Thomas More (1478-1535) was a central figure of the English Renaissance. A lawyer, judge, and later Lord Chancellor of England, More was a respected intellectual and a close friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam. His most famous work, 'Utopia' (1516), coined the term and presented a critical view of European societies through the description of an imaginary island with a perfect political and social system. His unwavering Catholic faith put him at odds with King Henry VIII when the latter broke with the Roman Catholic Church. More's refusal to swear allegiance to the king as the supreme head of the Church of England led to his imprisonment and subsequent beheading on the Tower of London, and he was canonized by the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More.