Margaret Roper: A Martyr's Favoured Child

Margaret Roper, eldest and favourite child of Sir Thomas More, is often overshadowed in historical accounts by her famous father and the tragedy of his death. Today we’re attempting to bring Margaret to the foreground to see what we can learn about her life and legacy…
I hope you enjoy this video and find it interesting!
Please subscribe and click the bell icon to be updated about new videos.
Also, if you want to get in touch, please comment down below or find me on social media:
Instagram: katrina.marchant
Twitter: @kat_marchant
Clubhouse: @kat_marchant
TikTok: @katrina_marchant
Email: [e-mail]
Intro / Outro song: Silent Partner, "Greenery" [ • Greenery - Silent Part... ]
SFX from freesfx.co.uk/...
Linked videos and playlists:
Literacy video: • What Was Literacy?: Pe...
Links to read examples of Sir Thomas More’s letters to his daughter Margaret during his imprisonment in the Tower of London:
2nd/3rd May 1535: www.luminarium....
His last letter, 5th July 1535: www.luminarium....
Images (from Wikimedia Commons, unless otherwise stated):
Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger (1527). Held by The Frick Collection.
Portrait miniature of William Roper by Hans Holbein the Younger (16th century). Held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Portrait miniature of Margaret Roper (More) by Hans Holbein the Younger (between 1535 and 1536). Held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Portrait of Juan Luis Vives by an unknown artist (17th century). Held by the Museo del Prado.
Portrait of Erasmus by Hans Holbein the Younger (1523). Held by the National Gallery.
First page of Margaret Roper's translation of Erasmus' Precatio Dominica.
Study for the Family Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger (circa 1527). Held by the Kunstmuseum Basel.
Thomas More and his family by Rowland Lockey after Hans Holbein the Younger (1592). Held by the National Trust.
Portrait of Margaret Roper, from a 1593 reproduction of a now-lost Hans Holbein portrait of all of the women of Thomas More's family, artist unknown.
Quoted texts:
Margaret Bowker, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry on Margaret Roper (née More).
Excerpt from Thomas More’s letter to Margaret Roper (1523).
Thomas Stapleton, The Life of Sir Thomas More, trans. Philip E. Hallett, ed. E. E. Reynolds (Bronx, NY: Fordham University Press, 1966).
Jaime Goodrich. “Thomas More and Margaret More Roper: A Case for Rethinking Women’s Participation in the Early Modern Public Sphere.” The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 39, no. 4, The Sixteenth Century Journal, 2008, pp. 1021-40, doi.org/10.230....
Juan Luis Vives, The Education of a Christian Woman (1523)
Also consulted were:
Other relevant entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

[@TuckerSP2011]

Thank you for covering Margaret Roper. I appreciate your intelligent coverage of her life. She certainly was an intellect that I would love to know more of. Her father, St. Thomas More is so endlessly fascinating to me. He educated his daughters at a time when girls were not expected to be educated other than to become wives and mothers. Her loyalty to her father and to his legacy is so touching. He had so much courage to resist the oaths which would have spared his life. Because he was more loyal to his beliefs in the Catholic church, he is often thought of as a traitor to his king and is still addressed as such by scholars today. To me he is a pillar of strength, who was even forced to resist the pressure to take the oaths from those he loved more than his own life, reputation and legacy which were all considerable. And yes, please do an episode on St. Thomas More.

[@Geo_Babe]

Agreed!!!

[@lucyosborne9239]

THOMAS MORE!!! I know this is a year on but please!!! Thomas More is one of my favourite people in history. IMHO he was the most moral, steadfast, intelligent and sane person in the court of HarnyvVIII where sanity was in very short supply. His moral courage, making of him a saint, can't be argued in Christian terms. He was also a human being who had children, grandchildren and I'm happy to say, descendants across The Pond (one of many of my ancestors who have made me far more British than anything recognizably American). Thomas More is a lesson in restraint, good judgement, family loyalty and absolute conscience. I'm Buddhist and as such, I can acknowledge his moral lessons in less of a fevered and contentious manner than one Christian sect does for another. On the whole. Christians have been killing each other since the night Jesus died. His disciples had to entrust his body to a Jewish holy man, Joseph of Arimathea because the factions and killing had already begun. (Not to appear too jingoistic but there has never been a Buddhist holy war, and we are barred from any kind of violence unless it is in self-defence of an immediate nature.)That one fact is the only one I've read about or listened to lectures concerning, that makes him human, and not a saint. Of his day, yes, and he stood for his beliefs, crammed into his head as a child that if he didn't believe and do as The Bible said, he'd burn in Hell for eternity, he was indeed a saint, perhaps even Bodhisattva.

