Tagged by a History Meme
I was tagged by the chaplain for a history meme. This doesn’t stray too far off topic, I promise.
The rules are:
- Link to the person who tagged you.
- List 7 random/weird things about your favourite historical figure.
- Tag seven more people at the end of your blog and link to theirs.
- Let the person know they have been tagged by leaving a note on their blog.
I like to think that my favourite historical figure is an unusual one. Thomas More was an English politician, lawyer and scholar from the 16th century. Oh, and he’s a canonised saint and martyr in the Catholic Church.
Trivia about Thomas More:
- He popularised the term Utopia for a hypothetical perfect place in his book of the same name (it’s actually Latin for nowhere).
- He was the first secular Chancellor of England, following in the footsteps of Cardinal Wolsey.
- He co-wrote the pamphlet Assertio Septem Sacramentorum Martinum Lutherum (Declaration of the Seven Sacraments Against Martin Luther) which caused the Pope to confer the title Defender of the Faith on Henry VIII. This title has been used by all subsequent English/British monarchs.
- He took part in the persecution of William Tyndale, one of the pre-eminent early English Protestants, whose translation of the Bible strongly influenced the King James version.
- He was friends with Erasmus, whose satirical attack on the Catholic Church In Praise of Folly was dedicated to More.
- He was the first English patron of Hans Holbein, who is famous for his court paintings of Henry VIII, particularly that showing the King with his third wife Jane Seymour and his three children Mary, Elizabeth and Edward.
- He cemented the reputation of Richard III as a tyrant through his early work The History of Richard III. This reputation was later popularised further by Shakespeare of course.
Thomas More has been my favourite historical figure for a long time, certainly pre-dating my atheism. There’s much in his life that I think is unethical, immoral, and plain wrong - he certainly would have had no compunction in burning me at the stake.
One of the things that I do admire, is his willingness to stand up for his beliefs, even though he knew that they were likely to lead him into serious trouble. Of course, he believed that he would be rewarded in the next life, but even so, it can’t have been easy.
I tend to judge historical figures by two sets of rules, my own, and those of the period in which they lived. Thomas More was certainly an ethical man by his own standards, and those of many other people who lived at the same time. By my own, he was a lot less so.
I’m not tagging, because I don’t feel like I want to force it on people (I didn’t feel forced myself by the way), but if you feel so inclined, consider yourself tagged.
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Great choice. I’ve always been interested in learning about More. He’s an intriguing figure; perhaps the English equivalent of Machiavelli?
Perhaps. To be fair, I don’t think that he sought power absolutely in the same way that Machiavelli describes in The Prince.
I think he was pretty much a regular person, certainly a someone who tried to balance doing what he thought was right, with being a successful politician, in an time when modern politics was only just beginning.
Sadly, the modern person who I think is most similar is probably Tony Blair. But the things that I admire about More, aren’t tested in Blair. And, as a product of the modern age, Blair really should have known better.
Utopia isn’t derived from Latin; it’s derived from Greek. Ou meaning “not” and topos meaning “place.” The Latin word for nowhere is nusquam.
Well, at least I got the meaning right. Although I should have guessed that it was Greek really, I mean, it doesn’t sound that Latin.
Excellent and informative post! I am seriously impressed by your level of knowledge.