John Fisher and Sir Thomas More executed

Historical Context Note

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Both John Fisher and Thomas More were high profile scholars who fell foul of Henry VIII's determination to divorce Catherine of Aragon and declare himself Head of the Church of England.

John Fisher was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, and Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University since 1501. He was close to Catherine of Aragon, and became her chief defendant in the legatine court convened to judge the legitimacy of her marriage to Henry VIII. He attempted to avoid confronting the issue of the Royal Supremacy by avoiding taking the Oath of Supremacy, but his downfall came when, in May 1535, the Pope made Fisher a Cardinal. Henry VIII decreed this to act in defiance of his position as Head of the Church, and convicted Fisher of treason. He was beheaded on 22nd June 1535, and his head was

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2006 John Fisher and Sir Thomas More executed 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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