A Man for All Seasons (1966) - full transcript

Every second bastard born

is fathered by a priest.

But in Utopia that couldn't be.

For why?

For there the priests

are very holy.

Therefore very few.

Is it anything

interesting, Matthew?

- Bless you, sir. I don't know.

- Bless you too, Matthew.

To be sure, we have some

holy priests in England.

- Oh, name some.

- Brother James.

Man's a simpleton.

It's from Cardinal Wolsey.

What's he want?

- Me.

- When?

Now.

In Hampton Court? You won't

be there by midnight.

- The King's business.

- Queen's business.

Mistress Anne Boleyn's business.

Well, it's all the

Cardinal's business.

That's very true. And

when the Cardinal

calls, you all come

running, day or night.

What is the man? A butcher's son.

Chancellor of England, too.

No, that's his office.

What's the man?

Surely, Your Grace, when a man

rises so high and so swiftly...

we must think he was

misplaced in his origins.

That, at least, was the

opinion of Aristotle and...

A butcher's son and looks it.

His looks, yes, I

give you his looks.

What was that you said, Richard?

Nothing, Sir Thomas,

it was out of place.

And Wolsey's still a butcher.

And you're a member of the King's

High Council, not an errand boy.

That is why I must go.

The Duke would go if the

Cardinal called him.

I might.

I'll be back for breakfast.

Go to bed.

"Dear Lord, give us rest tonight,

or if we must be

wakeful, cheerful.

"Careful only for our soul's

salvation. For

Christ's sake. Amen."

And bless our lord, the King.

- "And bless our lord, the King."

- Amen.

Excuse me, gentlemen.

Goodnight, Your Grace.

Keep clear of Wolsey, Thomas.

He's a frightened man.

- Who is that?

- A young friend from Cambridge.

What's he want?

What do they all want? A position.

- Can you give him a position?

- Do you recommend him?

No.

- Sir Thomas.

- No.

- Did you recommend me?

- No.

Richard, I may have

a position for you.

- What? What position?

- Not now, Richard. Tomorrow.

For you all, boatman.

Thank you, sir.

Sir Thomas is here,

Your Grace. Sir Thomas.

Master Cromwell.

You opposed me in the Council

this morning, Thomas.

Yes, Your Grace.

- You were the only one.

- Yes, Your Grace.

You're a fool.

Thank God there is only

one fool on the Council.

Why did you oppose me?

I thought Your Grace was wrong.

A matter of conscience.

You're a constant

regret to me, Thomas.

If you could just see

facts flat on...

without that horrible

moral squint.

With a little common sense, you

could have made a statesman.

The King.

Where's he been? Do you know?

I, Your Grace?

Spare me your discretion.

He's been to play

in the muck again.

He's been to Mistress Anne Boleyn.

More, are you going to help me?

If Your Grace will be specific.

You're a plodder. All

right, we'll plod.

The King wants a son. What are

you going to do about it?

I'm very sure the

King needs no advice

from me on what to do about it.

Thomas, we're alone. I give you

my word, there's no one here.

I didn't suppose there

was, Your Grace.

Do you favour a

change of dynasty? Do

you think two Tudors

are sufficient?

For God's sake, Your Grace.

Then he needs a son. I repeat,

what are you going to do about it?

I pray for it daily.

God's death, he means it.

That thing out there,

at least she's fertile.

- But she's not his wife.

- No, Catherine's his wife...

and she's barren as a brick. Are

you going to pray for a miracle?

There are precedents.

All right. Good.

Pray by all means.

But in addition to

prayer there is effort.

And my effort is to

secure a divorce.

Have I your support,

or have I not?

The Pope gave a dispensation,

so that the King might marry...

his brother's widow

for state reasons.

We are to ask the

Pope to dispense with

his dispensation, also

for state reasons?

I don't like plodding,

Thomas. Well?

Then, clearly all

we have to do is to

approach His Holiness and ask him.

I think we might influence the

decision of His Holiness.

By argument?

Argument certainly. And pressure.

Pressure, applied

to the Church? The

Church has its church property.

Pressure.

No, Your Grace, I'm not

going to help you.

Then goodnight, Master More.

Let the dynasty die

with Henry VIII

and we'll have

dynastic wars again.

Blood-witted barons ramping

the country from end to end.

Is that what you want? Very well.

England needs an heir.

Certain measures,

perhaps regrettable...

perhaps not, there's

much in the Church

which needs reformation, Thomas.

All right, regrettable. But

necessary to get us an heir.

Now, explain how you,

as a councillor of

England, can obstruct

these measures...

for the sake of your own

private conscience.

I think that when

statesmen forsake

their own private conscience...

for the sake of their

public duties...

they lead their country by

a short route to chaos.

And we shall have my

prayers to fall back on.

You'd like that, wouldn't you? To

govern the country with prayers?

Yes, I should.

I'd like to be there when you try.

Who will wear this after me?

Who's our next chancellor?

You? Fisher? Suffolk?

- Fisher for me.

- Aye, but for the King?

What about my secretary,

Master Cromwell?

Cromwell. He's a very able man.

But?

Me rather than Cromwell.

Then, come down to earth.

Until you do...

you and I are enemies.

As Your Grace wishes.

As God wills.

Perhaps, Your Grace.

More. You should

have been a cleric.

Like yourself, Your Grace?

Goodnight, Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

What's this?

From some grateful poor

folk, in Leicester.

Leicester?

You do more good

than you know, sir.

My daughter has a case, sir, in

the Court of Poor Man's Causes.

Baked apples, sir.

To sweeten my judgement.

I'll give your daughter the same

judgement I would give my own.

A fair one, quickly.

Bless you, sir.

I understand. Yes. I'll

read it. Yes. Thank you.

Good evening, Sir Thomas.

- I'll read it.

- It's an awkward case.

- I could illuminate it for you...

- I'll read it.

Just a moment or two...

Boat.

Sir?

Chelsea, sir?

Chelsea.

I expect you'll make it

worth my while, sir.

You've got a licence?

Bless you, yes sir,

I've got a licence.

- Well then, the fares are fixed.

- They are, sir.

Hampton to Chelsea downstream,

a penny halfpenny.

Chelsea to Hampton upstream,

a penny halfpenny.

Whoever makes the regulations

doesn't row a boat.

No. Three pence if you get

me home for breakfast.

Thank you, sir.

A nice cup, sir.

Yes.

That's worth money, sir.

Mind a way, sir.

Thank you, sir.

- Have you been here all night?

- Yes.

You said there was a post?

Yes. I'll offer you a post, with a

house, a servant and £50 a year.

What post?

At the new school.

A teacher.

Richard, no one's going to

give you a place at court.

Master Cromwell says he'll

do something for me.

Cromwell?

Well, if you know Cromwell

you don't need my help.

Sir Thomas?

