Original subtitles

Majesty,

His Grace Archbishop Cranmer is here.

Your Grace.

Your Majesty...

we have had a great success throughout the whole country

in the swearing of allegiance to Your Majesty as Head of the Church.

Also in favor of your marriage to Queen Anne.

But we cannot persuade

either Fisher or Thomas More to swear the oath.

However... they may swear to part of it.

Sir Thomas has already told us he has no

argument with the Act of Succession, and...

There can be no compromise.

For if we allow them, of all men,

to swear to what they like,

then they set a precedent for others to follow.

In this matter, Your Grace,

it is all or nothing.

Majesty.

- Mr. Secretary. - Majesty,

Dame Alice, the wife of Sir Thomas has written.

She asks to remind you that her husband has given long and

true service, and he does nothing now out of malice, but only

in the imperative of his conscience.

I know all about his conscience.

He's been wearing it on his sleeve for years.

When he resigned as Chancellor, he made me a promise

that he would retire from the world and live privately,

and attend his soul.

But this was not true.

He continued to publish pamphlets

about my matter and my conscience.

He visited Katherine.

He cajoled others to support her.

In other words, he broke his promise.

He must accept the consequences.

Majesty.

Sir Thomas, you have visitors.

Thank you.

- Thomas! - Alice!

Margaret!

Alice!

Look at you...

Well, Thomas More,

I marvel that you have always been taken for so wise a man

that you will now play the fool here in this close, filthy prison

and be content apparently to be shut up among mice and rats.

Don't be like that!

I assure you this is

one of the very best rooms in the Tower.

In fact,

formally, I am a guest of the Constable,

who just brought you here. And I said to him before

that if I showed the least sign of ingratitude

for his great generosity, he should just

throw me out of the Tower altogether!

You know why we have come here.

I thought it was to see me.

Yes.

It was to see you.

But beyond that,

it was to ask you to swear the oath, so that you can come home with us.

Alice, tell me one thing.

What is that?

Is not this house as close to heaven as my own?

Good God, man. Is that all you can say?

You were always plain speaking woman. One of the attributes I admire you for.

Well, then I should tell you plainly, husband,

that I, and Margaret...

and all your other family... have all sworn the oath

and feel no worse for it.

I have always said that I do not

blame any other man or woman, who has sworn.

I only say that I myself cannot swear.

Then you are thinking only of yourself.

If you are proceeded against, as you know very well,

all your possessions will be forfeited to the Crown.

And we would be forced into penury.

I have had more sleepless nights over that issue than over anything else.

- But still you will not swear? - Alice...

I want you to understand, please. I do not...

I do not willingly seek martyrdom.

I will do everything I can

to accommodate the King and his desires.

We must remember that,

he once made me a promise

that he would never force me to do anything against my conscience.

To look first unto God,

and only after unto him.

So, Margaret, don't be sad.

And Alice,

say you are not angry with me.

Please.

If you left, and I thought so, I would feel

I feel even more lonely than before.

I am not angry with you.

But I am frightened.

So very frightened.

Your Majesty.

My Lady...

- What is it? - Your Majesty.

- Your Majesty. - My Lady...

What is it?

Oh my God.

Get the physician.

I lost the baby.

Yes.

They told me.

We shall make no public announcement of the fact.

Thank you, Your Majesty.

Stand by.

Mr. Fisher.

I came to bring you two pieces of news.

In the first place, the Pope has made you a Cardinal...

But the second is that Parliament has decreed

that to maliciously deny the King's supremacy in all matters,

is now a treasonable offence,

punishable by death.

So I ask you again.

Will you accept the King as the Supreme Head of the Church,

and take the oath?

You already know my answer to that.

My agents intercepted this letter.

Its intended recipient was the Emperor.

In it, the writer begs the Emperor to invade England

and restore what he is pleased to call

the true Queen and the true faith.

Did you write this letter?

