Although, as we have seen, the crown was not absolutely within the bequests of a dying king, but at the will of the Witan, still, in circumstances so unparalleled, the utter failure of all natural heirs, save a boy feeble in mind as body, and half foreign by birth and rearing; the love borne by Edward to the Church; and the sentiments, half of pity half of reverence, with which he was regarded throughout the land;-his dying word would go far to influence the council and select the successor.
"Harold, Book 10. The Last Of The Saxon Kings"
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
The powers vested in King William and his Witan remained constitutionally the same as those which had been vested in King Eadgar and his Witan a hundred years before.
"The World's Greatest Books, Vol XI."
Edited by Arthur Mee and J.A. Hammerton
He, too, first took refuge in the Weald when deposed by his Witan.
"England of My Heart--Spring"
Edward Hutton