The King's fury was intense. Fisher and More were in the Tower. The King sent Cromwell to ask for More's opinion of the new statutes. More was a lawyer, and his opinion would be worth having, for if he agreed with them he would carry many with him. More was perhaps the most respected man in England. Learned, deeply religious, a good and moral man, he was above bribery and corruption. If he would be prepared to give his approval to the statutes, it was certain that many would do the same. The King must get that approval.
“Were they not lawful?” demanded Cromwell of him.
More's reply was that he was a loyal subject of the King and he could say no more than that.
When Cromwell returned to the King, Henry abused him. He was like that with Cromwell. But Cromwell stood by, patiently humble, smiling, waiting for the abuse to cease and letting the insults pass over his head.
He tried More again, with the same results.
The King cried out in a pained voice: “I have given my friendship to that man, and now he refuses this little I ask.”
More's reply was that he was the King's servant, but God's first.
What could one do with such a man? He disturbed Henry, making it difficult for him to reconcile his conscience, which was one of the greatest offenses a man or woman could commit.
On the Continent affairs in England were closely watched. Henry was isolating himself, and that made him uneasy.
The Pope had sent word that Fisher had been made a Cardinal. This was clearly meant to aggravate Henry, for Fisher was in the Tower. Like More, he had refused to accept the Oath of Supremacy.
“A Cardinal!” spluttered Henry. “Tell the Pope I'll send his head to Rome to receive his Cardinal's Hat.”
Such outbursts were of little use.
He was most disturbed by Thomas More. The strong sentimental streak in Henry was uppermost in his feelings for More, and he was at times capable of affection. He admired More almost as much as he had Wolsey. The lively brain, the witty conversation, the clear view of life which comes to most of us too late and to some not at all, that innate knowledge of what is of true importance in life, often seeming to the worldly simple—that was More. A man greatly beloved by his family and his friends, one of whom had been the King. Henry used to visit the house at Chelsea now and then. He knew the family well, and he had at times been a little envious that so much felicity should come to a man who lacked what he, Henry, had—royalty, power, good looks.
And now More was in the Tower. He was going to refuse to sign the Oath of Supremacy because he was a man of strong will and high principles. This refusal would brand him a traitor, and the punishment for traitors was death.
Henry had to face that. How could he sign a death warrant? This was a man he loved—in spite of his obstinacy. He raged. Why was More such a fool? Why was he ready to give up everything he had—and by God, that man had a great deal!— just for the sake of signing his name!
Fisher was such another. “Obstinate old fool,” grumbled Henry.
June had come—hot and sultry.
Henry was stubborn. He had to go ahead. Several Carthusian monks and twenty-four other people were cruelly executed for denying the King was Supreme Head of the Church—carried on hurdles to the place of execution, then hanged and cut open while they were alive and their intestines were burned.
Fisher's execution followed.
The King sent a command that no one was to preach about Fisher's treason. And they were not to mention Sir Thomas More.
I know that Henry suffered over More. He tried to put off the trial. He was sullen. I found him glaring at me as though I were to blame, for after all, if I had given way in the beginning, there might not have been this break with Rome, and More might, at this time, be living happily with his family at Chelsea.
But he could delay no longer. On the first day of July, More faced his judges in Westminster Hall.
My father was among those judges; so were Norfolk, Suffolk and Cromwell. More was charged with infringing the Act of Supremacy and maliciously opposing the King's second marriage. He answered that he had not advised Fisher to disobey the Oath; he had not described it as a two-edged sword, approval of which would ruin the soul. All the same, a verdict of guilty was pronounced and he was sentenced to be hanged atTyburn.
Henry was most distressed. He could not allow his old friend to be hanged like a common felon; he immediately changed the sentence to a more dignified form of execution: More was to be beheaded.
Everyone was talking of More. He was a man much loved by the people. Henry should never have agreed to his execution. But he could not turn back now. He had gone too far.
More had faced his accusers with courage and almost indifference, which was expected of such a man. He had few enemies, which was rare for a man in his position. He loved his daughter, Margaret, especially. People talked of her terrible grief and how she had run to him when he left Westminster Hall with the ax turned toward him and thrown her arms about his neck. Only then did he show signs of breaking his control. He had begged her not to unman him; and the poor girl had fallen fainting to the ground while he was forced to go on…a prisoner.
There was one thing he had said, and this had made a great impression on me. It was reported to me by those who pretended to be my friends and kept me informed of what was going on. Usually it brought disquiet, but I had to know. More's daughter Margaret had raged against the dancing and feasting which was going on at Court while her father suffered imprisonment; and of course she talked of me with hatred, for like everyone else, she blamed me for all the ills which had befallen us.
“Poor Anne Boleyn,” Sir Thomas More was reported to have said. “It pitieth me to consider what misery, poor soul, she will shortly come to. These dances of hers will prove such dances that she will spurn our heads off like footballs, but it will not be long ere her head will dance the same dance.”
I shivered when I heard that. It was not completely implausible. Oh, if only I could get a son…
On that sad July day Sir Thomas More was taken out to Tower Hill. There was a silence throughout the Court. It seemed that everyone was there in spirit to witness that grisly scene.
He was jesting when he died, having approached the scaffold with the utmost composure. He said to the executioner: “I pray you see me safely up, and for my coming down let me shift for myself.” He told the watching crowd that he died in the faith of the Catholic Church, and he prayed God to send the King good counsel.
Then the ax fell.
The King was playing cards with me when the news was brought that Sir Thomas was dead. He turned pale; his lips tightened. For a moment he looked a frightened man. I knew he was thinking that he had ordered the death of a saint. I saw a quiver run through his plump cheeks; then his eyes fell on me.
He was afraid of what he had done. He feared Heaven's wrath; and in case God had forgotten he had to remind Him of the real culprit.
There was cold hatred in his eyes as they surveyed me. “You are the cause of this man's death,” he said, and left the table.
I felt death very close then. I saw him more clearly than I ever had… this man who could be so ruthless and had the power to work his will on us all.
Thomas More's body was buried in the church of St. Peter in the Tower, but his head, as was the custom with traitors’ heads, was placed on a pole and set up on London Bridge, that all who passed beneath it could reflect on the fate of traitors.
A shiver ran through the Court when news came that the head had disappeared. It seemed like Divine interference. Henry was in a state of great nervousness. He had always thought of himself as being on good terms with Heaven; and now this looked like a sign of disapproval.