. Historical portraits ... d was famous for thespeed with which he cleared away suits from a court whose delayswere already notorious. But the tide that was to engulf him was already rising. Kingand Parliament were set on one thing, the diminution and ultimatelythe destruction of the Papal power in England. More was far tooconservative to approve of such a breach with the past, and he sawclearly that the iniquitous divorce from Queen Katharine, whosewarm partisan he was, had been Henrys main incentive. In May1532 he therefore resigned his office of Chancellor and thenceforthkept away from Cour
. Historical portraits ... d was famous for thespeed with which he cleared away suits from a court whose delayswere already notorious. But the tide that was to engulf him was already rising. Kingand Parliament were set on one thing, the diminution and ultimatelythe destruction of the Papal power in England. More was far tooconservative to approve of such a breach with the past, and he sawclearly that the iniquitous divorce from Queen Katharine, whosewarm partisan he was, had been Henrys main incentive. In May1532 he therefore resigned his office of Chancellor and thenceforthkept away from Court. In 1533 he was for a time involved in thesuperstition of Elizabeth Barton, the Nun of Kent, who wassetting up for a prophetess, but on closer examination he admittedthat he had been her dupe, and his name was struck off the Bill ofAttainder in which her adherents were mentioned. But in 1534 hefound himself confronted with the demand that he should swear tothe Act of Succession, and should swear in such explicit terms as. SIR THOMAS MOREFrom a portrait by Holbein in the possession of Edward Huth, Esq. Face p. 4a SIR THOMAS MORE 43 involved a denial of the power of the Pope to grant dispensationsfrom the Levitical law. More was quite ready to swear to upholdthe succession of Queen Annes children to the Crown; but, for .this is what it practically came to, he would not disown QueenKatharines. He was therefore committed to the Tower togetherwith his friend Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (April 1534), and mostof his property was confiscated. When Parliament passed in thenext year the Act of Supremacy, More declined to give his openopinion on it; but he let everyone know that he abhorred it. InJuly he was indicted of high treason under the new Act, andaccused of conspiring in the Tower with his fellow prisoner was beheaded on Tower Hill, July 6. His reputation as a scholar and almost as a saint was so widelydiffused, that the cry of horror, raised all over civilized Europe
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