[@JeannetteSolimine]

I've always loved Margaret Roper's story, sad as it is. I also found it interesting that when I checked my "bell" icon, I found your video about Margaret Roper and a link to David Starkey's new video on Thomas More. I look forward to hearing your take on him at some point in the future.

[@susanjackett9268]

Love these videos Kat, thanks so much, I've learned so much listening to your easy to comprehend lectures.

[@suzannetevlin8439]

Very interesting. I was fascinated to hear of Meg's treatment of Thomas' head. Reminds me of "Isabella and The Pot of Basil". Seems a bit gruesome, but they were different times. David Starkey just posted a very interesting discussion of Thomas More's martydom, comparing his attitude to the attitudes of John Fisher & Thomas à Becket. It was quite wonderful.

[@bjklein444]

She is an extremely interesting person at this point in history. Most don't know what she did after her father was executed. She bribed the guard to retrieve his head? Thank you for posting 📫

[@thetakongpancake1003]

Thank you Kat! I look forward to a second viewing of this video as right now I'm sunbathing in Napa County, California and I know I will be wrapped in blankets and cold soon ( a couple hours) as the world has gone mad (again and right on schedule) O:)

[@margaretschembridalli5218]

It is a pity that the work of such a great female mind, from the time when women were widely considered lowly, has gone lost. I am curious to learn the point of view of women back then as well.

[@dorym8045]

As a highly intelligent woman, I expect she knew very well the realities of the political and religious times in which she lived. So, I believe she spent the latter years of her life (after the Act of Succession) in a balancing act to preserve the legacy of her father but also protect the future of her family. This, as well as grief, would go a long way to help interpret her appearance in the miniature as well.

[@annstillwell730]

People aged faster too. Just having so many kids and raising them was enough. 😮

[@dhoward8816]

It seems like English people during this period had a shortage of first names so reused them many times. 🙂 Sometimes is hard to remember which Thomas or Margaret or Elizabeth or William is being talked about. You do a good job adding the last names again and again helping us keep them strait. Thanks for this about Margaret Roper. It would have been really interesting to be able to talk with her.

[@OddLeah]

I've been researching my Mennonite ancestors, and they have kept reusing the same names til the present day! (Thank goodness Aganetha fell out of favour in the mid-1900s).

[@--enyo--]

I guess part was also they passed family names down a lot.

[@adriannespring8598]

@@OddLeah Ironically I think Aganetha is a pretty damn baddass name. 😏 It's unusual & powerful in vibe. ✊😌 Kind of like Boudicca & Athena.

[@Shane-Flanagan]

It was very common to name your children after monarchs and saints.

[@annfisher3316]

Would love a video covering Saint More, as he has such an interesting life. His promotion and implementation of an academic education for girls and women is admirable. Thank you for such a wonderful video about Margaret.

[@tonjegunasekera4961]

Uncomfortable with the sait title, it is deeply disturbing that a man who essentially was a fanatical catholic and sentenced (and by numerous accounts personally attended) the torture and death by burning several people for the crime of heresy, or simple owning a version of the Bible in English. Making this man the "patron Saint of statesmen" who are supposed to safeguard democracy and the right to free will appear a bit oxymoron and frankly insulting. I'd love a video on Sir Thomas More, not sure the sainthood is justified.

[@uptonsavoie]

@@tonjegunasekera4961 Old slanders die hard. In the bio by Prof. R.W. Chambers (who was Protestant), the allegations are taken up and refuted. Statements of torture and death by burning are generally by non-witnesses who are repeating what they were told by More's enemies. More himself wrote "And of all that ever came in my hand for heresy, as help me God, saving, as I said, the sure keeping of them..else had never any of them any stripe or stroke given them, so much as a fillip on the forehead." "...[A]s help me God...." It is difficult to believe that a man who would rather be put to death for refusing to swear falsely concerning the king's "great business" would perjure himself in a matter of his treatment of heretics. He has been called "the man of greatest virtue this island has produced"--not a man cruelly to torture and execute people and then lie under oath about it.

