Thomas More Biography

Sir Thomas More was born in 1478, and through his 57 years on this earth he accomplished many things. From writing amazing literature, to serving as an important counselor to King Henry VIII, Thomas More was a remarkable and moving person, but our story doesn’t start with him. The year is 1509, and England is celebrating the appointment of their new King, Henry the Eighth, and his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. Seven years later, Catherine gave birth to her and Henry’s first child, Princess Mary. Henry was frustrated by the lack of a male child and began keeping two mistresses at his beckon (Henry VII Biography). The failure of having a son (which was later found out to be Henry’s fault) was a constant frustration for many years, until …show more content…
He went to Oxford University, where he studied for two years, mastering Greek and Latin and studying a wide variety of other subjects (Sir Thomas More: Biography, Facts, and Information). He studied common law with his father and became a member of the bar. While having a career in dealing with legal matters, More also wanted to be a monk. He took part of the monastic life as much as his legal career would allow by praying, fasting, and partaking in penance (Thomas More Biography). After a year of this, he realized he would rather serve his country, so he entered the Parliament. More then went on to write many books, his “Utopia” showed the world just how talented and knowledgeable he really …show more content…
Henry was still upset with not being able to divorce his current wife, Catherine of Aragon, so he tried to use the Bible to persuade More into agreeing that their marriage was void so he could get a divorce, but More refused. This was the beginning of Thomas More’s downfall. A year later he decided to resign from the King’s service, because he did not want Henry VII to become the head of the Church of England. Henry refused to allow him to resign only to change his mind a year later because of More’s complaining of chest pains. The next year when Henry and his new wife, Anne Boleyn, got married, More refused to come to the wedding because he so heavily disagreed with Henry. Henry was furious that More would not show his recognition for their new marriage and began to act out on him. He had Thomas Cromwell launch an investigation into More’s activities and was accused of conspiring against the king (Sir Thomas More). Even though he had never spoken out against the king, he was tried for treason, and was arrested. After he was arrested, King Henry VII still had hopes of persuading More to change his mind and allow Henry to be the head of the church. More wouldn’t budge. Henry began moving him to smaller and colder rooms in hopes of changing his mind, but it didn’t work. Henry then removed More’s books from his cell, which really hurt him, as More loved his