If only you knew how much, much

rather, I had your help than his.

Not to a place at court.

Why not?

Look.

- What is it?

- It's a bribe.

"I am the gift of Averil Machin."

And Averil Machin has a lawsuit

in the Court of Requests.

Italian silver. Take it. No joke.

Thank you.

What will you do with it?

Sell it.

- And buy what?

- A decent gown.

But Richard, that's

a little bribe.

At court they offer

you all sorts of

things, home, manor

houses, coats of arms.

A man should go where

he won't be tempted.

Why not be a teacher? You'd be a

fine teacher. Perhaps a great one.

- If I was, who would know it?

- You. Your pupils. Your friends.

God. Not a bad public, that.

And a quiet life.

You say that. You come from

talking with the Cardinal.

Yes, talking with the Cardinal.

It's eating your heart out, isn't

it? The high affairs of state.

The divorce?

Boatman.

Sir?

Take this gentleman

to the New Inn.

Right, sir.

Sir Thomas?

Thank you.

Be a teacher.

- Matthew.

- Sir.

- Lady Alice in bed?

- Yes, sir.

- Lady Margaret?

- No, sir.

The Master Roper's here, sir.

At this hour? Who let him in?

He's a hard man to keep out, sir.

Will wants to marry me, Father.

Well, he can't marry you.

Sir Thomas, I'm called to the Bar.

Oh, congratulations, Roper.

My family may not be at the

palace, but in the city...

There's nothing wrong

with your family, Will.

There's not much wrong with you.

Except you seem to need a clock.

I can buy a clock, sir.

Roper, the answer is no...

and will be no as long

as you're a heretic.

Now, that's a word I

don't like, Sir Thomas.

It's not a likeable word or thing.

The Church is

heretical. Dr Luther's

proved that to my satisfaction.

Luther is an excommunicate.

From a heretic Church.

Church? It's a shop.

Salvation by the

shilling. And divorces.

Will, no.

- What I know, I'll say.

- You've no sense of the place.

He's no sense of the time.

Now listen well.

Two years ago you were a

passionate churchman.

Now you're a passionate Lutheran.

We must just pray that when

your head's finished turning...

your face is to the front again.

- Is your horse here?

- No, sir, I walked.

Well, take a horse from the

stables and get back home.

Go along.

May I come again?

Yes. Soon.

Is that final, Father?

As long as he's a heretic,

Meg, that's absolute.

What did Wolsey want?

Nice boy, young Will.

Terribly strong

principles, though.

Clumsy, too.

- You're very pensive.

- You're very gay.

Was it the divorce?

To bed.

They're a cantankerous

lot, the Ropers.

Always swimming

against the stream.

Old Roper was just the same...

You don't want to talk about it.

No.

I'm sorry you were

awakened, chick.

I wasn't sleeping very deeply.

What did Wolsey want?

- Will Roper's been.

- Will Roper?

Yes, he's been here all

night. He wants to marry Meg.

Why you don't beat that girl I...

No.

She's full of education and

it's a delicate commodity.

Goodnight, Meg.

Goodnight.

Marry Meg. A lawyer's son.

Well, she's a lawyer's daughter.

Norfolk spoke of

you for Chancellor

of England before he left.

Well, he's a dangerous

friend then.

Wolsey's chancellor, God help him.

But Norfolk said, if

Wolsey fell, you...

If Wolsey fell, the splash would

swamp a few small boats like ours.

No.

There'll be no new chancellors

while Wolsey lives.

The Duke of Norfolk,

Earl Marshal of England.

Have you any message

for His Majesty?

If I had served God...

one half so well as

I've served my King...

God would not have left me

here, to die in this place.

Thank God you're

dying here. The King

would have you die in the Tower.

"I am straightly charged

by the King himself...

"here openly to declare

how much all England...

"is beholden to this man.

"And how worthy he is to have

the highest room in the realm.

"And how dearly the King's grace

doth love and trust him...

"not only for much good council...

"deliberate council, but

for better council yet...

"that which is privy

to the King's person.

"This same, Sir Thomas More...

"here made before you all to be...

"Lord Chancellor of the Realm."

Calm yourself, Matthew.

Fetch Lady Alice.

That's very well.

My lady. The King.

Now remember, the

visit's a surprise.

But he'll know we're

expecting him...

It's a very great honour. One

friend calling on another.

What's he really coming for?

To talk about the divorce.

He wants an answer.

- But he's had his answer.

- He wants another.

Thomas.

Your Majesty does my

house more honour

than I fear my

household will bear.

No ceremony Thomas, no ceremony.

A passing fancy. I happened

to be on the river.

Look. Mud.

By heaven, what an evening.

Lady Alice, I fear we came

upon you unexpectedly.

Yes, Your Grace. Well,

no, Your Grace.

Well, that is, we are

ready to entertain...

This is my daughter

Margaret, sire.

She's not yet had the

honour to meet Your Grace.

Why Margaret, they told

me you were a scholar.

Answer, Margaret.

Among women, I pass

for one, Your Grace.

Is your Latin the old

Latin, or Oxford Latin?

My father’s Latin, Sire.

Good. That is the best. And

has he taught you Greek too?

Not my father, Sire,

but my father’s

friend, John Colet, Dean of St.

Paul’s.

But it is with the Greek as

it is with the Latin; the

skill of the master is lost

in the pupil’s lack of it.

Can you dance, too?

Not well, Your Grace.

Well, I dance superlatively.

That's a dancer's leg, Margaret.

Lady Alice, the river's

given me an appetite.

If Your Grace would share

a very simple supper.

It would please me. Lead them in.

Thomas and I will follow.

Matthew.

My lords and gentlemen.

Margaret?

Your Grace?

Do you like music?

Yes, Your Grace.

They'll play to you.

Now, listen to this.

Sit down.

Be seated. No courtship, Thomas.

You're my friend, are you not?

Your Majesty.

Thank God I have a friend

for my chancellor.

Readier to befriend, I trust,

than he was to be chancellor.

My own knowledge of

my poor abilities...

I will judge of your abilities.

Thomas?

You know that Wolsey named

you for chancellor?

Before he died, Wolsey named

you, and Wolsey was no fool.

He was a statesman of

incomparable ability, Your Grace.

Was he?

Was he so?

Then, why did he fail me?

It was villainy then.

Yes, villainy. Secret

opposition, secret.

But deliberate, wilful,

meditated opposition.

Wanted to be pope to

master me, Wolsey.

What is it? Thought.

Because I'm simple

and plain and deal

with every man straightforwardly.

Because of that I say, do

they take me for a simpleton?

Wolsey was a proud man, Thomas.

Pride right through.

And he failed me.

Failed me in the one thing

that matters, then as now.

But look.

Be seated.

What an evening.

A man could fight a lion.