[@michaelkoeiman5661]

Could a future video perhaps explore contemporary attitudes in the early modern period, towards all this gore? I find it hard to gauge roughly how common such events were and what proportion of people would have personally viewed them. Is our modern view of people then as inured to brutality totally correct? I ask this because of the mention of heads on spikes after execution … would this have been a mundane fact of life or something more sensitive people shielded their eyes from?

[@melissaorellana6951]

I would appreciate same…

[@suegordon7632]

Am I the only one to have done a double take on being told More remarried a month after his first wife's death ?? It seems even in those times he needed a dispensation and went against friends advice ! It certainly throws a different light on the " learned ascetic " Unless , of course, he needed someone to run his household and care for his children ...even so ...4 weeks !!

[@annstillwell730]

It was common to do that. unfortunately people died early sometimes and it was uncommon to have one or more spouses in your life time plus if you had a lot of kids it was kind of necessary.

[@h0rriphic]

You’re so close to 100k, I’m proud of you Dr. K! Your videos have given me much needed reprieve through some really rough stuff…thank you for everything you do 💝

[@maryrhudy9250]

I would love to see an episode about letter-writing in these times. We see folks writing almost daily to people with whom they lived in the same house.

[@KatTheScribe]

I second this one!

[@--enyo--]

That would be interesting!

[@jojo1234a]

Great idea, yes I’d love to see the same.

[@gilly6954]

They wrote letters to someone they lived with? That would be interesting to know the why of this.

[@tomaszdonovan3045]

Look j

[@nancycampbell8671]

This is the first time I'm learning about Margaret Roper. What an interesting and learned woman.

[@Janelane529]

Same. Bc I don't count her being a character on The Tudors lol. That very Hollywood/telenovela style show is the only representation I was aware of before Dr. Kat's video! I also found her in my family tree, which I know isn't that special when you go back that far, but it's fun to find those connections, common as they may be.

[@savinghistory642]

@@Janelane529 i looked forward to the tudors series and even bought hbo or whatever it was on to watch it. the first scene of henry pleasuring himself for what seemed an eternity behind a cloth held by his valet made me want to vomit. seemed like the whole point of the show was to drive home the message that henry liked sex. we get it but every other scene was someone sweating up the sheets. then the insinuation that mary killed the king of france cinched it for me. never watched another episode and cancelled my hbo subscription. i much prefer facts and good writing to porn on screen. and made up incorrect porn at that.

[@gd8740]

Thank you for introducing me to this inspirational women. She lived hundreds of years ago but today she has encouraged me to get out my books and keep learning.

[@dawnvickerstaff9148]

Happy to find this in my feed this AM. I always look forward to your videos. Margaret was one of my favourites. I love the idea of an educated woman in a time of general feminine ignorance. Not lack of intelligence, mind! Just lack of opportunity for learning. While I always thought that Sir Thomas More was a bit of a hard-headed, stubborn-unto-death idealist, he did right by his daughter.

[@annefisher5381]

Thomas Roper lived in Canterbury…my home town. The gateway to Roper House can still be seen opposite St Dunstan's Church where Margaret is said to have buried his decapitated head, having rescued it from London Bridge after his execution.

[@patriciahill6839]

Highly enjoyable. Surprised that you didn't mention Robert Bolts A man for all Seasons starring Paul Scholfield. It recounted the life and death of Sir Thomas More. A excellent telling of his shifts to try to avoid death at the hands of Henry VIII

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

Her relationship with her dad sounds so sweet, can’t imagine how painful the loss must’ve been

[@sarahwatts7152]

You have to really love someone to keep their head around like that. (Yikes!)

[@misskitty2710]

Is there any indication of Margaret’s feelings about her father’s condoning of harsh punishment of those whom he considered heretics? I’ve been led to believe that, rather than being the wry and ironic scholar of “A Man For All Seasons”, More had no problem with torture and burning. I wonder how Meg felt!

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

I remember when you had about 2k subscribers!!!

[@tonyk1584]

I always have to remind myself that history is a movie and not a snapshot. We read a letter from the past and think "well that's the way it was". But if you could watch the "movie" you would realize that the day the letter was written was a snapshot of how the writer felt at that time on that day. This your most recent posting serves to remind us that a lot of things were going on in Meg's life and opinions and feelings change from day to day. The motivations for her signing the oath of allegiance and trying to get her father to do the same are nuanced and unknowable. I thank you though for getting us to think about the "movie".

