Editing Witan (section)

== Electing and deposing kings ==
The witan was noted by contemporary sources as having the singular power to {{lang|ang|ceosan to cynige}}, {{gloss|to choose the king}} from amongst the extended royal family. Nevertheless, at least until the 11th century, royal succession generally followed the "ordinary system of [[primogeniture]]". The historian Chadwick interpreted these facts as proof that the so-called election of the king by the witan merely amounted to formal recognition of the deceased king's natural successor.{{sfn|Chadwick|1905|pp=357–358}} But Liebermann was generally less willing than Chadwick to see the witan's significance as buried under the weight of the royal prerogative:{{sfn|Liebermann|1913|p=21}}

{{blockquote|The influence of the king, or at least of kingship, on the constitution of the assembly seems, therefore, to have been immense. But on the other hand he (the king) was elected by the witan{{nbsp}}... He could not depose the prelates or ealdormen, who held their office for life, nor indeed the hereditary thanes{{nbsp}}... At any rate, the king had to get on with the highest statesmen appointed by his predecessor, though possibly disliked by him, until death made a post vacant that he could fill with a relation or a favourite, not, however, without having a certain regard to the wishes of the aristocracy.}}

Liebermann's more subtle position seems to be vindicated by testimony from abbot [[Ælfric of Eynsham]], the leading [[Homily|homilist]] of the late tenth century, who wrote:<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Whitelock|1956|p=642}}.</ref>

{{blockquote|No man can make himself king, but the people has the choice to choose as king whom they please; but after he is consecrated as king, he then has dominion over the people, and they cannot shake his [[Yoke#Symbolism|yoke]] off their necks.}}

In addition to having a role in the election of kings, it is often held that the witenagemots had the power to [[Deposition (politics)|depose]] an unpopular king. However, there are only two occasions when this probably happened, in 757 and 774 with the depositions of kings [[Sigeberht of Wessex]] and [[Alhred of Northumbria]] respectively.{{sfn|Chadwick|1905|pp=362–363}}

The witan's powers are illustrated by the following event. In the year 1013 King Æthelred II (Æthelred the Unready) fled the country from [[Sweyn Forkbeard]], who then had the witan proclaim him king. Within a few weeks, however, Sweyn died and Æthelred was called back to England by the witan. According to the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', the witan would only receive him back under the condition that he promise to rule better than he had.{{sfn|Garmonsway|1954|p=145}} Æthelred did so, and was reinstated as [[King of England]]. His nickname of the 'Unræd' or 'Unready' means ill-advised, indicating that contemporaries regarded those who sat in the witan as part responsible for the failure of his reign.

At the end of 1065, King Edward the Confessor fell into a coma without clarifying his preference for the succession. He died on 5 January 1066, according to the Vita Ædwardi Regis, but not before briefly regaining consciousness and commending his widow and the kingdom to Harold's "protection".  When the witan convened the next day they selected Harold to succeed as ruler of England.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpwtg82/revision/3 |title=Edward's death and claimants to the throne – Edexcel |publisher=BBC}}</ref>