In due course, Mr. Fisher,

you are to be arraigned for treason,

and you are to be tried according to his Majesty's pleasure.

Mr. Secretary,

I must thank you, for bringing word of my new hat.

At least it was not all bad news.

Cardinal.

Forgive me, Ambassador, for receiving you like this.

I am sad to find Your Majesty so unwell.

Is it so surprising?

I have received visits from

the Earl of Wiltshire and others,

trying to make me take the oath,

and threatening me when I did not.

Boleyn said I should be sent to the scaffold.

I truly believe that man

to be an emissary of Satan.

Tell me, what news of poor Bishop Fisher?

Parliament has passed a new Treasons Act.

Which makes "malicious" denial of the King's supremacy,

punishable by death.

Poor Fisher.

He was a lion in my defense.

Now he will die alone

and ashamed in a prison cell.

What caused it?

There was nothing.

Of course there was something! What did you do to kill the baby?

I didn't.

I don't know.

Believe me, father, I was so careful.

Welle, not careful enough.

Now...

From now on we must all be careful.

You especially.

Not to lose the King's love.

Or everything is lost.

Everything!

For all of us!

Charles. I wanted to ask you a question.

Have any of the women you've bedded ever lied about their virginity?

Their virginity? I'd say it's the other way around.

Did any of them not lie about it?

Why do you ask?

I ask Your Majesty's forgiveness.

It doesn't matter.

I asked for the truth, and you told me so.

What's this?

Dismount your horse. Dismount now!

Down!

Good morrow.

Good morrow, Your Majesty.

What's your name?

William Webbe, Your Majesty.

your sweetheart's name?

Bess, Your Majesty.

Come here, Bess.

I assure Your Majesty

I have a permit and permission

to ride through Your Majesty's forest.

I swear it and could easily prove it.

Hello, Bess.

Your Majesty.

Come with me.

Former!

Are you really the King of England?

I was only pulling your leg.

Our English friend writes

that "the Lady is not to have a child after all."

He also says that the King

has already been unfaithful to her,

But all this may mean nothing,

"considering the changeable character of the King

"and the craft of the Lady,

"who well knows how to manage him."

You and I, Campeggio, have done well

to avoid the craft of women.

Celibacy is an immense relief.

Yes, Holy Father.

But our friend is still fearful for the lives

of Queen Katherine and her daughter.

Neither of them is safe as long as the concubine has power.

I will have prayers said for our dear sisters

and also for Cardinal Fisher.

May God grant him the courage to endure his tribulations.

- Yes, Holy Father. - On the other hand...

Yes?

On the other hand,

in the days of the founders of our Church,

it was considered a privilege to be martyred,

like St. Peter and the other apostles.

Our Church was founded

upon the blood of these martyrs.

So perhaps it is a pity

that you and I, Campeggio, unlike Cardinal Fisher,

no longer have the opportunity

to die for Christ.

Sir Thomas.

Sir Thomas!

Yes. I'm here.

I'm here. Who are you?

John. A servant to Bishop Fisher,

who is kept below here.

He asks you to be of good cheer.

How is he?

Truth be told, Sir, he is old and not well.

He cannot eat the food here.

But his spirit remains ever unbroken.

Well, I am glad to hear it.

And not the least bit surprised.

He asks if you would ever contemplate taking the oath...

and under what circumstances?

Tell him that I cannot take the oath

without damning my soul for all eternity.

And that I will not do.

Thank you, Sir, for that.

I know it will renew my master's courage.

Now I must go.

God bless you.

Tell me, Mr. Cromwell,

does Sir Thomas More still continue in his stubbornness?

- Yes. - You will force him to give his reasons

for not taking the oath, or I will deem his silence to be malicious.

I am appointing you Vice-Regent in Spiritual Matters.

It's true you are a layman not a churchman

but in this matter I could not trust the prejudices of any churchman.

My Lady, your sister has come.

Sister.

Mary?

Your Majesty.

You are with child!

How has it happened? We knew nothing.

