It was on this day in 1535, Sir Thomas More was executed for treason as a result of his refusal to recognize King Henry VIII as head of the Anglican Church. He was the author of a novel called Utopia, about the perfect society. He was a passionately religious man who wore a hair shirt and flogged himself in penance almost every night of his life.
He was a diplomat—a favorite of the king. He was also one of the harshest prosecutors of heretics in the history of England. His downfall came when, in the opinion of Sir Thomas More, the king himself became a heretic. Henry VIII wanted to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. The Pope declared the second marriage was unlawful, and so Henry VIII declared that he was breaking from the Catholic Church. He would now be the head of the Anglican Church.
More (books by this author) refused to sign an oath in support of the king's decision, so he was thrown in the Tower of London, and on this day he was led to the scaffold on Tower Hill. His executioners asked him if he had any final words. He said he forgave them for their actions and looked forward to the day when they would all meet in heaven.
1 comment:
These are very good questions. I assume the author of this daily email of significant events/writers birthdays is probably Garrison, but it doesn't give an author. It could be a member of his staff, who knows.
I'm not historian of England or St. Thomas More. I must leave this up to someone much more studied in history than I. I don't consider the comments that St. Thomas More was a prosecutor of heretics or publicly against the marriage of Henry VIII to be negative though. If memory serves me correctly, he is the patron saint of lawyers? We need many more witnesses like him!
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