Thomas More completes Utopia
- When
- 1515–1516
- Where
- Low Countries; England; Leuven
- Episodes
- 3
Thomas More completed his Latin satire Utopia in September 1516 after beginning it during a diplomatic mission to the Low Countries. The work was subsequently printed in Leuven under Erasmus's editorship and later revised for a Basel edition in 1518.
Episodes
- Drafting in the Low Countries
More began writing Utopia during a diplomatic mission to the Low Countries in May 1515, drafting the introduction and societal description.
- Leuven Printing
The work was printed in Leuven in 1516 under Erasmus's editorship, marking its first public release.
- Completion and Erasmus Review
More completed the 'dialogue of counsel' in September 1516 and gave the finished manuscript to Desiderius Erasmus.
Background and detail
Background. Thomas More, an English lawyer and humanist, began writing Utopia while serving as an envoy in the Low Countries in May 1515. The work is a socio-political satire written in Latin, depicting a fictional island society to critique contemporary political and religious customs.
Composition. More initially drafted the introduction and the description of the island society. Upon returning to England, he wrote the 'dialogue of counsel.' The manuscript was completed in September 1516 and presented to Desiderius Erasmus for review and eventual publication.
People involved
- Thomas More · Author
- Desiderius Erasmus · Editor and Publisher
Sources
- Utopia (book) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-15
- Thomas More Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.