Witenagemot

The Witenagemot or Witan was approximately between the 7th and the 11th century a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England.

The name Witenagemot comes from Old English and means meeting of the Elders ( wita = Weiser, Gemot = meeting ). Witan is the original Old English plural of wita, which has become a secondary back to the singular and refers to not only the wise, but also the same meeting. This meeting had evolved from the Germanic folk and court Thing Assembly and formed a meeting of the most powerful ecclesiastical and secular dignitaries. Before the unification of England in the 9th century there were in the small kingdoms of Essex, Kent, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex and Wessex individual Witans. Even as Wessex became the dominant kingdom, this remained at the latest by 1065.

The Witans were of the kings ( and later by the local Earls ) convened. Their task was to issue advice on the administration and organization of the empire (especially on taxes, court decisions or defense ). The Witans also confirmed the succession of a king. The new Regent did not need to be a descendant of the dead king, but the man who seemed to the Council the most appropriate to lead the country. Kings and Earls were by Council Decision even be discontinued such as Sigeberht of Wessex in the year 755 or Æthelwald Moll of Northumbria 765 The Witan was in some respects a precursor of the English Parliament, differed from him, however, in important respects, such as the lack of a specified sequence, daily schedule or a permanent hearing location. The institution formed a counterweight to the king and his display of power and led the business of government continued during the interregnum.

Witans were held at least once a year, but usually more often. In general, they were held where the Regent, who also had no permanent seat, was staying. As a gathering place served alongside the royal possessions also hills or meadows, sometimes with striking trees. There are at least 116 different locations known where Witans took place, including Amesbury, Cheddar, Gloucester, London and Winchester (Old English: Wintanceastre ). The most famous meeting was that on January 5, 1066, the Harold Godwinsons confirmed after the death of Edward the Confessor as King of England. The history of the Anglo-Saxon Witan ended with the Norman invasion of 1066, which replaced it by a curia regis (Court of Justice of the King); However, this was to the 12th century under the traditional name Witan or Witenagemot known.