Thomas More's pen: the author of Utopia and the sharp tongue of Tudor polemic
A new HistoryExtra feature examines the contrast between Thomas More's identity as the author of Utopia (1516) and the sharpness of his polemical language during the Reformation disputes. According to Cambridge University Tudor History Professor Dr Brendan Bradshaw, 'More is a rare figure who bridges both the aesthetics of humanist thought and the sharp language of practical politics.'
More was born in London in 1478 into a family of lawyers. Going up to Oxford at an early age, More studied Latin and Greek classics and also established a close friendship with Erasmus, the Europe-wide standard-bearer of humanism. This humanist framework made possible the writing of More's best-known work, Utopia, which addressed the design of an ideal society. Utopia, written in Latin and printed in Louvain in 1516, drew wide attention across humanist Europe.
In the 1520s, when Reformation disputes broke out, More became one of the leading defenders of Catholic doctrine for Henry VIII. The pamphlets he wrote against Martin Luther's theses during this period contained a polemical style unusual for the Latin of the period. According to the analysis published under HistoryExtra's editorial direction, More aggressively employed the sharp polemical instruments of the classical rhetorical tradition when targeting Luther's ideas.
Tudor literary historian Dr Eamon Duffy, examining this polemical language in detail in a study published with Yale University Press, said 'the language More used against Luther can be startlingly sharp and crude for the contemporary reader; but such expressions are among the standard instruments of period polemic.' Duffy notes that more than 60 percent of the theological polemical texts published in Europe between 1500 and 1530 contained similar kinds of expression.
More's polemical texts include works such as Responsio ad Lutherum (1523) and A Dialogue Concerning Heresies (1529). In these texts, More rejected Luther's arguments with a language that pushed beyond the mould of contemporary humanist understanding. Cambridge Reformation History Programme coordinator Dr Diarmaid MacCulloch said 'More's reply to Luther can be considered one of the strongest Catholic defences in European Reformation polemic, but the choice of language frequently gives rise to misunderstandings today.'
In the late 1520s and early 1530s, when Reformation disputes intensified, More's rise within the royal judicial system also changed the political character of his works. Taking the title of Lord Chancellor in 1529, More became one of the strongest voices opposing Henry VIII's bid to marry Anne Boleyn. Refusing to take the oath to the Act of Supremacy that the King signed in 1534, More was charged with treason, tried, and executed at Tower Hill on 6 July 1535.
The Catholic Church raised More to the status of saint in 1935. Saint Thomas More's day is celebrated annually on 22 June. More's life story reached wide audiences through Robert Bolt's 1960 stage play A Man for All Seasons and its 1966 film adaptation. In this adaptation, the character of More was projected as a symbol of moral resistance.
How More's literary legacy is read today remains an ongoing topic of debate in humanism studies. Yale University historian Dr John Guy, in his More biography Thomas More: A Very Brief History (2019), said 'remembering More only as the author of Utopia means ignoring his political struggles and polemics; both are necessary for understanding the intellectual fabric of Tudor England.'
The lasting impact of Utopia has been repeatedly revisited in modern political philosophy studies. Harvard University Professor Quentin Skinner said 'More's Utopia is one of the most important texts formulating discussions of social equality within the Renaissance humanist framework; it is the origin of today's concept of utopia.' Skinner's interpretation provides a reference point for modern political philosophy research.
The academic approach to how More's polemical period should be contextualised today is shaped by comparative study of other Catholic and Protestant polemical texts of the Reformation period. King's College London Professor Alec Ryrie said 'Reformation period polemics should be read not by today's judgment but within the rhetorical tradition of the period.' This approach makes possible a more accurate framing of More's texts for the modern reader. This article has been prepared for historical analysis; it does not constitute contemporary political or religious advice.