Thomas More's Typology
Thomas More is known for his 1516 book Utopia and for his untimely death in 1535, after refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. He was canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint in 1935. Born in Milk Street in London, on 7 February 1478, Thomas More was the son of Sir John More, a successful lawyer and later judge, and his wife Agnes. More was educated at St Anthony's School, then considered one of London's finest schools. From 1490 to 1492, more served John Morton, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England, as a household page. Morton enthusiastically supported the "New Learning", and thought highly of the young More. Believing that more had great potential, Morton nominated him for a place
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Later authors, such as Brian Moynihan and Michael Farris, cite Foxe when repeating these allegations. More he denied these allegations: Stories of a similar nature were current even in More's lifetime and he denied them forcefully. He admitted that he did imprison heretics in his house ‘their sure keeping' he called it but he utterly rejected claims of torture and whipping ‘so help me God. However, in More's "Apology," published in 1533, he writes that he only applied corporal punishment to two heretics: a child who was caned in front of his family for heresy regarding the Eucharist and a "feeble-minded" man who was whipped for disrupting prayers. During More's chancellorship six people were burned at the stake for heresy; they were Thomas Hatton, Thomas Birney, Richard Bayfield, John Tewkesbury, Thomas Dugite, and James Bainham. Moynihan has argued that more was influential in the burning of Tyndale as More's agents had long pursued him, even though this took place over a year after his own death. Burning at the stake had long been a standard punishment for heresy about thirty burnings had taken place in the century before More's elevation to Chancellor, and burning continued to be used by both Catholics and Protestants during the religious upheaval of the following
Later authors, such as Brian Moynihan and Michael Farris, cite Foxe when repeating these allegations. More he denied these allegations: Stories of a similar nature were current even in More's lifetime and he denied them forcefully. He admitted that he did imprison heretics in his house ‘their sure keeping' he called it but he utterly rejected claims of torture and whipping ‘so help me God. However, in More's "Apology," published in 1533, he writes that he only applied corporal punishment to two heretics: a child who was caned in front of his family for heresy regarding the Eucharist and a "feeble-minded" man who was whipped for disrupting prayers. During More's chancellorship six people were burned at the stake for heresy; they were Thomas Hatton, Thomas Birney, Richard Bayfield, John Tewkesbury, Thomas Dugite, and James Bainham. Moynihan has argued that more was influential in the burning of Tyndale as More's agents had long pursued him, even though this took place over a year after his own death. Burning at the stake had long been a standard punishment for heresy about thirty burnings had taken place in the century before More's elevation to Chancellor, and burning continued to be used by both Catholics and Protestants during the religious upheaval of the following