Sir Robert Sadington (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1340) was

Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

of England.

Life

He is assumed to be a native of

Saddington Saddington is a village in the Harborough District, Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is close to Smeeton Westerby, Gumley, Kibworth and Fleckney. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 309. It is a small h ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, and perhaps a son of John de Sadington, a valet of

Isabella of France Isabella of France ( – 22 August 1358), sometimes described as the She-Wolf of France (), was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the wife of Edward II of England, King Edward II, and ''de facto'' regent of England from 1327 ...

. He appears as an advocate in the year-books from 1329 to 1336. On 12 February 1332, he was placed on the commission of peace for Leicestershire and

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, and on 25 June 1332 was a commissioner for the assessment of the

tallage Tallage or talliage (from the French , i.e. a part cut out of the whole) may have signified at first any tax, but became in England and France a land use or land tenure tax. Later in England it was further limited to assessments by the crown up ...

in the counties of Leicester, Warwick, and Worcester. Previously to 8 August 1334 he was justice in eyre of the forest of Pickering and of the forests in Lancashire. During 1336, he was a justice of gaol delivery at Lancaster and Warwick. On 20 March 1337 he was appointed

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

, and appears to have been the first chief baron who was summoned to parliament by that title. On 25 July 1339 he was acting as lieutenant for the treasurer, William de Zouche, and from 2 May to 21 June 1340 was himself treasurer, but retained his office as chief baron. On 29 September 1343 he was appointed chancellor, being the third layman to hold this position during the reign. He resigned the great seal on 26 October 1345. The reason for his resignation is not given, but he was reappointed chief baron on 8 December 1345. He had been a trier of petitions for England in the parliaments of 1341 and 1343, and was a trier of petitions from the clergy in 1347. In 1346, Sadington was one of the guardians of the principality of Wales, duchy of Cornwall, and earldom of Chester during the minority of

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

. In 1347, he presided over the commission appointed to try the earls of Fife and Menteith, who had been taken prisoners in the

battle of Neville's Cross The Battle of Neville's Cross took place during the Second War of Scottish Independence on 17 October 1346, half a mile (800 m) to the west of Durham, England. An invading Scottish army of 12,000 led by King David II was defeated with heavy lo ...

. His successor as chief baron was appointed on 7 April 1350, Sadington having been given leave to retire in 1349.''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'' He married Joyce, sister and heiress of Roger de Mortival, bishop of Salisbury. Isabel, his daughter and sole heir, married Sir Ralph Hastings.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sadington, Robert de Year of birth missing Year of death missing People from Harborough District 14th-century English judges Lord chancellors of England Lord high treasurers of England Chief Barons of the Exchequer Knights Bachelor