was away
on government business. More was bringing up his children in a manner similar to
his own education. He really believed that this was important and it soon proved
to be a catalyst for success. As a result, his daughters were achieving
excellent standards, and even Erasmus and other nobility were now starting to
take the same actions for their families. At the start of the 16th century, More
now progressed through the ranks. He was elected to Parliament, and by 1510 he was
directly representing London. He also achieved success as one of only two under-
sheriffs in the capital. This gave him much responsibility and earned him a
brilliant reputation for a man who was both honest and very effective as a
public servant. It all led him to become a member of the Privy Council in 1514.
One more accolade was now about to come his way. He went on a diplomatic mission
with Thomas Wolsey to visit the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Upon his
return, he was knighted and gained the position of under treasurer of the
Exchequer in 1521. Thomas was now very close to royalty; King Henry VIII
had noticed how good he was and made him his personal advisor. Thomas would
accept diplomats to court, create official documents, and liaise between Henry and
his Chancellor Wolsey. Times were perfect for Thomas now, he was widening his
circle of friends and his social status was clearly on the up and the honours
kept rolling in. In 1523, he was a Knight of the Shire for Middlesex, and by
1525, More became Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, with executive and
judicial responsibilities over much of Northern England. Yet, his status was about
to change again, now to the highest power second only to King Henry.
Wolsey had fallen from grace, and now it was time to step up for Thomas; he
would become the King's Lord Chancellor in 1529. One of his first tasks was to
campaign against the Protestant Reformation. You see, Thomas was a Catholic, and
this would eventually place him in a tricky situation. He saw the Reformation as
a threat, not only to the church but also to society. His beliefs would urge
him forwards to the point of a call to war after he heard that Luther had called for
the catholic church to be destroyed. Before becoming Chancellor, he helped Wolsey
prevent this new Lutheran uprising, especially as it was now heading towards
England. When Tyndale had translated the Bible into the new English translation,
More considered this as sinful. This would be one battle that would go through
his entire life and beyond. John Foxe, a famous historian of the period and
author of the Book of Martyrs, once wrote that Thomas More had personally used
violence and torture while interrogating so called heretics. The accusations are
alarming, he stated he would tie heretics to trees and whip them or have them
tortured upon the rack. And finally, some were burnt alive at Smithfield. Many
of these accusations were denied by Thomas, and today, many think of them as untrue.
Yet the stories persisted, even with his rejections to the
accusations. More eventually broke his silence to attempt to quell the ongoing
slaughter of his character. He said he had only applied punishment on two
occasions once to a boy who had been caned for heresy, a simple man who had been
whipped for disrupting prayers. However, during his reign, there had been six
official deaths of people being burned at the stake for heresy.
Burning people at the stake had become the norm when it came to punishment for heresy. Although
only 30 had taken place in the entire century before More came to power.
Today's views are divided into the state of More and his determination to
uphold what he believed to be the right and just way to deal with the accused.
In 1980 both Thomas More and John Fisher were additional entries to the Saints
and Heroes of the Christian Church, a Church of England's calendar. This was
despite him being a fierce opponent of the English reformation. In October
2000, Pope John Paul II honoured him by making him the patron Saint of
statesman and politicians. The conflict would continue, King Henry was
determined to push ahead with his reformation and become the leader of the
Church of England. But Thomas was digging his heels in adopting support for the
Pope that Henry would not like one bit! In 1529 parliament passed a law that
made it criminal to support the papacy or claim anything or anyone outside the
realm, and one that would be considered superior to that of the King's.
By 1530 More was now starting to struggle; he had refused to sign a letter by leading
English churchmen and other aristocrats asking the Pope to annul the marriage
of Henry to Catherine of Aragon. His words were now also becoming tiresome to
Henry and his patience was being tested. So the following year, a royal decree
was submitted ordering everyone to take the oath and ensure everyone gave Henry
the title of supreme head of the Church of England.
Cardinal John Fisher declined along with other members of the clergy. Although Thomas kept most of
his feelings private, he did not openly reject the King's requests. However, he
he continued to refuse to sign up for the new Oath of Supremacy. 16 May 1532,
Thomas More resigned from his role as Chancellor, this probably went down well
with some, and it seemed even Henry was allowing him to remain in favour despite the
ongoing arguments that ensued. Thomas's actions were due to the unwavering
attempts by the monarchy to push ahead. despite the calls to halt and rethink the situation.
