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Why was Thomas More imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1534?

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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.

Thomas More was imprisoned in the Tower of London on April 17, 1534, primarily due to his refusal to swear an oath to the Act of Succession in the form it was then administered.1

While More was willing to accept the act's declaration that King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn was valid, he refused the oath because it also entailed a formal repudiation of papal supremacy. His stance was rooted in his commitment to the unity of the Catholic Church and his belief that no temporal leader could serve as the head of the spirituality.1

Earlier in 1534, More had also been included in a bill of attainder regarding alleged complicity with Elizabeth Barton, though he successfully defended himself against those specific charges by producing evidence that he had warned her against interfering in state affairs.1