Witan

The Witenaġemot (Old English witena ġemōt Old English pronunciation: [ˈwitena jeˈmoːt] modern English /ˈwɪtənəɡəˈmoʊt/ "meeting of wise men"), also known as the Witan (more properly the title of its members) was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century. The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was composed of the most important noblemen in England, both ecclesiastic and secular. The institution is thought to represent an aristocratic development of the ancient Germanic general assemblies, or folkmoots. In England, by the 7th century, these ancient folkmoots had developed into convocations of the land's most powerful and important people, including ealdormen, thegns, and senior clergy, to discuss matters of both national and local importance.

The terms 'Witan' and 'Witenagemot' are increasingly avoided by modern historians, although few would go as far as Geoffrey Hindley, who described 'witenagemot' as an "essentially Victorian" coinage.The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-Saxon England prefers 'King's Council', but adds that it was known in Old English as the 'witan'.John Maddicott regarded the word witan with suspicion, even though it is used in sources such as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle:

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