Thomas More was knighted and has consequently been known as Sir Thomas More through the later years of his life and through succeeding centuries. On the 400th anniversary of his death he was canonized by the Roman Catholic church and has sometimes been known as Saint Thomas More. If in this study he is sometimes informally referred to, for the sake of brevity, by his surname, no disrespect is intended.
Most educated persons are familiar with More’s name for one reason or another. To students of English history, he is famous as a leading diplomat at Henry VIII’s court. To students of literature, he is the famous author of Utopia. To Roman Catholics he is a martyred hero and saint. In recent years his name has become something of a household word through the great success of Robert Bolt’s biographical drama and the following movie adaptation, A Man for All Seasons.
A detailed study of More’s life can be a source of inspiration, and it can serve as an excellent introduction to the period—the intellectual, political, and spiritual activities of the age. Since no such detailed presentation is possible in the present study, only a skeleton outline will be offered, with emphasis on those phases of the biography having particular bearing on the interpretation of Utopia.
His dates were 1478–1535. He was born in London, the son of Sir John More, a distinguished judge. His early education came at St. Anthony’s School, the same school which had trained John Colet and William Latimer, two of the group of prominent “Oxford reformers” who later became close friends of More. An important chapter in More’s early life was his period of residence in the home of John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury. More studied at Canterbury College, Oxford, then entered New Inn, London, and later Lincoln’s Inn for legal training. In his early years he deliberated between a career in law or in the church; although he decided in favor of the law, he retained strong religious feelings all his life, as manifested by his wearing a penitential hair shirt, but even more by his high principles and the nobility of his actions.
Early in his career More was invited by William Grocyn, a prominent teacher of Greek and the new humanism, to deliver a series of lectures on St. Augustine’s City of God. His interest in the City of God has a bearing on his Utopia, as will be seen later.
More early became a highly successful lawyer. He was elected to Parliament in 1504 and became Under-Sheriff of London in 1510. In 1515, he was appointed to a commission sent to Bruges to negotiate with representatives of the Holy Roman Empire for trade agreements. It was at this point in his career that he began work on Utopia.
Soon after his return from the Netherlands, he was persuaded to enter government service permanently, and his rise to prominence was rapid. In 1518 he was appointed to the Privy Council (the king’s cabinet), and he was knighted in 1521.
During the decade of the 20s, at Henry VIII’s request, he became involved in the writing of polemics defending Catholicism against Luther’s attacks.
