Editing Witan (section)

== Etymology ==
The [[Old English]] word {{lang|ang|witan}} ({{literal translation|wise men}}) described the counsellors of Anglo-Saxon kings. At the same time, the word could also refer to other kinds of counsellors, such as the witan of a [[shire court]].{{Sfn|Roach|2013|pp=3 & 20}} [[Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York]] (1002–1023), wrote in his ''Institutes of Polity'' that "it is incumbent on bishops, that venerable 'witan' always travel with them, and dwell with them, at least of the priesthood; that they may consult with them{{nbsp}}... and who may be their counsellors at every time."{{Sfn|Thorpe|1840|p=317}} A contemporary account of a dispute over an estate in [[Middlesex]] in the 950s refers to a decision of the {{lang|ang|Myrcna witan}} ({{gloss|[[Mercia]]n witan}}).{{sfn|Robertson|1956|p=90}}

The most common Old English term for a meeting of the witan is {{lang|ang|gemot}}, sometimes expanded as {{lang|ang|micel gemot}} ({{gloss|great assembly}}). Writers of [[Latin]] texts used {{lang|la|conventus}} or {{lang|la|magnum sapientium conventus}} ({{literal translation|great assembly of wise men}}). Modern scholars use {{lang|ang|witenagemot}} ({{gloss|assembly of counsellors}}) as a technical term,{{Sfn|Roach|2013|pp=3 & 20}} but historian [[John Maddicott]] noted its rarity in the 11th century with only nine pre-[[Norman Conquest|Conquest]] examples, mainly in the [[Edward the Confessor#Crisis of 1051–52|crisis of 1051–1052]].{{sfn|Maddicott|2010|p=50}} [[Patrick Wormald]] was also cautious, describing it as "a word always rare and unattested before 1035".{{sfn|Wormald|1999|p=94}}