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New page: Witan ("Wise Men") is the Old English name for a meeting of the leaders of the kingdom, the forerunner of Parliament. The Witan consisted of all the great landowners and religious ...
Witan ("Wise Men") is the [[Old English]] name for a meeting of the leaders of the kingdom, the forerunner of [[Parliament]]. The Witan consisted of all the great landowners and religious leaders, and had the power to depose the king if the situation demanded it. Upon the death of a king it was the Witan who elected his successor. They would usually choose a member of his family, but this was not compulsary. The Witan was called at regular intervals to advise the king. After the [[Norman Conquest]] of 1066 AD the Witan continued to meet, but gradually came to be known as the [[Curia Regis]], as [[Latin]] replaced [[English]] as the language of administration. Its powers were cutailed for a time, until the later [[Middle Ages]]. Its modern descendant is the [[House of Lords]], which forms the upper chamber of the [[British Parliament]].