[@diamondtiara84]

"History is a movie and not a snapshot"; wish I had thought of that.

[@WhoDaresWins-B20]

Another extraordinary presentation of one of my favourite Saints. Thank you for your OBJECTIVE presentation Dr. Kat. I was privileged to visit the resting place of the Casket of St Thomas in the Tower of London (Beneath the Beefeaters Residences, and was taken to the cell where St Thomas was kept prisoner. I spent over half an hour visiting on two separate occasions; once in 1998 and then again in 2001. I fulfilled the wishes of the boy I was in school all those years previous when I learned about St Thomas and his family. Thank you for an excellent presentation.

[@susanjackett9268]

I'd read that Holbien of Margaret as grief too, as I doubt Margaret actually raised her children without a lot of help, losing her time to write and study.

[@--enyo--]

I love how he just carried her letters around ready to whip them out for bragging rights about his kids like proud dads do today with photos in their wallet (or now on their iPhones, I guess).

[@kimberleewells7421]

I love and appreciate how you bring to life the history of English monarchs. I have held a fascination for them ever since I was a high school girl at 15 and I took out a book from my school library written by Jean Plaidy, The Princess of Celle. Thank you for keeping my interest in English history alive!

[@juliestone9371]

I used to love the Jean Plaidy books x

[@dabhidhm4093]

Thank you so much for this. I am a big fan of Thomas More but there's lots of attention paid to him. I am always eager to hear the stories of those in the orbit of famous personages, I find their stories all the more fascinating for being the less well-known.

[@kae5717]

Part of the reason I love your channel so much is this kind of content: information on the "peripheral" figures who are so often overshadowed by royals and those adjacent to royalty. The videos about royalty are also good, but I can't hear about Margaret Roper anywhere else.

[@jfs59nj]

Dr. Kat, do you think Margaret’s later writings were “lost” as these things (woefully) happen, or were they suppressed or destroyed? It’s a pity they aren’t extant, I agree. Once again this was fascinating. A future video about their letters (More and Margaret) wouldn’t go amiss. As always, thank you.

[@ReadingthePast]

As with so much, then and now, it is hard to decipher whether a loss occurs through incompetence or connivance. I lean towards it being down to her contemporaries not thinking her work important enough to preserve or publish in the aftermath of her father’s execution. Maybe it would have been a different story if she’d been executed for refusing to swear too? The martyred daughter of St Thomas would probably receive veneration 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@jmacd9552]

@@ReadingthePast I had the same thought as John Sinclair. Possibly suppressed to limit her and her fathers influence during the early religious transformation from papal authority . As always I enjoy listening to and learning from your videos. Regards

[@kayleenfeher4341]

I think Margaret had her own ideas. I believe that no matter how much information we have on her that people will believe what they want to be regardless. Look at the royals, we have a never ending supply of information on their lives and yet there is so much that we all disagree on and what we each believe. I believe that for her time she was an independent thinker who knew that if she stepped out of line would endanger not only herself but her entire family and that was something she didn't want to do. It would be nice to have more of her work; however, I am sure that after what happened with her father, she was extremely careful to cover her tracks.

[@jellybean984]

I thought she looked in pain in that portrait (mentally) her father's loss probably ruined her confidence and she probably lived in fear of having the same thing done to her. the fact that She was buried with her father's head is heart warming and heart breaking. She seemed so strong. It's times like this where I hope there is an afterlife of some sort so she can see her father again.

[@gonefishing167]

Do you think that’s why Holbein painted the portrait of Margaret that way? It looks so real and gives the image of a woman exhausted by grief. Poor lady 👵👵👵👵🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@Fluffymonkeyem]

This was fascinating! I loved the bit where you mention his family having to write letters in Latin to him.

[@lisam5744]

Another wonderful video. I've been interested in the Tudor period since my childhood, but your channel has taught me so much more about this time. I look forward to Friday lunch time each week!

[@stephanieking4444]

I was always fascinated by Margaret More Roper. She is probably England''s first female lay scholar. Her filial and intellectual relationship with her father seems to have been deep and defining. I agree the miniature of her at 30 shows an emaciated figure, gaunt because of grief. Poor Margaret. She had to retrieve her father's head from a pike in London Bridge. She probably didn't care about her own security after that trauma. The tales of her keeping the head at home, as a beacon for the opposition to Henry's reformation, may well be true.

