Witan

Witan is the plural of wita in Old English, meaning a counselor. Sometimes used with germot, an assembly in Old English, it described the council summoned by Anglo-Saxon kings.

At these assemblies the nobility of Anglo-Saxon England and the bishops would discuss issues of national significance, including the succession of a new king. The make up of the Witan would vary, and so to would its power: it was often at its most significant during periods of disputed succession, or when the king himself was weak.

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