Today is the birthday in 1478 of Sir Thomas More, who was a writer, humanist, and became a saint after being martyred for not taking the Oath of Supremacy under Henry VIII.
He was the son of a lawyer and judge, and studied law in London. He became good friends with Erasmus, and through his writing, most famously Utopia, he became famous throughout Europe. In 1521 he was knighted, and became Henry’s Lord Chancellor in 1529 after the fall of Wolsey.
He was a longstanding Catholic supporter, fighting against heresy, and he then was killed for not supporting Henry as the head of the Church. He was canonized in 1935, and his feast day is June 22 in the Catholic church.
That’s your Tudor Minute for today. Remember you can dive deeper into life in 16th century England through the Renaissance English History Podcast at englandcast.com.
Suggested links:
Episode 055: Tudor Times on Thomas More
Episode 009: A Tale of Two Thomases Part I (Wolsey & More)
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Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast,  one of the longest running indie history podcasts, going since 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. She writes books, created the original Tudor Planner (a yearly diary filled with Tudor history) and in 2019 created the world's first Tudorcon (you can "attend" online this year!). She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 20 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history.