It comes as little surprise that of the Four Thomases during King Henry VIIIs reign (Cranmer, Cromwell, More, and Wolsey), Thomas More was not spared the wrath of his king. Only one of the Thomases would outlive the tyrant kingand it would not be More. Thomas Mores life and work were not without controversy, as this article will explain, and working under Henry VIII meant that he was walking a tightrope at all times. Read on to find out why he was such an influential, yet controversial, figure.Thomas Mores Early LifeSir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527. Source: Google Arts & CultureThomas More was born on February 7, 1478 on Milk Street in London, England. He was the son of a lawyer (Sir John More) and his wife, Agnes. He was the second child of the six that the couple had together.Young Thomas was educated at St Anthonys School, which at the time was regarded as one of Londons finest schoolsand this excellent education undoubtedly helped to transform the boy into the man that he would become.As an adolescent, More worked as a household page for the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Morton. It was John Morton who had a huge impact on Mores later humanist beliefspart of what at the time was called the New Learning systemMorton encouraged the young More in these studies and put him forward for a place at Oxford University.In 1492, More began his studies at Oxford University, where he received a classical education, becoming proficient in both Greek and Latin. Upon his fathers insistence, More left Oxford after just two years in order to pursue a career in the law, like his father. By 1496, More had become a student at Lincolns Inn, and he remained there until 1502 when he was formally called to the Bar.Thomas Mores Entry Into PoliticsSir John More, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1527. Source: The Royal CollectionMores political career started in London, shortly after he had qualified as a lawyer. In 1504, he was elected to represent Great Yarmouth, and by 1510 he was representing London in Parliament.Mores first foray into politics was a memorable one. In 1504, he dared to oppose the frugal King Henry VIIs demands for money. The young, upstart lawyer-turned-politician opposed the king of England in front of Parliament. While Mores tactic and argument worked on those present in ParliamentHenry only demanded a figure akin to three-fifteenths of the original amount he had asked forand he never forgave the young Mores audacity. While he could do nothing to More himself, he retorted by throwing his father in the Tower of London and only released him when the More family had paid a sum of 100.After this incident, More disappeared from the public eye for a few years. Yet he was not out of the spotlight for long. By 1510, he was working as one of the two undersheriffs in London, and four years later became the Master of Requests, slowly making his way into the Royal Court. In mid-1514, he became a Privy Counselor and was firmly established within the royal circle.He undertook a diplomatic mission to visit Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and in 1520, he took a trip to the Field of the Cloth of Gold, where he accompanied Thomas Wolsey (the Chancellor) and King Henry VIII at the huge display of machismo and royalty.The following year, in 1521, More was knighted for his services to the Crown. As for a further reward, he was made under-treasurer of the Exchequer.Mores Beginnings Under King Henry VIIIHenry VIII, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1537. Source: Wikimedia CommonsAs a key member of King Henry VIIIs court, More (now Sir Thomas More following his knighthood) began to really work hard, establishing himself as one of the most important diplomats at the Tudor court.He involved himself deeply in foreign affairs, inviting foreign diplomats to the Tudor court, while also serving as a liaison between the king and Wolsey, whose relationship was becoming more fractured as the 1520s progressed.However, More had the advantage that both Henry VIII and Wolsey respected him greatlythe latter even nominating More to become the Speaker of the House in 1525, a role which More gladly accepted. His political prowess was growing stronger every day, and it appeared that he was certainly on an upward trajectory that would seemingly never come down.Mores Pinnacle of PowerCardinal Thomas Wolsey, c. 1585-96. Source: Artuk.orgIn 1529, Henry VIII removed Wolsey from his position, as he deemed that the Chancellor had become too powerful (he was sometimes referred to as the alter rexmeaning other king). Wolsey had also failed to negotiate an annulment with the Catholic Church for Henrys marriage to Catherine of Aragon.There was only one logical replacement for Cardinal Wolsey in Henrys eyes: Sir Thomas More. And so it was that in 1529, More became the new Chancellor of England.However, the upward trajectory that More had been on since the early 1520s was about to come crashing downand not for dissimilar reasons to Wolsey.It is important to remember that during this turbulent period in history, the notion of Protestantism was newmen on the continent like John Calvin and Martin Luther were recent phenomena, and the only branch of Christianity prominent at the time in England was Roman Catholicism.Henry VIII had different ideas, though. He needed a divorce, and he needed it quickly. Of course, this led to the infamous Reformation Parliament, in which More himself was to be a leading figure.More and the Reformation ParliamentThomas Cromwell, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532-33. Source: The Frick CollectionIn order