Some men could, Your Grace.

Thomas...

touching this matter

of my divorce.

Have you thought of it

since we last spoke?

Of little else.

Then you see your way clear to me?

That you should put away

Queen Catherine, sire?

Alas, as I think of it,

I see so clearly...

that I cannot come with Your

Grace, that my endeavour is...

not to think of it at all.

Then you haven't thought enough.

Lilac.

We have them at Hampton.

Not so fine as this, though.

I'm in an excellent frame of mind.

Thomas, you must consider, I

stand in peril of my soul.

It was no marriage.

I have lived in incest

with my brother's widow.

Leviticus: "Thou shalt

not uncover the

nakedness of thy brother's wife."

Leviticus. Chapter 18, verse 16.

Yes, Your Grace.

But Deuteronomy...

Deuteronomy is ambiguous.

Your Grace, I'm not fitted

to meddle in these matters.

To me, it seems a matter

for the Holy See...

Thomas, does a man need a pope

to tell him where he's sinned?

It was a sin.

God's punished me.

I've no son.

Son after son she's borne me.

All dead at birth, or

dead within the month.

I never saw the hand of

God so clear in anything.

It's my bounden duty

to put away the Queen.

And all the popes,

back to Peter, shall

not come between me and my duty.

How is it that you cannot

see? Everyone else does.

Then, why does Your Grace

need my poor support?

Because you're honest.

And what is more to the purpose,

you're known to be honest.

Those like Norfolk follow me

because I wear the crown.

Those like Cromwell follow because

they're jackals

with sharp teeth...

and I'm their tiger.

A mass follows me...

because it follows

anything that moves.

And then there's you.

I am sick to think how much I

must displease Your Grace.

No, Thomas, I respect

your sincerity.

But respect...

man, that's water in the desert.

How'd you like our music?

That air they played,

it had a certain...

Well, tell me what

you thought of it.

Could it have been

Your Grace's own?

Discovered.

Now I'll never know your true

opinion, and that's irksome.

Well, we artists, we love praise,

yet we love truth better.

Then I will tell my true opinion.

Well?

To me it seemed delightful.

Thomas, I chose the right

man for chancellor.

I should in fairness

add that my taste

in music is reputedly deplorable.

Your taste in music is excellent.

It exactly coincides with my own.

Music.

Music.

Send them back without

me, Thomas. I'll

live here in Chelsea

and make music.

My house is at Your

Grace's disposal.

Touching this other

business, mark you...

I'll have no opposition.

Your Grace.

No opposition, I

say. No opposition.

Be seated.

I'll leave you out of it

but you are my chancellor.

I don't take it kindly and

I'll have no opposition.

I see how it will be.

The bishops will oppose me.

The full-fed princes

of the Church.

Hypocrites. All hypocrites.

Mind they do not

take you in, Thomas.

Your Grace is unjust.

If I cannot serve Your Grace in

this great matter of the Queen.

I have no queen.

Catherine's not my wife.

No priest can make her so.

They that say she is my wife are

not only liars, but traitors.

Yes, traitors.

That I will not brook now.

Treachery.

I will not brook.

It maddens me.

It is a deadly canker in the body

politic, and I will have it out.

See?

You see how you've maddened me?

I hardly know myself.

If you could come with me, there's

no man I'd sooner raise...

yes, with my own hand.

Your Grace overwhelms me.

What's that?

Eight o'clock, Your Grace.

Lift yourself up, man.

Have I not promised I'll

leave you out of it?

Shall we eat?

If Your Grace pleases.

Eight o'clock, you said.

The tide will be turning.

I was forgetting the

tide. I must go.

I'm sorry, Your Grace.

If I don't catch the tide I'll

not get back to Richmond.

No, don't come.

Lady Alice, I must

go and catch the

tide. Affairs call me to court.

So we give you our thanks

and we say goodnight.

What's this?

- You crossed him.

- Somewhat.

- Why?

- I couldn't find the other way.

You're too nice

altogether, Thomas.

- Woman, mind your house.

- I am minding my house.

God save Your Majesty.

God save Your Grace.

God save the King.

Lift.

Drop blades.

Sire. Sire. Sire.

Are you coming my way, Rich?

No.

I think you should, you know.

I can't tell you anything.

Well?

Thomas?

Stay friends with him.

Whatever may be done by smiling,

you may rely on me to do.

Set your mind at rest.

This is not the stuff of

which martyrs are made.

Good evening, sir, Lady Alice.

Will wants to talk to you, Father.

I told him it wouldn't

be convenient.

You were quite right.

You're very free with my

daughter's hand, Roper.

Yes.

It's of that I wish to speak.

Sir, you've had a disagreement

with His Majesty.

- Have I?

- So Meg tells me.

I offer my congratulations.

If it's true, is it a

matter for congratulation?

Yes.

Sir, when last I asked you

for your daughter's hand...

you objected to my

unorthodox opinions.

- I did.

- Yes.

Well, since then my views

have somewhat modified.

Well, that's good hearing, Will.

Mind you, I modify

nothing concerning

the various corruptions

in the Church.

Quite right.

But an attack upon the

Church herself...

no. I see behind that

an attack on God.

- Roper.

- The Devil's work...

to be done by the

Devil's ministers.

For heaven's sake,

remember my office.

If you stand on your office...

No, I don't stand on it, but there

are certain things I may not hear.

Sir Thomas.

Richard?

I fell.

Lady Alice.

- Lady Margaret.

- Good evening.

Do you know William

Roper, the younger?

By reputation, of course.

- Good evening, Master...

- Rich.

You've heard of me?

Yes.

In what connection? I don't

know what you can have heard.

I sense that I'm not welcome here.

Why Richard? Have you done

something to make you not welcome?

Cromwell is asking questions.

About you. He's always

asking questions

about you and your opinions.

Of whom?

Of him, for one. That's

one of his sources.

Of course. That's

one of my servants.

All right, Matthew.

Well, you look at me as

though I were an enemy.

Why Richard, you're shaking.

Help me.

How?

Employ me.

No.

- Employ me.

- No.

I would be faithful.

You couldn't answer for yourself

even so far as tonight.

Arrest him.

- For what?

- He's dangerous.

- Libel. He's a spy.

- That man's bad.

- There's no law against that.

- God's law.

- Then God can arrest him.

- While you talk, he's gone.

Go he should, if he were the

Devil, until he broke the law.

Now you give the Devil

benefit of law.

Yes, what would you do?

Cut a road through the law

to get after the Devil?

Yes. I'd cut down every law

in England to do that.

And when the last law was down,

and the Devil turned on you...

where would you hide, Roper,

the laws all being flat?

This country is planted with

laws from coast to coast...

Man's laws, not God's, and

if you cut them down...

and you're just the

man to do it...

do you really think

you could stand

upright in the wind

that would blow then?

