Celebrate 500 Years of Utopia

Thomas More, a deeply pious man as well as a serious Renaissance Humanist scholar, opted for a career as a statesman, ultimately rising to the position of Lord Chancellor of England under King Henry VIII. More refused to assent to the King’s wish to divorce Catherine of Aragon. He was executed for high treason in 1535, reportedly saying, “I die the King’s good servant, and God’s first.” More was beatified in 1886 and canonized in 1935.

His most noted work, Utopia is a work of fiction and political philosophy. The Booth Family Center for Special Collections holds a very rare first edition of Utopia which was published 500 years ago. With his punning title—utopia can mean either “nowhere” or “good place”—More not only invented a genre but also articulated a paradox that continues to be debated to this day: whether an ideal society is in fact attainable.

The Library’s copy of Utopia is on exhibition with related works in the spotlight case of the Special Collections Gallery on the fifth floor of Lauinger Library through December 19.