Sir Thomas More Research Paper

1087 Words5 Pages
Sir Thomas More was an English philosopher, journalist, saint, and lawyer, who was born in London in 1478 and died in 1535. Sir Thomas More had always been considered a marvelous man and he lived quite an adventurous and successful life. More was a man who fought for what he believed in, and sadly it cost him his life at the hands of King Henry VIII. Despite this tragic end, Thomas More lived a phenomenal life and will always be remembered as one of the greatest individuals of the Italian Renaissance. Sir Thomas More is best known for his novel, Utopia, his work in the church community and his service of King Henry VIII. Thomas More is perhaps best known for his novel, Utopia, which was a fictional novel describing an island where social…show more content…
Throughout his childhood, More had always been pushed towards this profession as his father had him study common law and admit to Lincoln’s Inn, one of England’s legal societies. This led to Thomas More having success in law already in the year 1501, at the age of 23. During his time in the law profession, More was able to maintain his true passions of literature and Christianity by reading Bible Scriptures and classic novels. While he was in law, More had realized of a monastic calling and made the decision to put the law behind him and to begin training to become a monk. In 1503, More moved to a monastery just outside of London and planned to devote as much time as his profession would allow to monastic life. More was so committed to the law however, that he entered Parliament in 1504, but his monastic practices would stay with him throughout his life. Thomas More was beheaded on July 6th, 1535 and left behind these final words, “The king’s good servant, but God’s first”, this was an expression of his love and dedication to Christianity. As a result of his devotion to the Christian religion, More was beatified in 1886 and canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church in 1935. Additionally, More is a “Reformation Martyr” in the Church of England. Judging by these honors and rewards, it is evident that Thomas More was a faithful man who truly cared about…show more content…
This differentiated from Catholic practices and was against others as well. In 1521, King Henry VIII responded to these works through Sir Thomas More, in a composition called Defence of the Seven Sacraments. At this time, More was treasurer of England’s exchequer and was also King Henry VIII’s intellectual courtier, secretary and confidant and was elected speaker of the House of Commons. In 1527, King Henry attempted to use the Bible to prove to Sir Thomas More that Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon was invalid because she had not given birth to a male successor for King Henry. More attempted to share Henry’s viewpoint, but it was only out of respect for the King. Then when Henry wanted a divorce, Thomas More simply could not agree to sign off on this. More then resigned from the House of Commons over his frustration with King Henry over his decision to go against the beliefs of the Church. The king then became disappointed with More after he did not attend the coronation of Anne Boleyn in 1533. Then in 1534, More was accused of wrongdoing with Elizabeth Barton, who was against Henry’s break with Rome. In April, More refused to agree to Henry’s Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, this put King Henry over the edge. This was practically More refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England because he felt it would

More about Sir Thomas More Research Paper

Open Document