Who was Thomas More’s first wife, Jane Colt?

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Portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing More in dark robes and a black hat, wearing a gold chain of office, seated against a green and yellow draped background. — Thomas More *Sir Thomas More*, oil on panel by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1527; in the Frick Collection, New York City.

Jane Colt was the eldest daughter of a gentleman farmer from Essex. She married Thomas More in late 1504 or early 1505.1

During their marriage, Jane served as a competent hostess for More’s guests, including the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus, who resided in their home in the City of London and wrote his famous work, In Praise of Folly, while staying there.1

Jane Colt and Thomas More had four children together. Her life ended in the summer of 1511, possibly due to complications from childbirth.1