Sir Thomas More |

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Sir Thomas More as played by Jeremy Northam

Author, statesman, humanist scholar & Saint
(Canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1935)

Born 7 February 1478 - Executed 6 July 1535

Character's backstory: Born in London on February 7th., 1478, he got his degree as lawyer at Oxford University, entered Parliament at the age of 21.Master of the Requests (1514). Author of "Utopia" (1516), among others.
The last writing were De Tristitia Christi and a Devout Prayer (1535 before dying). Was the most renown intellectual persona at the time in England.

Gentility: Secretary and personal adviser to King Henry VIII

Position: Master of the Requests, Knight (1521), sometime Lord Chancellor of England from between 1529 through 1532 when he resigned personally for reasons of faith and personal that could have affected further position and his moral and conscience beliefs.

Personality type: Strong family man. Very religious, adherent to his ideals and moral practices. Has an unbending will of his faith, loves his daughter, Margaret More, later Margaret Roper the most. He teaches all of his daughters to read and taught them letters, especially Meg who became an intelligent and erudite woman thanks to her father, Thomas More.Had a compassion for his adoptive daughter too, Margaret Giggs whom he taught as well as his own and loved dearly, also with Alice's (His wife, Alice More) daughter.

Signature look: The Hat and the 'S' gold necklace of Chancellorship.

Endearing trait(s): Honesty, integrity, his unbending faith and always unbending to his moral principles, who unlike other men, in the end of his life he admitted his mistakes by saying in a letter to his daughter Margaret that if whatever punishment he had was because of his bad wills then let God judge him for all the bad he did in his life.

Annoying trait(s): unbending to his will on reformers, to which maybe later on his life he repented, not literally but indirectly by the contents of one of his last letters to Margaret Roper, his favorite child and confident.

Sir Thomas More as played by Jeremy Northam

Sir. Thomas More´s Coat of Arms

CHARACTER CONNECTIONS

Father: John More, respected lawyer, then a judge.

Mother: Agnes Granger (or Grainger) daughter of Thomas Granger (or Grainger).

First wife: Jane Colt (1505). Had three daughters and a son with her and after Jane dies (1511), he married a widow, Alice Middleton. With whom it is believed he lived happily, he even adopted her daughter from her previous marriage, Lady Alice had a bad temper and a caustic language that More could not change, but she was said to be a good mother and housewife to his children and her daughter.

Romance(s): Probably three in all of his life. His first being his future sister's wife, who because being a younger and a more attractive Lady, he wanted to marry her, but after learning of the eldest child of the Colt family, he wished to wed best the eldest since he felt that if he wed the younger he would upset Jane into thinking she was not pretty and no hope for her. They were wed on 1505, however this marriage was short lived and she died on 1511 giving More 4 children, three daughters and one son only, on that same year he wed a widow called Alice Middleton to which he lived the rest of his following years before imprisonment, happy.

Children: Margaret (Roper by marriage), Elizabeth, Cecilia, and John.

Friends: John Fisher (Later, also a Saint). His own daughter and favorite, Margaret More, later Margaret Roper who became STM´s biographer along with her husband, William Roper. Elizabeth Burton the "Nun of Kent" murdered also by order of Henry VIII in 1534. Desiderius Erasmus of Rotherdam, another well renowned humanist reformer of the Catholic Church who the own queen, Catherine of Aragon admired much, Erasmus not only was friend to Thomas but also sent letter to his daughter, Margaret Roper nee More, up until now he remains one of the most, among with More, renowned philosophers of The Catholic Reformation and even outside of it to this day.

Enemies: Many, such as the Boleyn family and most known of all was Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540), who jealous of his fame wanted such a fame to contribute to the Protestant image in England and outside, too bad for him that it was not so in his case, he was loyal to Henry VIII, and both he along with Archbishop Crammer of Canterbuy imprisoned Thomas More on 1534, then in 1535 after he had delayed Thomas More ´s trial for a year he finally executed the former Lord Chancellor of England. His last words being "I die the King's loyal servant but God's first". Five years after Cromwell kept being loyal to Henry, his loyalty did not paid off as Henry´s marriage with Anne of Cleves turned out to be disastrous, later on Cromwell drink of his own medicine, was charged with treason and finally executed.
Attorney General, Sir Richard Rich who committed perjury during More´s trial. It is important to underline that More was decapitated because of "treason" considering treason not to accept the Oath of Supremacy.

Household: He used his home as a "teaching experiment". He used to invite the poor to his table to know about their necessities, he was known to adopt a little girl called Margaret , who he raised and taught as his own.

UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTER QUOTES

"They wonder much to hear that gold, which in itself is so useless a thing, should be everywhere so much esteemed, that even men for whom it was made and by whom it has its value, should yet be thought of less value than it is." Utopia

"I die the King's loyal servant but God's first."

"For if the lion knows his own strength then no man could control him." (Ep. 10 Showtime)

"If my head would win him a castle in Spain, I think he would cut it off" (Ep. 04 Showtime)
No earthly thing, not even a prince will compromise mine" (Referring to his actions)
"Here is my element; the spiritual element, the higher element. Now you tell me; am I stained by it?"

"notemporal man may be the head of spirituality.

"see me safe up: for my coming down, I can shift for myself" (as he mounted the steps to the scaffold)

on the scaffold he declared that he died "the king's good servant and God's first"

DEFINING EPISODES | MEMORABLE SCENES

At episode 10 we see him talking in private with Bishop Fisher about the imprisonment of various officials who supported Wolsey, it is here that Bishop asks him what they should do to what More eventually answers: "For if the Lion knows his own strength then no man could control him."

Where he is crying watching the cross, while Wolsey rants about evil men, he says about penance and praying and the scene switches to Thomas, he is crying and begging for forgiveness because of the burning and being contaminated with political power and heretic burnings.

PHOTOS, PAINTINGS AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

Sir Thomas More 1527 Hans Holbein the Young Frick Collection (New York)	Hans Holbein, Sir Thomas More 1526-7 - The Queen´s Collection
A Darker Thomas More, more sinister but also a more human portrayal, promising that not all saints are perfect and neither was he. His negative and positive aspects played by Actor: Jeremy Northam makes a more human portrayal of a saint.	Family More, based on sketch done by original artist, it is believed that the original (lost in the fire of London in the XVIII century) was done approx. 1527-28? the years estimated to have been painted, here it portrays the whole More dynasty. Note to contribution: the above painting is The family of Sir Thomas More 1530 / 1593 by Hans Holbein the Younger, Rowland Lockey.
Left is Thomas More when he was younger, this painting is lesser known. Painter Hans Hobein, The Young (1497 - 1543).	More confronts Wolsey
More bidding his daughter farewell	This moving scene is of what sadly will happen to this man of ideology in season two, probably episode ten before Anne's execution because both were executed for their pride, beliefs and because of a vain man's will to have absolute power. In the end, both became victims and neither heroes or villains. We will; have to wait and see how this will play out and who will be there to support him, including if they show here his daughter.
Thomas More, played wonderfully by Actor, Jeremy Northam, lecturing his daughter. STM (c) by Kevin W. Michael	Life and Death of Sir Thomas Moore, KT. (written c. 1555) first published 1626 for C. Davis Boston College - The St. Thomas More Collection - Fall 2007 Early edition of UTOPIA ("no place" from Greek ou+topos), Thomas More. Design Hans Hobein. Annotations: early owner.
L´eloge de la Folie - Desiderius Erasmus Boston College - St. T.More Collection - Fall 2007	The Household of Sir Thomas More *Boston College - St. More Collection - Fall 2007*
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