The Influence of Sir Thomas More's Career as a Lawyer and Judge on the Writing of Utopia

45 The Influence of Sir Thomas More7 s Career as a Lawyer and Judge on the Writing of Utopia Matthew Zilko Much has been written about the cross-currents of More's ideas in writing of Utopia and a number of texts and other papers over the years have been devoted to attempting to discover the inner man, as Louis Martz describes it, or the real Thomas More as Alistair Fox prefers to call it. However, relatively little has been written about Thomas More the lawyer and the influence of More's legal background on what Fox describes as 'unquestionably one of the great works of original genius of all time'. In particular, none of the leading commentators on either More or Utopia such as Fox, J. H. Hexter and G. R. Elton has attempted to identify those influences. Conversely, the most prolific observer of More's public career, Professor J. A. Guy, appears to have made no more than a cursory approach to the subject. Accordingly, I propose to examine this issue in some detail. I intend to show that More's work as a lawyer, particularly in the Chancery Court where the rules of equity prevailed over the c o m m o n law, had much to do with the philosophy underlying Utopia. More was born in London on 7 February 1477 or 1478. His father, John More, was a judge on the King's Bench. In about 1491 More entered the household of John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord 1 Louis L. Martz, Thomas More: The Searchfor the Inner Man (New Haven: University Press, 1990), pp. 3ff. 2 Alistair Fox, 'In Search of the Real Thomas More', in The Rhetoric ofChara ed. by Alistair Fox and Peter Leech (Dunedin: 1979), p. 17ff. 3 Alistair Fox, Utopia : An Elusive Vision (New York: Twayne Publisher Toronto: Maxwell Macmillan Canada; N e w York: Maxwell Macmillan International, 1993), p. 11. 46 Matthew Zilko Chancellor. Morton later became a cardinal. In about 1493 More went up to Oxford where he studied the liberal arts before commencing legal studies in 1494 at the Inns of Court, f i r s t N e w Inn, then Lincoln's Inn. More's decision to practise law appears to have been at the insistence of his father because most scholars agree that More's early interest lay in the possibility of a religious life. However, i t is probably fair to say that More also recognised that his physical inclinations pointed towards marriage rather than the celibacy he would endure as a man of the cloth. Erasmus, w h o m More met during the Dutchman's f i r s t visit to England in 1499, later said that More preferred to be a chaste husband to an unchaste priest. More's career in the law grew quickly and in September 1510 he was appointed as Undersheriff of London. This was a judicial position which More was entitled to hold whilst s t i l l practising law. As Undersheriff of London, More advised the sheriffs and sat as judge in the Sheriff's Court. This court was ancient and respected, i t s existence being implied as early as Henry I ' s reign. What l i t t l e evidence i s l e f t of the historical records pertaining to the Sheriff's Court shows that i t dealt with almost all matters except the recognised pleas of the Crown. More's career continued to advance at a rapid rate such that by 1517 he had been admitted into the Council of Henry VIII. Whilst this was a political rather than a legal step in his career, his appointment to Henry's Council was brought about by his growing fame as a lawyer and judge. More's contribution to Council work was considerable. His most meaningful and extensive work before Wolsey's f a l l in 1529 was among the trusted group in regular attendance on the king. Indeed, for three and a half years in that period, More effectively served as the king's secretary. O n 25 October 1529 More entered Henry's inner...