[@metalsomemother3021]

I do look forward to a video on Tom More. It's good to know that he was a champion of education for both men and women and provided this for his family. My kids went to St. Thomas More HS, and got a stellar education I have no feminist concerns about Margaret's support of her father. She was maximizing her opportunities for the era in which she lived. Bravo for her. Cool that she was able to translate from Latin and do so much.

[@charlesmcdermott6139]

As an Irish-American Catholic, I look at Henry VIII with a decidedly jaundiced eye. As well, I see Thomas More as a truly heroic figure. So, I would really look forward to your always fair opinion of Thomas More. Hurry!

[@alayneperrott9693]

Thank you for this overview. I find Margaret Roper a much more interesting, human and sympathetic figure than Lady Jane Grey, despite their shared tradition of Tudor female scholarship that Sir Thomas More was responsible for nurturing.

[@jackieheidorn5875]

Is it possible that Margaret agreed to the Act of Succession because of her husband and tried to "walk the fine line" between supporting her husband and her father?

[@GildaLee27]

Margaret must have been a very kind, intelligent, & clear minded person, I think, being More's child. Your reading of their final work together feels right; by signing the oath, she gained access to him while imprisoned which would likely have been denied her if she, too, refused to sign. Here's hoping some day more of her work will be found somewhere, somehow.

[@hiwakoo]

Wouldn't that be a fantastic headline for next months history news?

[@colemitchell2766]

Thank you, loved this

[@KatTheScribe]

On your way to 100k!!! 🥳🎉 Love this channel, one of my faves. I wish we had more information on Margaret. I think she looks very tired in the miniature and I'm sure that everything going on with her father was a big part of why that is so.

[@racheldavin7763]

When I saw this pop up I couldn't wait til lunchtime so I could give it my full attention. Look forward to a future video on St. Thomas More. Furthermore, I'd really appreciate your assessment on the different TV/movie portrayals of him. (Paul Scofield vs. Anton Lesser vs. Jeremy Northam).

[@AD-hs2bq]

What an incredible woman and your presentation is impeccable. Thank you!

[@gonefishing167]

DeaDr Kat, thank you for this video. Interesting man. He’s been thought a saint for hundreds of years but, lately, he’s been shown to have feet of clay a bit. Doesn’t alter the fact that it was a gruesome way to go, especially since he had Been such a friend of the king. I don’t know if I could have stood up for my religious convictions in such a way though religion was thought of in such a different way then. But, it wasn’t only about religion was it - was it about religion at all? It was only so henry could rid himself of a previously loved queen ( and a much loved queen of the country) , and marry another ( giving himself the excuse that he needed a son). He, himself, could be extremely harsh on people he thought of as heretics. Wouldn’t you give a lot to be able to go back in time to see and converse these people? ( safely of course). I wonder what we’d think of a lot of people we admire . Hard to be able to put yourself in the time period. May I ask a request. I’ve heard of your lovely photos of your Christmas Day. Would you consider putting one on here? I have no access to the other whatever they’re called. Thank you. Very interesting man and I feel for his daughter and for the family. Must have been hard for them to go forward with their lives. Is there any truth that she carried her fathers skull around with her? 👵👵👵👵🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺

[@mellie4174]

Yes! Religion was just a pretext

[@jackmcnally9237]

Gone fishing: H.8 a mass - murderer.Try a double - entendre with Mass !

[@JohnnyBlaze5100]

Love the accent and knowledge and the cuteness. ❤️🇺🇸✝️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@Herries8325]

I love your style Dr. Kat. I will go on following you. Can you recomend a social history type site on here, by a similarly erudite historian, please. I'm not on Twitter so I'll find you somewhere else by email maybe, but it's in my head now.

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

Dad's head on display at home? Gross!

[@amethyst5538]

A bit disturbing. I mean ashes are one thing, but the head?

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

@@amethyst5538 Right!

[@denisenilsson1366]

One way to get a head!

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

I have always found the Mores a bit weird, even for their day. Education is one thing, fanaticism is quite another. And I think it is pretty clear they were fanatics. The 'saintly' father had no problem at all in putting to death anyone who disagreed with him, until the tide turned and it was him that was out of kilter. Looking at it from 2022, the whole Martyrdom and Margaret's spin doctoring wouldn't look out of place in some extremist sects now. The head thing is bizarre, even for then. OK, so she didn't want Daddy's head on a spike. I think we all get that. But would you not just give it a decent discreet internment? Not use it as some sort of freaky propaganda tool?