I'm married.

Married?

So...

who is your husband?

His name is Mr. William Stafford.

I haven't heard of him. Is he at court?

He...

William is a man of little standing and no fortune.

He is now a serving soldier in Calais.

Then you think him

worthy to be the husband

of the Queen of England's sister?

Yes, father. Since I love him and I...

You are very much mistaken.

You married him in secret,

and without asking our approval.

He is such a nothing, we could never have given our permission!

Father, if you were to meet him, you would see that he is

a good, fine, honest man.

Since you acted brazenly and in spite of me, Mary,

I shall cut off your allowance.

You and your fine, honest young man

can rot in hell, as far as I am concerned.

Anne...

How easy do you think it was for me to find a proper husband,

when I was called the great prostitute!

Indeed I think myself fortunate to have found William,

- and to be loved by him. - You did not ask my permission.

Do I have to ask your permission to fall in love?

Yes.

Now we are royalty.

Everything is different.

Please.

Please.

Sister.

You and your husband are banished from court.

Your Honor,

Mr. Cromwell,

How may I please you?

It would please me very much if you could give me the reason

or reasons why you will not take the oath.

I have...

discharged my mind of all such matters,

and will no more dispute King's titles,

nor Pope's.

The King accuses you of stubbornness

and obstinacy, for not giving your reasons.

You must have some view of the statute?

I have this view that the

act of Parliament is like a double-edged sword,

for ever a man answers one way it confounds his body,

and if he answers another

it confounds his soul.

But if you did not answer at all, you will incur penalties.

His Majesty has commanded me to draw up an act of attainder against you.

This will make your imprisonment permanent.

Poor Alice.

Sir Thomas,

why will you not take the oath? Thousands have.

Many, I am sure, share your beliefs and your faith.

And yet, not your scruples.

Well, as for that, some may do it for favor,

and some for fear.

And some may perhaps think they can later repent and be shriven,

and God will forgive them.

And some others may be of a mind that if they

say one thing, but think another,

then their oath goes upon what they think and not upon what they say.

But I cannot use such ways in so great a matter.

In which case,

and in all honesty,

Sir Thomas,

you are likely to pay the ultimate price.

Mr. Cromwell, there really

is no difference between us, except that I shall die today,

and you tomorrow.

Forgive me,

but aren't you Margaret More, Sir Thomas' daughter?

Yes, sir.

I am Eustace Chapuys,

the Emperor's Ambassador.

It is a great pleasure for me to meet anyone associated with Thomas More.

Thank you, Your Excellency.

May I ask why you have come to court?

I have come to petition Mr. Secretary Cromwell.

Lately most of our lands have been sold off

and my family is gradually reduced to poverty.

Things go very hard with my mother.

I am sorry to hear it.

I am sorry for many things that are occurring in this kingdom.

The good seem to suffer,

and the wicked to prosper.

- Oh! Mark! - Majesty?

You're a free spirit. I love that.

Everyone else constrains me.

No one understands.

Never leave me.

Sister?

I couldn't sleep. I'm sorry.

Why could you not sleep?

I was thinking of her!

Who? Thinking of who?

The Lady Mary, of course.

And her mother!

Katherine.

Yes. Katherine! What's wrong with you?

I don't understand.

- What harm can they do you now? - Every harm!

As long as Mary is alive,

- then she could be Queen. - No.

The Act of Succession makes it impossible.

Elizabeth,

your daughter

will be made heir to the throne.

But the King can change his mind!

He can do whatever he wills now.

He has absolute power. You know that!

And what he has given, he can take away,

and what taken away, he can give back.

And he could still make Mary Queen,

even above my daughter.

But why should he?

I don't know. I just fear it.

This is all I know of Mary,

that she is my death,

and I am hers!

Benedicant te, Domine,

omnes angeli et santi tui.

Benedicant te caeli, terra, mare,

et omnia quae in eis sunt.

In te speravi, Domine.

Tu es Deus meus,

- Thomas! - In...

- Sir Thomas! - John...

Is that you, John?

My master, Cardinal Fisher, is found guilty

and is called forth tomorrow.

He hopes you and he shall soon meet in heaven.

Tell him that will be the way,

for it is a very strait gate we are in.

John...

tell him

he deserves and will receive

all of heaven's graces.

Yes, Sir.

God bless you, Sir.

God bless you.

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.

You see that I am wearing my finest clothes,

for today is my wedding day!

Good people, I ask you to

love the King and obey him,

for he is good by nature...

even if he is not right in his religious policies.

But I am condemned to die

for wishing to uphold the honor of God and the Holy See.

And now,

good Christian people, I ask for your prayers.

I am only flesh, and fear death as much as any man.

It's true that I have long since made up my mind to die,

if need be, for Christ and His Church, but...

now that the moment is at hand,

I need your help.

God bless you, Cardinal Fisher.

- Holy Father! - Do you know who that was?

Michelagniolo di Ludovico

di Lionardo di Buonnarroti Simoni.

Michelangelo?

- That was him? - That was him.

We forgive him because he is a genius.

Whatever that means.

Holiness, we have heard from England

of the murder of Cardinal Fisher.

His head was struck from his body with an axe.

I have already heard. It is an outrage.

I had made Fisher a Prince of the Church...

but it mattered nothing to King Henry,

who is now so mired in vice and lust

that he is beyond reason.

Magnificent!

Majesty, now that Fisher is dead,

what is to be done about More?

We should press ahead, Mr. Cromwell.

We should press ahead.

Father, what has happened here?

It seems to me that they are treating you worse than before.

Well, they've taken my stove,

some clothing.

My food is reduced.

- Father how can you... - Margaret...

you must not be concerned about me.

I've thought long and hard

about Christ's passion and pain and...

I am not afraid of death.

I am only afraid of torture.

If they use violent ways to make me swear,

I don't know how brave I would be.

But you do not have to suffer anything.

Just take the oath...

like I did.

Like everyone has done.

Just say it and your body will be saved.

But the saving of my body, will be at the expense of my soul.

- No! - Yes.

No. None of us believes that.

Father, please.

Please...

For the love I know you bear us,

don't do this to us.

Mr. Secretary...

Sir Richard Rich.

Sir Richard...

I'm very pleased to see you.

I have a job for you.

Why?

Why can he not be as others?

Why does he have to cross me?

Why can his vanity be greater than a King's?

It troubles me.

It ways on my conscience and my heart is full and heavy and sore.

I say this only to you. I confess only to you.

I love him.

And I hate him.

I hate in equal measure to my love,

for he is the spirit that denies.

It is up to you to judge, whether or not he be on my conscience!

Sir Richard.

Good day to you.

I see my cell is fast becoming the place for lawyers to meet.

I am afraid, Thomas, that I come here most unwillingly

for I am ordered to deprive you of all your

books and papers... and suchlike.

That is a pity.

Still, if you are ordered to, I suppose,

then I suppose there is no other way.

You had best get started.

May I ask you a question, Thomas?

Only if it's a hypothetical one, Richard.

It's better that way.

Suppose, then, that...

Parliament enacted a bill

to say that I, Richard Rich, was King,

and that it would be treason to deny it...

would you accept me as King?

Yes.

But let me counter with another hypothetical case.

Suppose Parliament enacted that

God was not God,

and to oppose the act would be treason,

would you say that God was not God?

No. Since no Parliament can make any such law.

It has no competence to decide on the existence of God.

And no more can Parliament make the King Supreme Head of the Church.

There, Thomas.

I think my work here is done.

Your Majesty,

the King is here.

My Lady.

Come here.

Do you still have a passion for me?

I do, sweetheart.

I love you.

There now.

Don't weep.

Don't weep, my own darling.

It's all right.

Everything is going to be all right.

Sir Thomas More, you are arraigned before this commission

on charges of high treason.

