Definition of "witan"

But in estimating the powers of the witan, we must not lose sight of the fact, that the king sometimes assumes a tone of superiority scarcely consistent with its independence.

1833, S. A. Dunham, Europe in the Middle Ages, Green & Longman, page 48

The folkland, the national fund, was administered and conveyed conjointly by the king and the witan.

1889, Hannis Taylor, The Origin and Growth of the English Constitution