[@amethyst5538]

@@denisenilsson1366 I laughed. I laughed hard.

[@obcl8569]

Fascinating video - embarrassed I'd not heard of Margaret being interred, disinterred & re-interred with her father's preserved head!! Now that's one very loyal daughter.

[@RJRmassage]

Thank you for this brilliant account of her life and scholarship. Your videos are always well done and meticulously researched.

[@EnglishTMTB]

I think it's interesting that we lament that we don't know more of Margaret in her own right (without reference to her father) when in a sense we would've been much less likely to know of her at all if her father hadn't been both very prominent and very keen on education. Perhaps she did little after this time, perhaps as you summise her spirit was greatly diminished by the events that led to her father's end and voluntarily withdrew from engaging with society for fear of similar repercussions for herself and family?

[@jakual339]

I'd imagine that her father's death really shaped her life afterwards. Not just for personal reasons, or because it cast such a long shadow, but also because of the politics involved. Surely any sort of public life for her would have been risky from that point on, given her association with this very prominent Catholic martyr. If she'd participated in scholarship, published a book, spoken in public... how would Henry VIII have reacted to that? He likely had mixed feelings about Thomas More, under the circumstances, and things that reminded Henry of unpleasant emotions typically wasn't welcome.

[@ashyrosie]

Would love a video on Erasmus. 🤞🏻

[@alexrafe2590]

My favourite film ever was ‘A Man For All Seasons.’ My favourite performance by an actor was ‘Paul Scofield’ in the title role. And my favourite ensemble cast was the one for this film. I’ve seen several films which won more Oscars, but I have never seen one I enjoyed or valued more.

[@nmritter]

Having trouble of reaching yu on yr other platforms. I'd like to suggest topics for future videos that I think are interesting. 1. Qn Katerine Aragon. Video on her health. Is there anything she did medically to find out why she couldn't conceive. In the series the spanish princess, they indicated she fasted excessively. Did that have a negative effect. How did she survive Henry all those years without ulcers? I was wondering if you could also do a video on Henry's mistress es.

[@eliscanfield3913]

What? Certain feminists pooh-pooh her because it's been reported _by her father's hagiographers_ that she was not branching off from her father's work? It's not like _they_ had an agenda. You can't tell what she was up scholastically when so much of her own works have disappeared. Besides, a woman, especially after she'd become a wife and mother, being any sort of scholar was a bit of a victory for us. Margaret seems like a brave and remarkable person. I wish we could know her better, too.

[@cynthiaejiogu8442]

Great video! But girl you look tired! Baby getting the best of you! I have 3 boys all grown but once they start moving watch out! Keep up your great work!👍

[@michelelane4662]

She must have really respected her father and possibly wanted to give him as much of a burial that she could. I wonder if her papers weren’t passed down to a family member or friend of the family either near her death or through the generations. There’s large houses and estates that have been abandoned. I wonder why the archivists aren’t interesting in gathering these papers up and preserving them. Just curious.❤️🍀🌈😇🙏❣️

[@kathleenem9207]

I have been reading English history for many years and especially enjoy the Tudor years but the more I read and watch the less admiration I have for Henry VIII. I guess it was a very “them or me” life for him. I wonder, as he became older, if he ever regretted some of his decisions and was haunted by them- I hope so. Perhaps, though, he was a complete narcissist and didn’t lose any sleep whatsoever. In my life, I have never wished anyone ill- just what they deserved. I like to think Henry got that.

[@michellecornum5856]

Dangerous games, indeed. I think she figured out quite quickly that it is NOT a good idea to pursue the issue, once you've garnered Henry's attention... I'm pretty sure being called forth about keeping her father's head was enough to make her wet herself. Better then to disappear into the woodwork, and hope you are forgotten about. I wonder if she amassed her own works to hide or destroy them, or if this was done by people who loved her and wanted her head to stay where it was. I also have to wonder if there aren't one or two books of hers, high up on a dusty shelf, in plain view of everyone, just overlooked. Wouldn't that be a treasure?

[@polkadot8788]

Her keeping her fathers head is a bit...gruesome. like something out of blackadder.

