Thomas More

== Early life ==

{{Catholic philosophy}}
Born on [[Milk Street, London|Milk Street]] in the [[City of London]], on 7 February 1478, Thomas More was the son of [[John More (judge)|Sir John More]],<ref>Jokinen, A. (13 June 2009). [http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/morebio.htm "The Life of Sir Thomas More."] Luminarium. Retrieved 19 September 2011.</ref> a successful lawyer and later a judge,<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Glenn |first1=Garrard |title=St. Thomas More As Judge and lawyer |journal=Fordham Law Review |date=1 January 1941 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=187 |url=https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol10/iss2/2/}}</ref>{{sfn|House|2008|loc=More, Sir Thomas}} and his wife Agnes (''née'' Graunger). He was the second of six children. More was educated at [[St. Anthony's Hospital, St Benet Fink|St. Anthony's School]], then considered one of London's best schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biography.com/people/thomas-more-9414278|title=Sir Thomas More|work=The Biography Channel website|year=2014|access-date=30 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://tudortimes.co.uk/people/thomas-more-always-a-londoner |title=Thomas More: Always a Londoner |website=tudortimes.co.uk |date=24 September 2016 |access-date=1 May 2019}}</ref> From 1490 to 1492, More served [[John Morton (cardinal)|John Morton]], the [[Archbishop of Canterbury]] and Lord Chancellor of England, as a household page.<ref name="Rebhorn">{{cite book|editor-last=Rebhorn|editor-first=Wayne A|title=Utopia|place=New York|publisher=Barnes & Noble|series=Classics|year=2005|chapter=Introduction}}.</ref>{{rp|xvi}}

Morton enthusiastically supported the "[[New Learning]]" (scholarship which was later known as "humanism" or "London humanism"), and thought highly of the young More. Believing that More had great potential, Morton nominated him for a place at the [[University of Oxford]] (either in [[St Mary Hall, Oxford|St. Mary Hall]] or [[Canterbury College, Oxford|Canterbury College]], both now gone).<ref name="Ackroyd">{{cite book|last=Ackroyd|first=Peter|title=The Life of Thomas More|place=New York|publisher=Anchor Books|year=1999}}.</ref>{{rp|38}}

More began his studies at Oxford in 1492, and received a classical education. Studying under [[Thomas Linacre]] and [[William Grocyn]], he became proficient in both Latin and Greek. More left Oxford after only two years—at his father's insistence—to begin legal training in London at New Inn, one of the [[Inns of Chancery]].<ref name="Rebhorn" />{{rp|xvii}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Harpsfield|first=Nicholas|title=The Life and Death of Sr Thomas More|place=London|publisher=Early English Text Society|year=1931|pages=12–3}}.</ref> In 1496, More became a student at [[Lincoln's Inn]], one of the [[Inns of Court]], where he remained until 1502, when he was [[call to the bar|called to the Bar]].<ref name="Rebhorn" />{{rp|xvii}}

More could speak and banter in Latin with the same facility as in English.  He wrote and translated poetry.<ref>{{cite book |last1=More |first1=Sir Thomas |title=Delphi Collected Works of Sir Thomas More (Illustrated) |date=10 December 2018 |publisher=Delphi Classics |isbn=978-1-78877-995-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVN-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT2287 |access-date=28 August 2023 |language=en}}</ref> He was particularly influenced by [[Pico della Mirandola]] and translated the ''Life of Pico'' into English.<ref name=Seebohm/>