Jonathan Sumption

English lawyer and judge · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1948 · age 77

Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, Lord Sumption,, is a British author, medieval historian, barrister and former senior judge who sat on the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom between 2012 and 2018 and on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2019 and 2024.

Jonathan Sumption is read about 123 times a day, in 8 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 3 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 100 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2016“Success is admirable in a king, but failure is compelling and usually better recorded.”In their wordsChapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (p. 4)Read the whole statement

“It is one of the paradoxes of England’s medieval history that in spite of its strong central institutions it was known mainly for its chronic political instability.”In their wordsChapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (p. 5)Read the whole statement

“The government of Mortimer and Isabella was intensely hated. It proved to be just as vindictive, despotic and unstable as that of the Despensers but a great deal less competent.”In their wordsChapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (p. 18)Read the whole statement

“Finance was always Edwards III’s weak point. He had little understanding of the problems of taxation or credit and was bored by administration.”In their wordsChapter 3, “‘King of France’” (p. 39)Read the whole statement

“Edward’s chief asset was his personality. He was uncomplicated and likable. He was flamboyant, extrovert and generous.”In their wordsChapter 3, “‘King of France’” (pp. 52-53)Read the whole statement

“Edward III had always greatly overestimated the help that conspirators and malcontents could bring him.”In their wordsChapter 4, “Prince of Chivalry” (p. 68)Read the whole statement

2010Wolfson History PrizeAward1948Born9 December 1948

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Sumption’s walled chateau in Berbiguières dominates the village

In their own words 4

Jonathan Sumption

4 statements, newest first

England, however, was endowed with a precociously advanced system of government which made its kings powerful beyond anything warranted by its comparatively modest resources.
2016 · Chapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (pp. 4-5), Own words
The Tuscan poet Dante Alighieri had a simple explanation for England’s problematic status in fourteenth-century Europe.
2016 · Chapter 1, “Edward of Windsor” (p. 8), Own words
Some of the troops had been conscripted, the last occasion when compulsion played a significant part in the recruitment of Edward’s armies.
2016 · Chapter 3, “‘King of France’” (pp. 51-52), Own words