How do you answer the charges?

Let me begin by denying

that I ever maliciously opposed the King's marriage to Anne Boleyn.

I have never spoken maliciously against it...

but only sometimes according to my

mind,

opinion and my conscience.

And have suffered as a result.

But you have maliciously denied the Act of Supremacy.

No. I have been silent upon it.

And for all my taciturnity neither your law nor any law in the world

is able, justly and rightly, to condemn me,

unless you may also lay to my charge either some

word or some deed.

Your silence can easily be construed as an action.

But even in that case,

the presumption that silence gives consent

precludes the charge against me.

"Qui tacet, consentire videtur."

What of the charge that you conspired in prison with Bishop Fisher,

a convicted traitor?

I never met him in prison.

I only talked a little with his servant

about familiar things

and recommendations,

such as were seemly to our long acquaintance.

We go back to your supposed

silence on the Act of Supremacy.

We think you have in fact spoken about it.

And we have a witness.

Call the solicitor general.

Call, Mr. Richard Rich!

Richard, you are under oath.

Do you tell this commission, truthfully, what the accused

said to you on this matter.

Yes, Sirs.

We agreed that Parliement might not make

any such law that God was not God

To which Sir Thomas said:

"No more can Parliament make the King Supreme Head of the Church."

So he maliciously denied the King's authority?

In those words?

Yes, Sir.

In those exact words.

Then I will charge this commission

to return a true verdict.

I ask you, good Sirs, to determine whether

Sir Thomas More did converse with Sir Richard Rich

in the manner alleged?

You do so find him guilty?

Then I will proceed in judgement against the prisoner.

My Lord,

when I was a lawyer, the convention was to ask

the prisoner before judgement was given,

why judgement should not be given against him.

What then are you able to say to the contrary?

Thank you.

To my view,

this indictment is

grounded upon an act of Parliament

directly repugnant to the laws of God

and His Holy Church.

The supreme governance of which

no temporal Prince may presume

by any law to take unto himself.

It belongs... It belongs

by right to the See of Rome,

to St Peter and his successors...

as our Saviour told us Himself when He was on earth.

This realm,

being but one small part of the Church,

cannot make any particular law

disagreeable to the general laws

of Christ's universal Catholic Church.

No more...

No more can this realm of England

refuse obedience to Rome

than can a child refuse obedience to his own natural father!

We now plainly see that you are maliciously bent.

No, Sirs. Not maliciously.

I hope we may all meet merrily in heaven hereafter.

And I desire Almighty God

to preserve and defend the King's Majesty,

and to send him

good counsel.

Sir Thomas More,

you are to be drawn on a hurdle

through the City of London to Tyburn,

there to be hanged till you be half dead,

after that

cut down alive,

your bowels to be taken out of your body and burned before you,

your privy parts cut off,

your head cut off,

your body to be divided in four parts...

Bless us, father.

I bless you, my children.

Be of good cheer,

for I pray that we will meet together in heaven!

When is the execution?

Tomorrow, Your Majesty.

What date is that?

The 6th of July.

What time?

At ten in the morning.

I have decided to commute the sentence to beheading.

Tell the officials.

Yes, Your Majesty.

Pietate tua, quaessumus Domine,

nostrorum solve vincula peccatorum,

et intercedente beata Maria semper virgine.

Nos famulos tuos

in omni sanctitate custodi.

Per Christum

Dominum nostrum.

Thank you, Sir Humphrey.

But when I come down again,

let me shift for myself, as well as I can.

I ask you to bear witness with me

that I shall now suffer death in

and for the faith of the Holy Catholic Church.

I beg you earnestly

to pray for the King,

and tell him

I died his good servant

but God's first.

I ask for your pardon and blessing.

You will give me this day a greater benefit than any mortal man

can ever be able to give me.

Pluck up your spirits, man,

and be not afraid to do your office.

Miserere miti Domime,

secundum miseration un tuum.