Remember not the sins of my youth

“Remember not the sins of my youth” is an underlined plea in Thomas More’s prayer book, which comes into Thomas Cromwell’s hands after More’s execution. The phrase gathers the book’s tensions between penitence and judgment, private devotion and public memory: Cromwell recognizes the words, but reads the prayer book in the shadow of More’s final political choices.

The Phrase in More’s Prayer Book

When Rafe Sadler brings him the prayer book More had with him at the end, Cromwell examines it and finds More’s name written inside. Among the underlinings is the plea, “Remember not the sins of my youth.” The evidence identifies the words as a marked passage, not as a final spoken statement; their force comes from their presence in a personal devotional object that has survived its owner.

Cromwell’s Reading of the Underlining

Cromwell’s response turns the prayer into an oblique comment on the events that led to More’s death. He remarks, “What a pity he remembered Richard Riche's.” The contrast sets the prayer’s request for mercy against More’s recollection of Richard Riche’s testimony at his trial. The underlining can be read as an appeal to divine forgiveness, while Cromwell’s reply brings the political memory of the prosecution sharply back into view.

The Book’s Afterlife

Cromwell first considers whether the prayer book should be sent to Dame Alice, then decides instead to send it to Meg, More’s daughter, reasoning that More probably meant it for her. His decision gives the underlined words a second context: a private prayer is also part of what the bereaved family inherits. The book does not settle what More intended by marking the line, but its passage from the condemned man to his daughter makes memory, repentance, and family grief inseparable from the political aftermath of his death.