One of the key criticisms of Richard Rich is his apparent lack of religious conviction. Under Henry VIII, he enthusiastically assisted with the Dissolution of the Monasteries, profiting handsomely from the process and participating in the persecution of Catholic loyalists. Yet when Henry began persecuting Protestants later in his reign, Rich assist

Richard Rich’s most infamous act—one that forever stained his reputation—was his involvement in the trial of Sir Thomas More, Henry VIII’s former Lord Chancellor and one of the most respected men of the age. In 1535, More was imprisoned in the Tower of London for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England

Introduction In the tumultuous landscape of Tudor England, few names stir as much suspicion and disdain as that of Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich. A man whose legacy is irrevocably tied to treachery, opportunism, and self-advancement, Rich has been cast in popular memory as the archetypal Tudor villain. From his involvement in the downfall of Sir Th

More never fully endorsed Utopia as prescriptive—its purpose was to prompt reflection. In Book I, he acknowledges: “What you can’t put right you must try to make as little wrong as possible… until human beings are perfect—which I don’t expect them to be for quite a number of years  Utopia wasn’t a neglect of realism—it was sa