Sir Thomas More was executed on this day 474 years ago. Born in 1478, More attended St Anthony’s School and then Oxford University where he became a friend of Erasmus, the man who later prepared the version of the Greek New Testament which subsequently became the basis for the King James Version of the Bible. After deciding not to become a monk, More became a Member of Parliament, then Speaker of the House of Commons.
More was an avid writer, his best-known work being Utopia, a novel about an island where all property is owned communally, there is complete religious toleration, and women and men are equally educated. A loyal Catholic, More was responsible for writing on behalf of Henry VIII various responses to essays by Martin Luther. More was firmly anti-Protestant because he saw Protestantism as a threat to the unity of church and society.
However, More’s loyalty to the Catholic church eventually brought about his downfall when Henry VIII wanted his marriage to Catherine of Aragon to be annulled so that he could marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope was reluctant to annul the king’s marriage to the Holy Roman Emperor’s aunt, so the English Parliament passed laws declaring royal supremacy over the church. More fell out of favour with the king because of his lack of support for the new queen, and was eventually executed on trumped-up treason charges.