[@deborahbrottmiller2948]

I agree with you. You can see the toll it has taken. Seems like having your portrait done would be the last thing Meg would want to do at this horrible time of her life.

[@ingridlinbohm7682]

Saint Thomas More pray for us. I remember sitting under a tree that was apparently in the garden of Saint Thomas More. It was strange thinking that he himself saw the same tree.

[@kittye8340]

You are so well-spoken and elegant. I hope to be as intelligent and good at speaking as you are one day. This was an interesting video, thank you!

[@alysencameron361]

Margaret's letters being lost is a shame. So muxh of her era would be greater understood.

[@shelleygibbons1065]

She looks exhausted and gaunt . Such a difference.

[@k.s.k.7721]

Is there any record of the Vatican Library holding copies of any of these works by Margaret Roper?

[@happinessforeverandalways]

it’s hard to imagine that they were a happy family but then her dad remarried in a month??

[@trojanette8345]

"What is a Master of the Request"? Any theories on what happened to or where her written works, went?

[@patriciapalmer1377]

Dr., I always look forward to your excellent presentations. Margaret ? Fortunate for her education, and wondering what sort of individual she would be in the present. Thank you for your time and effort. Patricia. America. 2022. January

[@fairwfriend]

I feel her bereavement in the second portrait.

[@louise-yo7kz]

Margaret appears a shrewd intelligent woman. Her letters would've been a great vehicle to her personality

[@Saezimmerman]

Very interesting! I have to wonder if she took the oath to the Act of Succession strategically for her father's sake or for her children's... I also wonder about her father's perspective on it. Did he support her decision, encourage it, or merely understand it?

[@msinvincible2000]

I ADORE Thomas more. He was the best of men, his relationship with Margaret reminds me so much of the relationship between me and my father. I admire Margaret so much, that I've decided that if I have a daughter, I will name her Margaret.

[@jared1870]

It would have been nice to know more about Margaret, separate from her father's identity, but from this video I still feel she was a remarkable woman. Now...must...resist...urge...to...purchase...more...history...books...

[@kazoolibra7322]

Thank you for information on this wonderful tudor woman...so worthy of praise in her own right..

[@JustineBrownsBookshelf]

Erasmus was St. Thomas More’s friend. He lived at the More house for long periods and wrote In Praise of Folly there, so I expect Margaret knew him well.

[@Ynnej55]

I value certain thoughtfulness in being farewelled and am very touched that you do not tell me to 'Have a good day'. Rather, you tell me that you ...'hope I have a pleasant day....' A nit-picky-ness on my part, but I thank you for it. Also, thank you for reminding me of the life of Margaret Roper. My imagination was captured when I first watched 'A Man For All Seaoms'

[@nancycarroll1061]

Living in Virginia, I worked for a family named Alvis that claimed to be descendants of Henry VIII's sister. The story was that the sister loaned an amount of money to the crown and this debt was made null by parliament. Could you tell if this is correct?

[@margaretkerr4591]

Would you please do a video about jaquetta rivers of Denmark. I find her fascinating. 💗

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

Mother of Elizabeth Woodville?

[@giselematthews7949]

The mother of Elizabeth Woodville, that is what I was thinking.

[@HabrenOdinsdottir]

@@giselematthews7949 I'm pretty sure that's her

[@ameliecarre4783]

Luxembourg, not Denmark.

[@margaretkerr4591]

@@HabrenOdinsdottir yes x

[@kirstena4001]

fantastic video! I loved this look into such an interesting woman's life

[@carolynstru9453]

Your presentation of the topic is outstanding and enables me to better understand. Thank you for sharing your gift.

[@Alliebaba7782]

I know you field of study is early modern but I was wondering if you ever do videos on recent history. I'd like to see a video on Queen Victoria's children or one on Alice of Battenburg. Thank you.

[@jenniferhosmer9180]

Love your videos!!! Could you consider doing a video on Mary the first?

[@ReadingthePast]

I do have one where I explore why she is often known as “Bloody Mary” - so if you search for “Bloody Mary” on my channel page it should pop up 🌟

[@jenniferhosmer9180]

@@ReadingthePast Thank you so much Dr Kat! Your awesome!!!

