Thomas_More

[[image:thomas_more2 align="left"]]Thomas More
by Clair C. and Chelsea W.

__Timeline__
1478 - Born in London, England 1499 - He began his legal training 1504 - Elected to Parliament 1505 - Married his first wife, Jane Colt 1516 - Famed by publication of Utopia 1517 - Became a member of King's Council 1521 - Made Treasurer and was knighted 1523 - Became Speaker of the House of Common 1529 - October 23, he succeeded Wolsey as Lord Chancellor 1534 - April 17 More refused to take an oath and was imprisoned at the Tower for 15 months - During his time in prison he wrote a //Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation// about dying a good death because that is what the people of Utopia desired. 1535 - July 6 tried and executed 1551 - Utopia was translated into English 1935 - Saint Thomas More was canonized by Pope Pius XI (Reynolds)

=Summary of Accomplishments= In 1513, Thomas More began his work on //History of King Richard III.// Even though it was never finished, "it is considered one of the early masterpieces of English historical criticism" (Ryan). Even William Shakespeare used it as a basis for his play, //The Tragedy of// //Richard III.// His next work, perhaps what he is most known for, came in 1516. More wrote //Utopia// about a perfect society with no material desires or corruption. It is "a description of the quest for a political ideal that is satisfied by a system of communism, national education, and free toleration of religion" (Blackburn). In //Dialogue Concerning Heresies,// More criticizes anyone in disagreement with the church. He claims them to be wrong and insane. During his time in prison, More wrote two works on death, a subject on which he had different views than traditional medieval authors. "//The Four Last Things// bears no resemblance to //The Cloud of Unknowing// or other works of mystical devotion that enriched the literature of late medieval England" (Marius 294). More believed that once people realized the falsity of pleasures of the body they would turn to spiritual pleasure (a Utopia of the soul). //Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation,// written in 1534, reflects on dying well, which was the desire of people living in Utopia. Thomas More also had the opportunity to serve as Lord Chancellor after Cardinal Wolsey needed replacing. "The office of Lord Chancellor was what the king permitted it to be; Henry had let Wolsey be virtually the assistant monarch" (Marius 360). The Lord Chancellor's main duty was to oversee court cases appealed to the king, as well as to help with executive business. More's friendship with the king helped influence his appointment to the position; "He had proved himself docile and obedient to the king through many years of service" (Marius 360). Thomas More greatly influenced society with his profound ideas, both during the Renaissance and today.


 * < In the center is, Pope Pius XI who canonized Saint Thomas More in 1935. To the right is the London Tower where More was imprisoned. ||

- He always lived in the city; he disliked rural life (Marius 3). - Thomas More earned the respect of people around him, and men thought it was important to be his friend (Marius xiv). - During England at the time, nobles and clergy held most of the power while peasants were treated like serfs. - Being a member of the clergy and the government, as well as having a good bit of money that his father left him, Thomas More was quite high in society (Marius 5). || - Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and passed laws to give the monarch more power. - More supported the government until all officers were required to take the oath of the Supremacy Act, which he refused to do because it rejected papal authority. - Mary Tudor, daughter of Cathrine of Aragon and Henry VIII, was heir to the English thrown, but Henry VIII divorced his wife in order to produce a male heir. - Charles V was ruling the Holy Roman Empire, which included most of Europe at the time. || - England stayed out of expensive European wars, saving money. - More came from a wealthy background and lived in the city for his entire life, so he never needed to work on a farm for survival (Marius xiii). - The burden of taxes fell on the peasants, while nobles and clergy were favored by the monarch. - Peasants produced what they needed to survive; not much trade occurred.
 * **Social Background** || - "He is a courtier, a man born for friendship and friendly to all" (Marius xiii).
 * **Political Background** || - Thomas More lived and served in the government during Henry VIII's reign.
 * **Economic Background** || - The cloth industry was key in England, which had been built up by Henry VII.

Information contained in the chart also came from the textbook, //A History of Western Society.// || media type="custom" key="3238632" [|Quiz answers.doc] [|Quiz .doc]

Works Cited:  Marius, Richard. __Thomas More: a biography__. New York : Knopf :, 1984 Reynolds, E. E. __Sir Thomas More__. 1965. N.p.: Longmans, Green & CO, 1970.

Ryan, James. "Thomas More." EBSCOhost. History Reference Center. 12 Feb. 2009 .

     Pictures: Pope Pius XI. Photograph. 17 Feb. 2009 . 

__Sir Thomas More__. __Flickr__. 9 Feb. 2009 . <span style="font-size: 88%; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size: 96%; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;"> __Sir Thomas More__. Photograph. __Flickr__. 9 Feb. 2009 <http://www.flickr.com/ search/?q=sir+thomas+more>. <span style="font-size: 96.8%; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; text-align: left;">Sir Thomas More's Utopia 2. Photograph. __Flickr__. 10 Feb. 2009 <http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=sir+thomas+more&page=4>. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Tower of London. Photograph. 17 Feb. 2009 <http://flickr.com/photos/