Witan
group · 3 works · 4 mentions · 9 anchored passages
the Witan · Witenagemot · exalted Witan
in the texts
Magna Carta: A Commentary on the Great Charter of King John
The council of Anglo-Saxon magnates that claimed the right to select the king.
When a king died, leaving a son of tender age and a brother of mature ability, the magnates of the kingdom, the so–called Witan, claimed the right to choose a fitting successor.
If these viceroys were a source of strength to the powerful Canute, they proved a source of weakness to the saintly Confessor, who was forced to submit to the control of his provincial rulers, such as Godwin and Leofric, as each in turn gained the upper–hand in the field or among the Witan.
Not content to depend entirely on the right of conquest, he insisted on having his title confirmed by a body claiming to represent the Witenagemot, and alleged that he had been named successor by his kinsman, Edward Confessor, a nomination strengthened by the renunciation of Harold in his favour.
Ancient Law
The Anglo-Saxon council of nobles credited with authority over criminal jurisdiction alongside the Church.
It will be seen that Alfred attributes it partly to the authority of the Church and partly to that of the Witan, while he expressly claims for treason against the lord the same immunity from ordinary rules which the Roman Law of Majestas had assigned to treason against the Cæsar.
An Essay on the Trial by Jury
The Anglo-Saxon king's council, whose legislative authority and need for popular or jury sanction is examined.
The opinion expressed in the text, that the Witan had no legislative authority, is corroborated by the following authorities:
Then I, Alfred, King of the West Saxons, showed these to all my Witan, and they then said that they were all willing to observe them.
“The preambles of the laws (of the Witan) speak of the infinite number of liegemen who attended, as only applauding the measures of the assembly.