Thomas More

(1478 – 1535)

Made by: Olga Yakovleva

 Early life
• Thomas More was born in 1478, in Milk Street, in
the city of London.
• He was the son of a prominent judge (John More).
• More was educated at Oxford.
• On his return to London in 1494, More continued
to study law at Lincoln’s Inn and in 1501 became
a barrister. While he was at Lincoln’s Inn, More
decided to dedicate himself to monastic service.
Erasmus of Rotterdam

The Praise of Folly

 The reign of Henry VII
• He became a Member of Parliament (1504 or 1505) and later was made a
Speaker of the House of Commons (1523).
• As the Speaker he helped the establish the parliamentary privilege of free speech.
• One of his first acts was to urge a decrease in a proposed appropriation for Henry
VII.
• During the last years, therefore, of Henry VII, More was under the displeasure of
the king, and had thoughts of leaving the country. In revenge, the king
imprisoned More’s father who was released only after the king’s death in 1509.
 The reign of Henry VIII
• Thomas More accompanied the king on his visit to Flanders, was made a member of
the Privy Council (Тайный Совет) and finally was knighted in 1521.
• In 1529 Thomas More was made the Lord Chancellor, the presiding officer
(председатель) in the House of Lords and the highest judge.
• But when Henry VIII broke with Rome, Thomas More refused to swear allegiance to
him as the head of the Church of England.
• He was accused of treason, thrown into the Tower, and finally beheaded in 1535. His
last words were: ‘The King’s good servant, but God’s first.’ He was canonized in 1935.
 Utopia
• More's “Utopia” was written in Latin, and it’s in two
parts, of which the second, describing the place, was
probably written towards the close of 1515; the first part,
introductory, early in 1516.
• It was reprinted in Paris and Vienna, but was not printed
in England during More's lifetime.
• Its first publication in this country was in the English
translation, made in Edward's VI reign (1551) by Ralph
Robinson. It was translated with more literary skill by
Gilbert Burnet, in 1684.
 Utopia
• It is the work of a scholarly and witty Englishman, who attacks in his own way the chief
political and social evils of his time.
• The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious,
social, and political customs. Utopia contrasts the contentious social life of European states with
the perfectly orderly, reasonable social arrangements of Utopia.
• More may have used monastic communalism as his model, although other concepts he presents
remain far outside Church doctrine. Hythlodaeus (the main character) asserts that a man who
refuses to believe in a god or an afterlife could never be trusted, because he would not
acknowledge any authority or principle outside himself.
• Utopia gave rise to a literary genre, Utopian and dystopian fiction, which features ideal societies
or perfect cities, or their opposite.
 Another works:
Published during More's life:
• Latin Poems (1518, 1520);
• Supplication of Souls (1529);
• Apology (1533);
• The Answer to a Poisoned
Book (1533), etc.
Published after More's death:
• The History of King Richard
III (1513–1518);
• The Four Last Things (1522);
• A Dialogue of Comfort
Against Tribulation (1534);
• Instructions and Prayers
(1535), etc.