[@shannonfick7170]

Margaret must have indeed been superbly intelligent and pious. To have written so eloquently in Latin and other languages at 15 and 16 to the point where Thomas could impress HIS equals and superiors would have been nothing short of remarkable. And we can gain some insight into her family’s interpersonal relationships from the sketch that Hans Holbein made. They looked like a cozy, loving family who enjoyed spending time together! No matter what Margaret’s relationship with her father, she would no doubt have been severely affected by his imprisonment, conviction, and execution. We can only hope the rest of the family closed in together and helped one another along in such a scary and tragic time.

[@savinghistory642]

through a series of fortuitous associations i came in contact with a lady whose father was a very big wheel in British antiquities. she moved to America and decided she was tired of having all the old dusty antiques her father had collected. through her i came into possession of Margaret More Roper's childhood desk. it is my most treasured antique and i have plenty. i am also an empath of a sort and the desk is alive to me. it confirmed who it belonged to and reminds me whenever i go by it. it sits in my hall under a danse macabre etching by Hans Holbein. i have some furniture from a 1920-1930 Chicago funeral home and they came with many who made their presence known to me. one is a man who stands by my bed sometimes and is accompanied by the smell of a freshly lit cigarette (i do not smoke) but he usually hangs out in my library. i could not believe i actually have something that once was in the home of St Thomas More but there it is. and Margaret has expressed her pleasure in my having the piece and actually knowing what it is. it is in very good condition and the hinges on the top are still intact though they are of a curious design. i know there will be many skeptics but i know what i know. i love your videos. congratulations on having a baby to pass on your deep and interesting knowledge of. history. i feel more intelligent everytime i watch you. i know i seem a raving lunatic but i am used to mockery and disdain as i realized i had this gift as a very young child. i was raised an atheist but suffered a high fever for a few weeks at 5 during which i was given the knowledge of God and this gift from God Himself. I converted to Catholicism at 19 and have never been happier or felt more free.

[@Thepourdeuxchanson]

Very interesting. I must admit my notion of Margaret (and the whole family really) was shaped by "A man for All Seasons" But she was so much more than that, wasn't she? Thank you for bringing her to life.

[@Britgirl58]

I always enjoy your videos, Dr Kat, but this one had me listening with particular interest and twitching ears. Thank you. Very interestingly and lovingly presented.

[@deborahduthie4519]

All’s good. Interesting how the people at the palace suffered loss of so many children, yet this Moore Household with children who all survived birth and childhood ills into adulthood except for M.R. In her own probable end. What a brilliant mind.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🏼🇦🇺✅

[@lanag8336]

As a teenager I read Utopia and it help in forming my view of the world. The conversations Margaret had with her father must have been amazing.

[@meeeka]

Speaking of women's learning: can anyone verify the correct pronunciation of the name of the tutor of the Princess Elizabeth, Roger Ascham? Is it Ash-ham? or Ask-ham? Also: there were an AWFUL lot of really good female scholars at that time among the middle and high nobility: the Tudor girls, Jane Grey, the More girls and so many more who I recall learning about. And not just in England, on the continent as well. I suppose that is how one grows a middle class....

[@ccsullivan9164]

A long overdue overview of Margaret! Thank you. I can’t help but wonder if her letters and writings are extant but attributed to a man of the period. Just a thought. Keep them coming, Dr. Kat! We’re grateful.

[@ckallen1546]

Thank you. It’s so interesting to learn of a (young?) woman of the Tudor Period. Not a princess or mistress or queen or duchess. Most of all, a young woman not unsimilar to today’s modern women…love of our families and education (and seeking higher education). This particular Margaret…seems to be one the Tudor women who actually contributed towards elevating today’s women and our statuses as students/scholars. It’s a lot to think about.

[@aliciahowell9617]

I love Dr Kat’s videos and was even more thrilled when I learned I am a descendant of Margaret Roper by her son William. My grandfather, Great Grandfather and GGGrand father were Baptist ministers from a long, long line of ministers. My Roper line lives Birmingham, AL so we are far from our Kent origins. Thank you for giving me such a vivid picture of my fascinating ancestor.

[@brianeduardo1234]

Very good as always- nice presentation style

[@jillclark3630]

I thought that was a completely mesmerizing video. Please make more videos of strong, intellectual, and interesting women from history.

[@bluflutterbye9900]

How historically accurate is A man for All Seasons? i know its based on a play. Thats where i first saw reference to More. i have a crush on More. 🙂 Is there anything wrong in the movie. thanks. i love your videos. 🙂🙂

[@lb8781]

Great content, as always! Thank you.