Yes.

I give the Devil benefit of

law for my own safety's sake.

- Master Rich?

- Yes.

In there, sir.

Rich? Come in.

Taken you long enough to get here.

Have I kept you waiting?

Months.

- Here.

- Thank you.

Do you know the news?

- What news?

- Sir Thomas Paget is retiring.

And I succeed him.

Secretary to the Council?

You?

'Tis surprising, isn't it?

I mean, one sees that's logical.

Sit down, Rich. No

ceremony, no courtship...

as His Majesty would say.

You see how I trust you.

I'd never repeat or

report a thing like that.

What kind of thing would

you repeat or report?

Nothing said in friendship.

Do you believe that?

- Why, yes.

- No, seriously.

Well, yes.

Rich, seriously.

That would depend

what I was offered.

Don't say it just to please me.

It's true. It would depend

what I was offered.

Well, there is

another post vacant.

Collector of Revenues for York.

Is it in your gift?

Effectively.

What must I do for it?

I know a man who wants

to change his woman.

Normally a matter of small

importance, but in this case...

it's our liege, Lord Henry,

the eighth of that name.

Which is a quaint way

of saying that if

he wants to change

his woman, he will.

And our job as administrators...

is to minimise the inconvenience

which this is going to cause.

That's our only job, Rich, to

minimise the

inconvenience of things.

A harmless occupation

you would say, but no.

We administrators are

not liked, Rich.

We are not popular.

I say "we" on the

assumption you'll

accept the post at

York I've offered you.

Yes.

It's a bad sign when people are

depressed by their

own good fortune.

- I'm not depressed.

- You look depressed.

I was lamenting. I've

lost my innocence.

Some time ago. Have you

only just noticed?

Your friend, our present

Lord Chancellor,

now there's an innocent man.

The odd thing is, he is.

Yes, I say he is. Unhappily...

his innocence is tangled

up in this problem...

that you can't change your

woman without a divorce...

and you can't get a divorce

unless the Pope says so.

And from this meaningless

circumstance,

I foresee a certain measure of...

- Inconvenience?

- Just so.

This goblet he gave you,

how much was it worth?

Come along, he gave you a silver

goblet. How much did

you get for it?

Fifty shillings.

It was a gift, wasn't it,

from a litigant, a woman?

- Yes.

- Which court? Chancery?

Don't get drunk.

Which court was the

litigant's case?

Court of Requests.

There. That wasn't

too painful, was it?

- No.

- No.

And you'll find it

easier, next time.

My Lord Archbishop, my lords...

Reverend Doctors of the Church.

The answer of our

liege, Lord Henry...

to his trusty

well-beloved subjects...

pontiffs in the

Canterbury Convocation.

"His Majesty...

"acknowledges your

humble admission

of many grievous errors...

"for which he accepts...

"the manumission of

£100,000 in token.

"Mindful for the

well-being of the realm

and the quietness

of his subjects...

"His Majesty requires

that you do now

straightly renounce

your pretended...

"allegiance to the See of Rome.

"And admit the statute

passed through parliament...

"acknowledging the

King's good title...

"Supreme Head of the

Church in England."

Well, my lords,

what's your answer?

Yea or nay?

His Majesty accepts your

resignation very sadly.

He's mindful of your

goodness and past loyalty.

And in any matter

concerning your honour

and welfare he'll

continue your good lord.

You will convey my

humble gratitude.

- Help me with this.

- Not I.

- Alice?

- No.

Sun and moon, Master More, you're

taken for a wise

man. Is this wisdom?

To betray your ability...

abandon your station and forget

your duty to your kith and kin?

Shall I, sir?

No, thank you, son Roper.

Margaret...

will you?

Yes.

If you want.

There's my clever girl.

Well done, sir. In my opinion,

that thing's a degradation.

I'll tell you my opinion of

the King's title, too...

Don't. Will, silence. Remember,

you have a wife now...

and may have children.

All right, Thomas,

make me understand...

because I tell you, to me

this looks like cowardice.

All right, I will.

This isn't reformation, this

is war against the Church.

Our King has declared

war on the Pope

because the Pope

will not declare...

- that our Queen is not his wife.

- And is she?

Is she?

Have I your word that what we

say here is between us two?

Very well.

And if the King should command

you to repeat what I may say?

I should keep my word to you.

Then what has become of your

oath of obedience to the King?

You lay traps for me.

No, I show you the times.

We are at war with the Pope. For

the Pope's a prince, isn't he?

He is. He's also the

descendant of St.

Peter, our only link with Christ.

So you believe. And will you

forfeit all you have...

which includes the respect of

your country, for a belief?

Because what matters is that I

believe it, or rather, no...

not that I believe it,

but that I believe it.

- I trust I make myself obscure?

- Perfectly.

Why do you insult me with

this lawyer's chatter?

Because I'm afraid.

Man, you're ill.

This isn't Spain, you

know. This is England.

My friends, you all know

why I've called you here.

I have today resigned my office.

I am no longer a great man.

Sir, we want you to know

that we're all on your side.

My side? What side is that?

Well, sir, we all

know what you think.

None of you knows what I

think. And if you guess...

and babble it about, you

do me no good service.

Since I am no more a great man, I

no longer need a great household.

Nor can I afford one.

You will have to go.

However, I still number some

great men among my friends...

and they still need

great households.

No one will be turned away until

we've found another place for him.

We can't find places for them all.

Yes, we can.

Thank you.

That is all.

What about you, Matthew?

Will you stay?

Well, sir, that's according.

There will be more

work and less money.

Well then, I don't see

how I can then, sir.

After all, I've got my own...

Quite right, Matthew. Why should

you? I shall miss you, Matthew.

Oh, no, sir, you see through

me, sir. I know that.

I shall miss you.

Damn me. Isn't that them all over.

Miss me? What's in

me for him to miss?

"Matthew, will you take a cut in

wages?" No, Sir

Thomas, I will not.

And that's it. And

that's all of it.

All right, so he's down

on his luck, I'm sorry.

I don't mind saying that

I'm sorry, bad luck.

If I had good luck to

spare he could have some.

I wish we could have

good luck all the time.

I wish rainwater was beer. I

wish we had wings. But we don't.

Well, there's an end of you.

What'll you do now?

Sit by the fire...

and make goslings in the ash?

Not at all, Alice.

I expect I'll write a bit...

I'll write...

I'll read, I'll think.

I think I'll learn to fish.

I'll play with my grandchildren

when son Roper's done his duty.

Alice, shall I teach you to read?

No, by God.

Poor, silly man, you think

they'll leave you here to think?

If we govern our

tongues, they will.

I have a word to say

on that. I've made

no statement. I've

resigned, that's all.

The King is made, by

Act of Parliament,

Supreme Head of the

Church in England.

This English Church

will divorce him from

the Queen, then marry

him to Lady Anne.

But on any of these matters, have

you heard me make a statement?

No.

If I'm to lose my rank and fall to

housekeeping, I want

to know the reason.

- So make a statement now.

- No.

Alice, it's a point of

law. Accept it from me...

that in silence is my

safety, under the law.

And my silence must be absolute,

it must extend to you.

In short, you don't trust me.

I'm the Lord Chief Justice, I'm

Cromwell, I'm the

keeper of the Tower.

I take your hand...

I clamp it on the Bible, on

the blessed Cross and I say:

"Woman, has your husband made

a statement on these matters?

"On peril of your soul remember,

what is your answer?"

No.

And so it must remain.

Have you opened your mind to Meg?

Would I tell Meg what

I won't tell you?

Meg has your heart. I

know that well enough.

This is a dangerous matter then...

if you've not told Meg.

I don't think so. No.

When they find I'm silent...

they'll want nothing better

than to leave me silent.

You'll see.

But he's silent, Master Secretary,

why not leave him silent?

Your Grace, not being

a man of letters...

you perhaps don't realise the

extent of his reputation.

This silence of his is

bellowing up and down Europe.

In Europe he is claimed

as the King's enemy.

Rubbish. Crank he may

be, traitor he is not.

Exactly. And with a

little pressure...

With a little pressure

he can be got to say so.

That's all we need. A brief

declaration of his loyalty...

to the present administration.

I still say, let

sleeping dogs lie.

The King does not agree with you.

What kind of pressure do you

think you can bring to bear?

I have evidence that,

Sir Thomas, while

he was a judge, accepted bribes.

What?

Goddammit. He was the only judge

since Cato who didn't

accept bribes.

When was there a chancellor whose

possessions, after three years...

totalled £100 and a gold chain?

It is, as you imply,

common practise...

but a practise may be common

and remain an offence.

This offence could send

a man to the Tower.

Come here.

This woman's name is Averil

Machin. She comes from Leicester.

- She entered a case...

- A property case it was.

Shut your mouth.

A property case in the Court

of Requests in April, 1528.

And got a wicked false judgement.

And got an impeccably correct

judgement from, Sir Thomas.

- No, sir, it was not.

- Tell the gentleman...

about the gift you gave the judge.

I gave him a cup, sir.

A silver Italian cup I bought in

Leicester, for 100 shillings.

Did, Sir Thomas accept this cup?

Yes, sir, he did.

He did accept it. We can

corroborate that. You can go.

- To my way of thinking...

- Go.

- Is that your witness?

- No.

By an odd coincidence

that cup later

came into the hands

of Master Rich here.

How?

- He gave it to me, Your Grace.

- Gave it to you? Why?

A gift.

Yes, you were a

friend, weren't you?

When did Thomas give

you this thing?

I can't exactly remember.

Do you "remember"

what you did with it?

- I sold it.

- Where?

- A shop.

- Has the shop still got it?

No. They've lost all track of it.

How convenient.

You doubt Master Rich's

word, Your Grace?

It had occurred to me.

This is the bill of sale.

That cow put her

case into court in

April, you said.

This is dated May.

In other words, the moment Thomas

knew the cup was a bribe...

he dropped it into

the nearest gutter.

The facts will bear that

interpretation, I suppose.

This is a horse that won't

run, Master Secretary.

Just a trial gallop. We'll

find something better.

- I want no part of it.

- You have no choice.

What's that you say?

The King particularly

wishes you to be

active in this matter

of, Sir Thomas.

He's not told me that.

Indeed? He told me.

Look here, Cromwell...

what's the purpose of all this?

There you have me.

It's a matter of

conscience, I think.

The King wants, Sir Thomas

to bless his marriage.

If, Sir Thomas appeared

at the wedding now,

it might save us all

a lot of trouble.

He won't attend the wedding.

If I were you, I'd try

and persuade him.

I really would try, if I were you.

Cromwell, are you threatening me?

My dear Norfolk, this isn't Spain.

This is England.

Thomas? Thomas.

Lady Margaret?

Yes.

We've been cutting greens.

We use them for fuel.

I have a letter for your father,

Lady Margaret. From Hampton Court.

He's to answer certain charges

before Secretary Cromwell.

Good of you to come, Sir Thomas.

Master Rich will make a

record of our conversation.

Good of you to tell

me, Master Secretary.

I think you know one another.

Indeed yes, we're old friends.

That's a nice gown

you have, Richard.

Sir Thomas, believe me.

No, that's asking too much. But

let me tell you all the same.

You have no more sincere

admirer than myself.

No, not yet, Rich, not yet.

If I might hear the charges.

The charges?

I understand there

are certain charges.

Some ambiguities of

behaviour I should

like to clarify, hardly charges.

Make a note of that, will you,

Master Rich? There are no charges.

Sir Thomas, Sir Thomas.

The King is not pleased with you.

I am grieved.

And yet, do you

know that even now,

if you could bring yourself...

to agree with the

Church, universities,

the Lords and the Commons...

there is no honour

which His Majesty

would be likely to deny you?

I am well acquainted with

His Grace's generosity.

Very well.

You have heard of the so-called

"Holy Maid of Kent"...

who was executed for

prophesying against the King?

- Yes, I met her.

- Yes, you met her.

Yet you did not warn His Majesty

of her treason. How was that?

She spoke no treason. Our

talk was not political.

But the woman was notorious. Do

you expect me to believe that?

- Happily, there were witnesses.

- You wrote a letter to her.

Yes. I wrote, advising

her to abstain

from meddling in the

affairs of state.

I have a copy of the

letter. Also witnessed.

You have been cautious.

I like to keep my affairs regular.

In the June of 1521, the

King published a book.

A theological work.

It was called, A Defence

of the Seven Sacraments.

For which he was

named "Defender of

the Faith" by His

Holiness, the Pope.

By the Bishop of Rome, or

do you insist on "pope"?

No. "Bishop of Rome" if you like.

It doesn't alter his authority.

Thank you. You come

to the point very

readily. What is that authority?

For example, in the

Church of England...

what exactly is the Bishop

of Rome's authority?

You will find it very ably set out

and defended, Master Secretary...

in the King's book.

In the book published under the

King's name, would

be more accurate.

- You wrote this book.

- I wrote no part of it.

I don't mean you

actually held the pen.

I answered to my best ability,

some points of common law...

which the King put to me,

as I was bound to do.

Do you deny you instigated it?

It was from first to last

the King's own project.

The King says not.

The King knows the truth of it.

And whatever he may

have said to you...

he will not give evidence

to support this accusation.

Why not?

Because evidence is given on oath,

and he will not perjure himself.

If you don't know that, then

you don't yet know him.

Sir Thomas More.

Have you anything to say...

regarding the King's

marriage with Queen Anne?

I understood I was not

to be asked that again.

Then you understood

wrongly. These charges...

They are terrors for children,

Master Secretary, not for me.

Then know that the King

commands me to charge you...

in his name, with

great ingratitude.

And to tell you that

there never was, nor

could be, so villainous

a servant...

nor so traitorous a

subject, as yourself.

So...

I am brought here at last.

Brought?

You've brought yourself

to where you stand now.

You may go.

For the present.

What will you do now?

Whatever's necessary.

Boat.

Oh, come, come, it's not

as bad as all that.

Howard.

I can't get home.

They won't bring me a boat.

Do you blame them?

Is it as bad as that?

It's every bit as bad as that.

Then it's good of you

to be seen with me.

I followed you.

Were you followed?

- You're dangerous to know.

- Then don't know me.

- I do know you.

- I mean as a friend.

I am your friend. I wish

I wasn't, but I am.

What's to be done then?

- Give in.

- I can't give in, Howard.

Our friendship's more

mutable than that.

The one fixed point in the

world of turning friendship...

is that, Sir More won't give in.

To me it has to be,

for that's myself.

Affection goes as deep

in me as you, I think.

But only God is

love right through,

Howard, and that's my self.

And who are you?

A lawyer. And a lawyer's son.

We're supposed to

be the proud ones,

the arrogant ones,

we've all given in.

Why must you stand out?

Goddammit man. It's

disproportionate.

You'll break my heart.

No one is safe, Howard,

and you have a son.

We'll end our friendship now.

- For friendship's sake?

- Yes.

Daft.

Norfolk, you're a fool.

You can't place a quarrel,

you haven't the style.

Hear me out. You and

your class have

given in, as you

rightly call it...

because this country's religion

means nothing to you at all.

Well, that's a foolish

saying for a start.

The nobility of England...

The nobility of England would have

snored through the

Sermon on the Mount.

But you'll labour like scholars

over a bulldog's pedigree.

An artificial quarrel

is not a quarrel.

We've had a quarrel

since the day we

met. Our friendship

was mere sloth.

You can be cruel when you want,

but I've always known that.

What do you value in your

bulldogs? Gripping, is it not?

- Yes.

- It's their nature?

- Yes.

- It's why you breed them?

It's so with men.

I will not give in,

because I oppose it.

Not my pride, not

my spleen, nor any

other of my appetites,

but I do, I.

Is there, in the midst

of all this muscle,

no sinew that serves

no appetite...

of Norfolk's, but is

just Norfolk? There is.

Give that some exercise, my lord.

Thomas.

As you stand you'll go before

your Maker ill conditioned.

Now steady.

And he'll think that,

somewhere back along

your pedigree, a bitch

got over the wall.

Cast in this very house

on April 3, last year...

it is a matter very fit for

the Commons, gathered here...

in parliament, to take in hand.

Or, in consequence of

the decay of guilds...

the woollen cloth, now coming

out of Yorkshire, Lincoln...

and the like, is not

to blame and this...

I will defer the rest

of my matter to later.

That the loyal Commons,

here assembled,

will speedily enact

this bill, I doubt not.

For as much as it

concerns the King's new

title and his marriage

to Queen Anne.

Both matters pleasing

to a loyal subject.

Mark, my Masters...

there is among us a brood

of discreet traitors...

to which deceit the King

can brook no longer.

And we, his loyal

huntsmen, must now drive

these subtle foxes

from their covert.

Father?

Margaret.

I couldn't get a boat.

What is it, Meg?

Father, there's a new act

going through parliament.

And by this act, they're going

to administer an oath...

about the marriage.

On what compulsion is the oath?

- High treason.

- But what is the wording?

Do the words matter?

We know what it means.

Tell me the words.

An oath is made of words. It

may be possible to take it.

Take it?

And if it can be taken,

you must take it, too.

No.

Listen, Meg. God made the

angels to show him splendour.

As he made animals for innocence

and plants for their simplicity.

But Man he made to serve him

wittily, in the

tangle of his mind.

If he suffers us to come to such a

case that there is no escaping...

then we may stand to our

tackle as best we can.

And yes, Meg, then

we can clamour like

champions, if we have

the spittle for it.

But it's God's part, not our own,

to bring ourselves to such a pass.

Our natural business

lies in escaping.

If I can take this oath, I will.

I would, for my sake, you

could take the oath.

I never took a man into

the Tower less willingly.

Thank you, Master Governor.

Thank you.

Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas.

This is iniquitous.

- Where to this time?

- Richmond Palace.

Sit down.

This is the Seventh Commission

to inquire into the case...

of, Sir Thomas More, appointed

by His Majesty's Council.

Have you anything to say?

No.

- Seen this document before?

- Many times.

It is the Act of Succession.

These are the names of those

who have sworn to it.

I have, as you say,

seen it before.

Will you swear to it?

No.

Thomas, we must know...

We must know plainly whether you

recognise the offspring

of Queen Anne...

as heirs to the throne.

The King in parliament

tells me that they are.

- Of course I recognise them.

- Will you swear to it?

Yes.

Then why won't he

swear to the act?

Because there is more

than that in the act.

Just so. Sir Thomas,

it states in the

preamble that the King's

former marriage...

to the Lady Catherine

was unlawful...

she being his brother's

widow and the

Pope having no authority

to sanction it.

Is that what you deny?

Is that what you dispute?

Is that what you are not sure of?

You insult His Majesty

and Council in

the person of the Lord Archbishop.

I insult no one.

I will not take the oath. I will

not tell you why I will not.

Then your reasons

must be treasonable.

Not "must be," may be.

It's a fair assumption.

The law requires more than an

assumption, the law

requires a fact.

Of course, I cannot judge your

legal standing in the case...

but until I know the ground

of your objections...

I can only guess your

spiritual standing, too.

If you're willing to

guess that, it should

be small matter to

guess my objections.

Then you do have

objections to the act?

Well, we know that, Cromwell.

No, my lord, you don't.

You may suppose I have

objections, all you

know is that I will

not swear to it...

for which you cannot

lawfully harm me further.

But if you were right

in supposing me

to have objections,

and right again...

in supposing my objections

to be treasonable...

the law would let you

cut my head off.

Oh, yes.

Well done, Sir Thomas.

I've been trying to make that

clear to His Grace for some time.

Oh, confound all this.

I'm not a scholar.

I don't know if the marriage

was lawful or not...

but damn it, Thomas,

look at these names.

Why can't you do as I did, and

come with us, for fellowship?

And when we die, and

you are sent to

heaven for doing

your conscience...

and I am sent to hell

for not doing mine,

will you come with

me, for fellowship?

So, those of us whose names are

there, are damned, Sir Thomas?

I have no window to look into

another man's conscience.

I condemn no one.

Then the matter is

capable of question?

Certainly.

But that you owe obedience to the

King is not capable of question.

So weigh a doubt against

a certainty and sign.

Some men think the earth is

round, others think it flat.

It is a matter

capable of question.

But if it is flat, will the

King's command make it round?

And if it is round, will the

King's command flatten it?

No, I will not sign.

Then you have more regard for your

own doubt than the King's command?

- For myself I have no doubt.

- No doubt of what?

No doubt that I will

not take this oath.

But why I will not, you, Master

Secretary, will not

trick out of me.

I might get it out of

you in other ways.

You threaten like

a dockside bully.

How should I threaten?

Like a minister of

state, with justice.

Justice is what you're

threatened with.

Then I am not threatened.

Gentlemen, can't I go to bed?

Aye. The prisoner may

retire as he requests.

Unless you...

I see no purpose in

prolonging this.

Then, goodnight, Thomas.

May I have one or two more books?

Why, you have books?

Yes.

I didn't know, you shouldn't have.

May I see my family?

No.

Captain.

Master Secretary?

Have you ever heard

the prisoner speak

of the King's

divorce, supremacy...

- or the King's marriage?

- No, not a word.

If he does, you will

repeat it to me.

Of course.

Rich.

Secretary?

Tomorrow morning, remove

the prisoner's books.

Is that necessary?

With regards to this case, the

King is becoming impatient.

- Aye, with you.

- With all of us.

The King's impatience will

embrace a duke or two.

Master Secretary.

Sir Redvers Llewellyn has retired.

The Attorney General for Wales.

His post is vacant.

You said that I

might approach you.

Not now, Rich.

He must submit. He must.

Rack him.

No. The King's conscience

will not permit it.

We have to find some other way.

Sir Thomas.

Father.

What? Margaret?

Father.

Meg. For God's sake, they

haven't put you in here?

- No, sir, a visit.

- A brief one, Sir Thomas.

Father.

- Good morning, husband.

- Good morning.

Good morning, Will.

Well, this is a hellish place.

Except it's keeping me from

you, my dears, it isn't so bad.

It's remarkably like

any other place.

- It drips.

- Yes. It's too near the river.

Well, what is it?

Father, come out. Swear

to the act and come out.

Is this why they've let you come?

Yes.

Meg's under oath to persuade you.

That was silly, Meg.

How do you plan to do that?

Father.

"God more regards

the thoughts of the

heart than the words

of the mouth."

- Well, so you've always told me.

- Yes.

Then say the words of the oath and

in your heart think otherwise.

What is an oath then, but

words we say to God?

Listen, Meg.

When a man takes an

oath, he's holding

his own self in his own hands...

like water.

And if he opens his

fingers then, he

needn't hope to

find himself again.

Some men aren't capable

of this, but I'd be

loathed to think your

father one of them.

- I have another argument.

- Oh, Meg.

In any state that

was half good, you

would be raised up

high, not here...

- for what you've done already.

- All right.

It's not your fault the

state's three-quarters bad.

No.

If you elect to suffer for

it, you elect to be a hero.

That's very neat.

But look now. If we

lived in a state

where virtue was profitable...

common sense would

make us saintly.

But since we see that avarice,

anger, pride and stupidity...

commonly profit far

beyond charity,

modesty, justice and thought...

perhaps we must stand

fast a little...

even at the risk of being heroes.

But in reason.

Haven't you done as much as

God can reasonably want?

Well, finally it isn't

a matter of reason.

Finally, it's a matter of love.

You're content then to be shut

up here with mice and rats...

- when you might be home with us?

- Content?

If they'd open a crack

that wide, I'd be

through it like a bird

and back to Chelsea.

I haven't told you what the

house is like without you.

Don't, Meg.

What we do in the

evening without you.

Meg, have done.

We don't read because

we've no candles.

We don't talk because we wonder

what they're doing to you.

The King is more merciful.

He doesn't use the rack.

Two minutes to go, sir.

- I thought you'd like to know.

- Two minutes.

- Jailer.

- Sorry, sir. Two minutes.

Listen, you must

leave the country.

All of you must leave the country.

- And leave you?

- It makes no difference.

They won't let me see you again.

You must all go on the same

day, but not on the same boat.

Different boats from

different ports.

After the trial, then.

There'll be no trial,

they have no case.

Do this for me, I beseech you.

- Will?

- Yes, sir.

- Margaret?

- Yes.

Alice?

- Alice, I command you.

- Right.

This is splendid.

- I know who packed this.

- I packed it.

Yes.

You still make a superlative

custard, Alice.

Do I?

That's a nice dress you have on.

Nice colour anyway.

My God, you think little of me.

I know I'm a fool...

but I'm not such a fool as to

be lamenting for my dresses...

or to relish complimenting

on my custards.

I'm well rebuked.

- Alice...

- No.

I'm sick with fear when I think

of the worst they may do to me.

But worse than that will be to go

with you not

understanding why I go.

I don't.

If you can tell me

that you understand, I

might make a good

death, if I have to.

Your death's no good to me.

You must tell me

that you understand.

I don't.

I don't believe

this had to happen.

If you say that I don't

see how I'm to face it.

It's the truth.

- You're an honest woman.

- Much good may it do me.

I'll tell you what

I'm afraid of...

that when you've gone, I

shall hate you for it.

You mustn't, Alice.

You mustn't.

As for understanding,

I understand you're

the best man I ever met

or ever likely to.

And if you go, God knows why I

suppose, though as

God's my witness...

God's kept deadly quiet about it.

And if any one wants

to know my opinion

of the King and his Council...

he only has to ask for it.

Why, it's a lion I married.

A lion. A lion.

This is good.

It's very good.

Sorry, Sir Thomas.

- Oh, for pity's sake.

- Time's up, sir.

But one more minute.

You don't know what you're asking.

- Come along, Miss.

- For heaven's sake.

Now, don't do that, sir.

Now, madam, don't make trouble.

Come along, please, Lady Alice.

Take your muddy paws off me.

Filthy, stinking,

gutter-fed, turnkey.

I'll see you suffer for this.

Goodbye.

You must understand

my position, sir.

I'm a plain, simple man and I

just want to keep out of trouble.

Dear Lord Jesus, my soul

Saviour, clear my wits.

Dear Lady, Blessed Mother of God,

comfort my wife and daughter...

and forgive me for them.

Sir Thomas More, though you have

heinously offended the

King's majesty...

we hope that if

you'll even now fore

think and repent of

obstinate opinion...

you may still taste

his gracious pardon.

My lords, I thank you.

As for the matters you

may charge me with...

I fear from my present weakness,

that neither my wit...

nor my memory will serve...

to make sufficient answer.

I should be glad to sit down.

A chair for the prisoner.

Master Secretary Cromwell,

have you the charge?

- I have, my lord.

- Then read the charge.

"That you did wilfully and

maliciously deny and deprive...

"our liege, Lord Henry, of his

undoubted certain title...

"Supreme Head of the

Church in England."

But, I have never

denied this title.

At Westminster Hall, at Lambeth,

and again at Richmond...

you stubbornly refused the oath.

Was this no denial?

No, this was silence.

And for my silence, I am

punished with imprisonment.

Why have I been called again?

On a charge of high

treason, Sir Thomas.

For which the punishment

is not imprisonment.

Death...

comes for us all, my lords.

Yes, even for kings he comes.

The death of kings is not

in question, Sir Thomas.

Nor mine, I trust, until

I'm proven guilty.

Your life lies in your own

hands, Thomas, as it always has.

Is that so, my lord?

Then I'll keep a good grip on it.

So, Sir Thomas...

you stand on your silence?

I do.

But, gentlemen of the jury...

there are many kinds of silence.

Consider first the silence

of a man when he is dead.

Suppose we go into the room where

he is laid out and we listen.

What do we hear?

Silence.

What does it betoken,

this silence?

Nothing. This is silence

pure and simple.

But let us take another case.

Suppose I were to take a

dagger from my sleeve...

and make to kill the

prisoner with it.

And my lordships there,

instead of crying

out for me to stop,

maintain their silence.

That would betoken.

It would betoken a willingness

that I should do it.

And under the law, they

would be guilty with me.

So silence can, according

to the circumstances...

speak.

Let us consider now

the circumstances

of the prisoner's silence.

The oath was put to

loyal subjects all

over the country who

all declared...

His Grace's title to

be just and good.

But when it came to the

prisoner, he refused.

He calls this "silence."

Yet, is there a man

in this court...

Is there a man in this country...

who does not know, Sir Thomas

More's opinion of this title?

Yet, how can this be?

Because this silence betokened...

nay, this silence was not silence

at all, but most eloquent denial.

Not so.

Not so, Master Secretary.

The maxim of the law is,

"Silence gives consent."

If, therefore, you

wish to construe

what my silence betokened...

you must construe that I

consented, not that I denied.

Is that in fact what the

world construes from it?

Do you pretend that is what you

wish the world to

construe from it?

The world must construe

according to its wits.

This court must construe

according to the law.

My lords, I wish to

call, Sir Richard Rich.

Richard Rich, come into court.

Richard Rich.

"I do swear the evidence I'll give

before the court shall

be the truth...

"the whole truth, and

nothing but the truth."

"So help me God," sir.

"So help me God."

Now Rich, on May 12,

you were at the Tower?

- I was.

- For what purpose?

I was sent to carry away

the prisoner's books.

- Did you talk with the prisoner?

- Yes.

Did you talk of the King's

supremacy of the Church?

Yes.

What did you say?

I said to him, "Supposing there

were an Act of Parliament...

"to say that I, Richard

Rich, were to be king.

"Would not you, Master

More, take me for king?"

"That I would," he said.

"For then you would be king."

Yes?

Then he said, "But I will

put you a higher case.

"How, if there were

an Act of Parliament,

to say that God

should not be God?"

This is true and then you said...

Silence.

Continue.

But then I said, "I will

put you a middle case.

"Parliament has made our

King Head of the Church.

"Why will you not accept him?"

Well?

And then he said, "Parliament

had not the power to do it."

Repeat the prisoner's words.

He said:

"Parliament had not

the competence."

Or words to that effect.

He denied the title.

He did.

In good faith, Rich, I am sorrier

for your perjury than my peril.

- Do you deny this?

- Yes.

You know if I were

a man who heeded

not the taking of an oath...

I need not be here.

Now, I will take an oath.

If what Master Rich

has said is true...

I pray I may never

see God in the face.

Which I would not say, were it

otherwise, for anything on earth.

- That is not evidence.

- Is it probable...

Is it probable that after so

long a silence on this...

the very point so

urgently sought of me...

I should open my mind

to such a man as that?

Sir Richard, do you wish

to modify your testimony?

No, my lord.

Is there anything you wish

to take away from it?

No, my lord.

Have you anything to add?

No, my lord.

- Have you, Sir Thomas?

- To what purpose?

I am a dead man.

You have your will of me.

Then the witness may withdraw.

There is one question I would

like to ask the witness.

That's a chain of office

you're wearing. May I see it?

The Red Dragon.

What's this?

Sir Richard is appointed

Attorney General for Wales.

For Wales.

Why Richard, it

profits a man nothing

to give his soul for

the whole world.

But for Wales.

My lords. I've done.

The jury will retire and

consider the evidence.

Considering the

evidence, it shouldn't

be necessary for them to retire.

Is it necessary?

Then is the prisoner

guilty or not guilty?

Guilty, my lord.

Sir Thomas More, you have been

found guilty of high treason.

- The sentence of the court...

- My lords.

When I was practising the law, the

manner was to ask the prisoner...

before pronouncing sentence,

if he had anything to say.

Have you anything to say?

Yes.

Since the court has

determined to condemn me...

God knoweth how...

I will now discharge my mind...

concerning the indictment

and the King's title.

The indictment is grounded

in an Act of Parliament...

which is directly repugnant...

to the law of God and

His Holy Church.

The supreme government of which

no temper able person...

may by any law presume

to take upon him.

This was granted...

by the mouth...

of our Saviour, Christ Himself...

to St. Peter and the bishops

of Rome whilst He lived...

and was personally present...

here on earth.

It is therefore

insufficient in law...

to charge any

Christian to obey it.

And more than this...

the immunity of the Church is

promised both in Magna Carta...

and in the King's own

coronation oath.

Now, we plainly see

you are malicious.

Not so.

I am the King's true subject...

and I pray for him

and all the realm.

I do none harm.

I say none harm.

I think none harm.

And if this be not enough

to keep a man alive...

then in good faith,

I long not to live.

Nevertheless...

it is not for the supremacy that

you have sought my blood...

but because I would not

bend to the marriage.

You have been found

guilty of high treason.

The sentence of the court

is that you be taken...

to the Tower of London...

until the day hence

to the appointment...

for your execution.

I am commanded by the

King to be brief...

and since I am the King's

obedient subject...

brief I will be.

I die His Majesty's

good servant...

but God's first.

I forgive you, right readily.

Be not afraid of your office.

You send me to God.

You're very sure of

that, Sir Thomas?

He will not refuse one who

is so blithe to go to him.

Thomas More's head was stuck

on Traitor's Gate for a month.

Then his daughter,

Margaret, removed

it and kept it until her death.

Cromwell was beheaded for high

treason five years after More.

The Archbishop was

burned at the stake.

The Duke of Norfolk should have

been executed for high treason...

but the King died of

syphilis the night before.

Richard Rich became

Chancellor of England...

and died in his bed.