, the namesake of Morton's fork Under
Henry VII, John Morton was made
Archbishop of Canterbury in 1486 and
Lord Chancellor in 1487. He rationalised requiring the payment of a benevolence (tax) to King Henry by reasoning that someone living modestly must be saving money and therefore could afford the benevolence, whereas someone living extravagantly was obviously rich and therefore could also afford the benevolence. The phrase "Morton's fork" may have been coined by another of Henry's supporters,
Richard Foxe. ==Other uses==