Character Catalog

A masterpiece of humanist literature, this Latin text describes an imaginary island governed by reason, without private property or war, serving as a critical mirror of European society. It gave its name to the literary and philosophical genre of utopia.

The first example of critical political biography in English, this text portrays Richard III as a tyrannical usurper and had a lasting influence on the king's image — most notably the portrayal Shakespeare would later give in his eponymous play.

Written during his imprisonment in the Tower of London, this English-language work is a spiritual meditation on suffering, faith, and courage in the face of death. It bears witness to the depth of his inner life as his execution drew near.

More wrote this fierce refutation of Luther's theses on behalf of Henry VIII, defending papal authority and the Catholic sacraments. This polemical work reveals his deep engagement in the religious controversies of the Reformation.

These letters to his beloved daughter, written during his imprisonment, are deeply moving documents of both human and spiritual intensity. They reveal a loving father and a man at peace with his conscience as he faced the ultimate sacrifice.

There is no private ownership in Utopia. Everyone works, but no one is compelled to excessive labor... They devote their free hours not to idleness, but to improving their minds.

I cannot help telling you, my dear Meg, that I feel as calm and content in this place as anywhere in the world. It seems to me that God is showing me a particular grace.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was small in stature and misshapen, his left shoulder higher than his right... His mind was cunning and devious, quick to dissemble, disposed to conceal.

Tribulation is for the virtuous man an occasion for merit and glory; for the wicked, a means of correcting himself and avoiding a greater evil... Neither, therefore, should despair in adversity.

More had a large and comfortable house built in Chelsea, on the banks of the Thames, where he welcomed Erasmus, Holbein, and the greatest minds of his time. This home also served as a school for his children and an intellectual hub of English humanism.

More was imprisoned there from 1534 until his execution in 1535, after refusing to swear the Oath of Supremacy. It was within this fortress that he wrote his final letters to his daughter Margaret and his Dialogue of Comfort against Tribulation.

As Lord Chancellor, More presided over the Court of Chancery at the Palace of Westminster, dispensing justice in the king's name. This place symbolised the height of his political career before his break with Henry VIII.

Utopia was first published in Leuven in December 1516, by the printer Thierry Martens, thanks to the support of Erasmus and Peter Giles. This city in the Spanish Netherlands was a leading humanist intellectual centre.

More trained in law at Lincoln's Inn, one of the four London Inns of Court, an elite institution for legal education. This training established him as a respected jurist and opened the doors to Parliament and the royal court.