Thomas More was a lawyer, and one of Henry's closest advisers during his youth and the early days of his reign. He ran afoul of the king when he refused to swear the Oath of Supremacy which recognize the king, not the pope, as the supreme head of the church in England. Not only would he not swear to it, but being a rather smart guy, he wouldn't criticize it either! He knew that if he agreed with the act, although he would save his life, he would go against his conscience and the teachings of the Catholic church. If he spoke out against the act, he would lose his life, but guard his soul and conscience from harm. Wanting to save both his body and his soul, he decided that the best route to take was silence.
Unfortunately for him, he was tricked into making a statement against the marriage (or perhaps perjury was committed about his words), but once his feeling were known, he didn't hold back on what he believed about the king's marriage, the supremacy of the pope and the Catholic church, and the importance of an individual's conscience.
Henry VIII had is old friend and advisor executed at the Tower of London on July 6, 1535. His last words were "I die the king's good servant, but God's first." He is the patron saint of lawyers.
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