to see his divorce finalized and make sure that the break from Rome formally went ahead, Henry VIII declared himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England.Of course, More had a pivotal role in what came to be known as the Reformation Parliament, and he was not shy about withholding his own beliefs. In a move that harked back to his spat with Henry VII around the turn of the 16th century, More stood his ground and dared to oppose the mighty King Henry VIII.More supported the notion of the Pope holding supremacy over Henry, believing that the Pope was Gods representative on Earth, and a successor of the disciple, Peter; Henry was merely a mortal monarch.In 1530, More refused to sign a letterwhich had been drafted by leading figures in the English Churchthat asked for Pope Clement VII to annul Henrys marriage to Catherine of Aragon. The same year, a royal decree was issued, ordering all churchmen and members of the clergy to swear an oath that would acknowledge the king as the Supreme Head of the Church of England. It was known as the Oath of Supremacy.While most members of the clergy signed it (this was known as the final submission of the clergy), More and a few others refused. Most of the clergymen who refused to sign it were relieved of their positions by Henry VIII, while More had to be dealt with more carefully thanks to his power and influence over the Tudor court.By May 1532, More had seen enough. On May 16, he resigned from his position as Chancellor but managed to remain in Henrys favorlargely because he kept his main opinions private, and did not make a public show of them.Mores Charges and IndictmentPortrait of Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle, artist unknown, c. 1550. Source: Wikimedia CommonsNaturally, More was not the kind of man to disappear without some sort of controversy. Following the annulment of Henry VIIIs marriage to Catherine of Aragon, news had spread that the king was due to wed a woman from the court, Anne Boleyn.More himself was invited to attend the wedding ceremony, but upon receiving his invitation in 1533, the former chancellor refused. This enraged Henry, and More was charged with heresy and accepting bribes. The reality was that Mores refusal was seen as a snub against the king and the Royal Family, so Henry needed to find a legal reason to have him charged.In 1534, around the turn of the year, More was accused by Thomas Cromwell (Henry VIIIs chief minister at the time) of giving advice to a nun called Elizabeth Barton, who had been telling a prophecy that Henrys life would soon end for divorcing Catherine of Aragon. However, these charges against More were soon dropped.Later in the same year, More was once again put on trial, this time to appear before a committee and swear his allegiance to the Act of Successionwhich outlined that Henry and Annes daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I, would be Henrys heir presumptive if he did not have a son, rather than his daughter with Catherine, who would also go on to become Queen Mary I. Once again, More refused.His time was up at the Tudor court. After refusing to support Henrys supremacy over the Church of England, refusing to support his annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, and refusing to sign the 1534 Oath of Succession which acknowledged Anne as queen and their children as heirs, the only option left was to arrest him on charges of treason.Mores Final Days and ExecutionThe Meeting of Sir Thomas More with his Daughter After His Sentence of Death, by William Frederick Yeames, 1872. Source: Wikimedia CommonsMore was arrested on charges of treason, and Henry VIII had him imprisoned in the Tower of London. While in the tower, he often wrote to his daughter, Meg, while another one of the most common visitors to his cell was Thomas Cromwell, who actively encouraged More to sign the Oath and rebuke his previous beliefs.If More was anything, he was a man of principle. And he stood by his beliefs, all throughout his tenure in the Tower, and even right up to his death.His trial date was set for July 1, 1535, and on the judging panel were figures including Anne Boleyns father, uncle, and brother. Unsurprisingly, the jury only took 15 minutes to find More guilty of high treason, and while he was initially set to be hanged, drawn, and quartered (which was the punishment usually reserved for commoners, rather than members of the nobility), Henry changed these charges so that he was to be executed by beheading.On July 6, 1535, at Tower Hill in London, More was beheaded, aged just 57 years old.The Legacy of Sir Thomas MoreAn illustration of Utopia, artist unknown, 1516. Source: Wikimedia CommonsSir Thomas More was undoubtedly one of the most prominent figures in Tudor Englandand he became a symbol of martyrdom for the Catholic cause. His loss was huge for the Tudor courta figure who could orate and debate as well as More was not easy to replace. But Henry moved on and so did England, into an era of quasi-Protestantism.Aside from his skills as chancellor, More was arguably an even better philosopher and he is credited with some of the most important philosophical works in history.His 1516 work, Utopia, is one of the most widely-read and controversial works of Tudor literature, while other contemporary European philosophers such as Erasmus regarded More as one of the greatest minds of the age.The legacy that More left behind was not just one of a Catholic martyr, nor just one of a great philosopher, but a legacy of a mind so in touch with the Tudor court, and so politically intelligent, that his passing left a gap that few English statesmen were able to fill.