Thomas More
St. Thomas More (1478-1535) was one of the most important Christian humanists and Catholic apologists of the sixteenth century. More received a rigorous classical education in his youth and later pursued a career in law, serving in Parliament and holding many prestigious positions before eventually becoming the Lord Chancellor from 1529 to 1532. He developed a strong friendship with the humanist Erasmus, prolifically defended Catholicism against the Protestant Reformers, and composed outstanding Renaissance tracts, including his magnum opus, Utopia (1516). When the English monarchy split from Rome, More fell out of favor with Henry VIII; consequently, he was arrested for treason and died a martyr’s death. He is a canonized saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
Belmont Abbey College offers a free online course on the life and work of Saint Thomas More here: https://resources.bac.edu/thomas-more-course/
Preferred Editions:
Thomas More, A Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation (Providence, RI: Cluny Media).
Thomas More, The Essential Works of Thomas More, ed. Gerard Wegemer and Stephen W. Smith (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020).
Thomas More, Utopia, ed. Robert A. Adams (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016).
Insightful Secondary Literature:
Robert J. Conrad, John Fisher and Thomas More: Keeping Their Souls While Losing Their Heads (Gastonia: TAN Books, 2021).
E.E. Reynolds, Saint Thomas More: His Life and Work (Providence, RI: Cluny Media, 2022).
Gerard Wegemer, Thomas More: A Portrait of Courage, 2nd Edition (Scepter Publishing, 2025).
Gerard Wegemer, Thomas More on Statesmanship (Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1998).
Helpful External Links: