St. Thomas More—Poems from the Tower of London

By James T. Majewski ( bio - articles - email ) | Jun 20, 2023 | In Catholic Culture Audiobooks (Podcast)

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“Give me thy grace, good Lord,
To set the world at naught;“

The 16th and 17th centuries produced a number of men whose courageous faith was accompanied by prodigious learning and literary talent. Among these was St. Thomas More, who wrote poems while languishing in the Tower of London, 1534-1535. Read here are “Lewis the Lost Lover” and “Davey the Dicer”, titled after the popular tunes of the day to which he wrote the poems. According to his biographer and son-in-law William Roper, More wrote both poems just after Thomas Cromwell departed from his cell, having failed to persuade him to take the Supremacy Oath. The episode concludes with a meditation written in the margins of More’s prayer book while he was imprisoned.

Links

Lyra Martyrum: The Poetry of the English Martyrs, 1503-1681 https://www.clunymedia.com/product/lyra-martyrum/

Catholic Culture Podcast Ep. 69—Poetry of the English Martyrs, w/ Benedict Whalen: https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-69-poetry-english-martyrs-benedict-whalen/

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