Tres Thomae: Tomás Moro según Alonso de Villegas, Pedro de Ribadeneyra y Fernando de Herrera

In the present paper we analyze three biographical sketches about Thomas More written, respectively, by Alonso de Villegas, in the Tercera parte del Flos Sanctorum (1588); Pedro de Ribadeneyra, in the Historia ecclesiástica del scisma del reino de Inglaterra (1588-95); and Fernando de Herrera, in his Tomás Moro (1592). In the first part of the work, we identify the sources that Villegas, Ribadeneyra and Herrera had within reach, and then, we study individually each one of the biographies of Thomas More with the aim of explaining the significant differences that separate them. As we try to prove in this work, these differences are due, partly, to the distinct sources used by these writers, but also to the tense climate of religious controversy present in Europe during the second half of the XVIth century.