Suicide, Martyrdom, and Thomas More

Abstract

For Thomas More the topic of suicide clearly had special significance. In his public life he encountered several instances of self-destruction; his concern with suicide in all its aspects is reflected in his major works, including Utopia and A Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation; and ultimately he had to decide whether his decision not to recognize Henry the Eighth as spiritual leader of England was equivalent to an act of suicide. More's approach to suicide is consistent throughout his writings, and there is no discrepancy at all between his written statements and the actions of his life. His earliest known contact with suicide occurred at the end of 1514, when a certain Richard Hunne, a wealthy merchant tailor who had been committed to the Lollards’ Tower at St. Paul's on a charge of heresy, was found hanged in his cell.