THE EXECUTION OF THOMAS MORE
Thomas More became famous in history not only as the author of «A very useful, as well as entertaining, truly golden book about the best structure of the state and about the new island of Utopia,» but also as a wit. His «jokes of English humor» before his execution became aphorisms.
In general , Thomas More was far from the last person in England and rendered a number of important services to King Henry VIII . For example, in 1517, he helped pacify London, which rebelled against foreigners. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in 1521 Henry VIII knighted him for «services to the king and England.» In 1529, Thomas More was even appointed Lord Chancellor of the kingdom. However, three years later he left this post ostensibly for health reasons, but the real reason was that More, as a zealous Catholic and a champion of the «true faith», did not approve of the rupture of King Henry VIII with Rome and the creation of the Anglican Church. He also did not approve of the king’s marriage with Anne Boleyn, as a result of which he refused to swear to the king that he would recognize all the children of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn as legitimate.
This demonstrative disobedience was considered high treason, and on April 17, 1535, he was imprisoned in the Tower.
Antoine Caron. «The arrest and Execution of Thomas More.» (XVI century)
Shortly before his arrest, the Duke of Norfolk tried to reason with More, whispering in Latin at a meeting: «The anger of the king is death.» To which the disgraced nobleman calmly replied: «Is that all, my lord? Then truly the difference between Your Grace and me is only that I have to die today, and you have to die tomorrow.»
The court found Mora guilty of high treason, and he was sentenced to death. However, before taking the condemned man away, Mora was offered a merciful pardon for the last time, promised by the king in case of his repentance. However, More considered that loyalty to his beliefs is more important than life and refused. Meanwhile, a cruel death awaited him. The verdict read: «To return him, with the assistance of Constable William Kingston, to the Tower, from there drag him along the ground through the entire City of London to Tyburn, hang him there so that he was tortured to death, take him off the noose before he died, cut off his genitals, open his stomach, tear out and burn his insides. Then quarter him and nail one quarter of his body over the four gates of the City, and put his head on London Bridge.»
Early on the morning of July 6, 1535, More’s friend Thomas Pope, who served in the Chancery court, arrived at the Tower. He informed Mora that he was to be executed at 9 o’clock and that the king had replaced his quartering with a simple beheading. Pestilence, not without bitter humor, exclaimed: «God save all my friends from such royal mercy!».
A painting by Michael David Ward. «Sir Thomas More says goodbye to his daughter.»
Soon More was taken to the square opposite the Tower, where the scaffold was installed. Until the very end of his life, the Utopian philosopher maintained amazing self-control and constantly joked.
One of the Tower’s employees demanded More’s outer clothing as his reward. Pestilence knew and gave him his cap, saying that it was the most outer clothing he had.
Antoine Caron. «The execution of Sir Thomas More in 1535»
Approaching the hastily constructed scaffold, he asked one of the jailers: «Please help me up, and I will try to get down myself somehow.»
Cecil Doughty. «The Execution of Sir Thomas More.»
On the scaffold, Pestilence said to the executioner: «My neck is short, aim well so as not to be ashamed.» And at the very last minute, kneeling down and putting his head on the block, he added: «Wait a bit, let me take off my beard, because she has never committed any treason.»
For his loyalty to Catholicism, Pestilence was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1935. But it is curious that the Communists can be said to have «canonized» the former Lord Chancellor of England, calling his book about the country «Utopia», the first literary embodiment of the dream of communism as the most just social system. The fictional narrator Mora tells about the island of Utopia, where there is no private property, work is obligatory for everyone and the distribution of everything necessary takes place according to need.
Oleg Loginov
*Translated using an electronic dictionary. The original text in Russian and much more on the criminal topic can be selected on the main page of the site — http://crimerecords.info/
