More takes the oath as Lord Chancellor on 26 October 1529 after Wolsey’s fall
On 26 October 1529 More took the oath as Lord Chancellor in Westminster Hall after Wolsey surrendered the great seal. In the causal graph this event weakens Democratic Resilience, a driver that strengthens Having a say in government — a worsening welfare path.
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On 26 October 1529 More took the oath as Lord Chancellor in Westminster Hall after Wolsey surrendered the great seal.
Context
History of Parliament Online and Britannica independently date 25–26 October 1529. Wolsey is predecessor, not erased. The Reformation Parliament had already opened.
Thomas More’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below.
Conventional years are 1478–1535. Surviving public files are later parliamentary biographies, TNA calendars, HRP Tower pages, the Yale More tradition, and encyclopedias. More did not typeset those later pages. 1935 canonisation is posthumous and is not a Fact.
Why it matters
Resilience-harm path via royal great-seal office. High confidence on the oath date.
Who was responsible
Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.
Thomas More
PersonDirect responsibility
responsibility level 0.4 · verified
Henry delivered the great seal after Wolsey. More swore. Complex royal office, not a representative mandate.
What changed
Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.
- FactMore takes the oath as Lord Chancellor on 26 October 1529 after Wolsey’s fall
- weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicators (3)Having a say in government
impact weight 0.45 · Effect from 26 October 1529 · verified
A dated chancellorship under a king who was already moving against Rome is princely office, not a later rights charter.
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.32 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.7)
Observed
29.8% of population aged 16-65 years · 8.13 below the normal line (2023)
Worse than normalTwo readings: 30.2% of population aged 16-65 years (2021) and 29.8% of population aged 16-65 years (2023).
20212023 Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.53 score from 0 to 1 · 0.34 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normal125 readings, 1900–2024: rose from 0.17 score from 0 to 1 to 0.53 score from 0 to 1.
Above normal = better
Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.45)
Observed
0.55 index score (0-1) · 0.26 below the normal line (2024)
Worse than normalAbove normal = better
Evidence
The sources behind this fact and its verification state.
- 1.Britannica — Thomas MoreEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
- 2.History of Parliament — MORE, Thomas I (1477/78–1535)History of Parliament Trust · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish
History of Parliament Online and Britannica independently date the October 1529 chancellorship.
Established: More became Lord Chancellor in October 1529. Not established: that he drafted every later Reformation statute.
Thomas More did not file a later UNESCO form, a later Loeb colophon, or a later museum label as a personal act. An oath is not a heresy fire. Keep enforcement on the 1529–32 practice row.
Causal path
How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.
- ActorThomas More
- contributed toFactMore takes the oath as Lord Chancellor on 26 October 1529 after Wolsey’s fall
- weakensDriverDemocratic Resilience
- strengthensIndicatorHaving a say in government
Cite this page
Factrail. (2026). More takes the oath as Lord Chancellor on 26 October 1529 after Wolsey’s fall. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tm-chancellor-1529
https://factrail.ai/facts/tm-chancellor-1529
Accessed 15 October 2026.
By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed
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