Thomas, in 1533, declined to attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn.
This single action could have been misconstrued as an act of treason. Although Thomas
had written to the King expressing his happiness and desire for the Queen's
health. His refusal upset many at court, including the King. How could
anyone with an ounce of decency snub not only the new Queen of England but
also its head of state, Henry? Now was time for Thomas More to pay, and the
King was in no mood for any more talk. Soon after the marriage, Thomas was
charged with accepting bribes, but there was little evidence to support this,
the charges were dismissed. However, this would not have a settling effect on the
people now trying to rid themselves of More. In 1534, Cromwell accused More of
advising Elizabeth Barton. She was known as the Holy Maid of Kent, a woman who
claimed the King had ruined his chances of a soul, and this would bring about a
quick end after divorcing his previous Queen Catherine of Aragon.
Barton had been considered a dangerous woman to meet with, although Thomas did meet her
and was quite impressed by her demeanour. Thomas found himself up before the Privy
council, yet once again, he answered the questions, and the charges were dropped.
But the main sticking point that could well have spared Thomas so much time was
his lack of ability to agree to the Oath of Supremacy. He refused, and nothing
would sway his feelings. You can't understand why Thomas wouldn't just sign up for
the deal. His enemies were circling and the King was infuriated by this man he
once coveted so much. But to be fair to Thomas, he was and had always been a man
of his word. He stood for what he believed and thought that there was no one
higher than God himself, who could pass such governance either on the Kingdom of
England or, in fact, the world.
Thomas More's fate was pretty much signed, sealed
and delivered. Henry finally had Thomas arrested and placed in the Tower of
London. While he was incarcerated, Thomas Cromwell would visit on more than one
occasion virtually pleading for More to accept and take the Oath. But Thomas refused.
He would suffer the indictment related to violation of the Treasons Act
1534 which declared it treason to speak against the King's Supremacy. The
trial was set for the first of July 1535. Once it began, Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke
of Norfolk, offered More the chance of the King's "gracious pardon" should he
"reform his obstinate opinion." Yet as expected, Thomas refused. He claimed "he had
not taken the oath, he had never spoken out against it either and that his
silence could be accepted as his "ratification and confirmation" of the new statutes."
His years of being in the circulation of Law and its intricacies gave
what Thomas thought, an edge in the case. He planned to remain silent, as he could not be
convicted unless he explicitly said that the King had no right to become head
the Church of England. There was no get of jail card for Thomas. Cromwell
called Richard Rich to the stand, and he said that More had spoken to him about
the King, stating he would never legitimately be head of the church. The time
for silence was over. Thomas now had to stand and make a plea for his case.
The case was complete, and the jury took just 15 minutes to agree and find Thomas
More guilty. He would now be sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered.
A punishment for traitors who were not of nobility. When King Henry heard the news,
he commuted the sentence to beheading. Thomas More's execution would take
place on 6 July 1535 at Tower Hill. His final words were;
Whilst kneeling, the executioner leaned over and asked for forgiveness; Thomas rose
from his knees and kissed him. Thomas More's daughter Margaret was the only member
of the family to witness the execution. He was buried later in the chapel of St.
Peter Ad Vincula within the Tower walls. His head was moved to London Bridge for
a month where it was placed upon a pike. This was a standard custom for any
convicted traitor. Margaret eventually recovered the head, and it's now
thought to be interred at the Roper Vault of St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury.
Thomas was certainly a man for all seasons, his rise through the ranks to become
the Chancellor of England in the time of Henry the Eighth is very impressive.
All his hard work would be undone by his inability to perform one simple task
that was to sign the Oath of Supremacy. Thomas even today remains a
controversial character from time, we'll always remember him as a loving caring
family man who educated his family to the highest levels. On the other hand, his
religious beliefs cast doubts and haunt many. Plus the accusations of torture
and death will always resonate. The story of Thomas More may leave you with a
feeling of a Jekyll and Hyde style of man. Some call him a fool and some say a
fanatic. Yet as we scroll this his rich tapestry of life it starts to
become clearer that Thomas More was actually a normal guy, but one who was
brave enough to stand up and say what he believed, and we can't argue with that.
Whether you think Thomas was a sinner or a saint, this tale of intrigue will
always have more questions than answers. But we'll leave the final words to
Thomas who once wrote "let historians begin to show either prejudice or favouritism,
and who will be there to lend any credance at all to histories."