Athelstan, grandson of Alfred the Great, was a great king who united what was once a collection of petty Anglo-Saxon kingdoms into one vast English domains. Having brought together rival polities with a history of fractious relations into a unified whole, Athelstan needed to centralise government if he was going to keep the crown on his head and hold England together. Anglo-Saxon rulers had often consulted their senior nobles and clergy in councils. With Athelstan’s rule came the emergence of a national form of this council, the Witan, an early precursor to Parliament, and one of the first forms of English government.

In this episode of Gone Medieval - the final part of our mini-series on the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England - Matt Lewis talks to Dr. Levi Roach about the Witan, and whether it can be considered to be the first form of English governance. 

This episode was edited by Ella Blaxill and produced by Rob Weinberg.

Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code MEDIEVAL - sign up here.

You can take part in our listener survey here.