Meanwhile, the Franchises and territorial jurisdictions went on increasing till the ideas of possession of land and jurisdiction began to go constantly together. The Thegn, who only possessed five Hides, had his court. In the time of Cnut a further step was taken. The wealthy landowner, under the name of Landrica, represented the king in his district, and had jurisdiction over the lesser freeholders. While, to crown all, the new position of the king gave him the sole jurisdiction over the holders of bocland, to which, as we have seen, allodial property was gradually assimilating itself. In all these ways private and territorial jurisdictions were strengthened, and enabled very largely to encroach upon the national and popular courts. The position of the Landrica was little else than that of a feudal baron, and the independence of the great hereditary official, so marked a characteristic of Continental feudalism, was almost reproduced in England, when Cnut divided the kingdom into four great Earldoms. [Sidenote: Central government. The Witan.] [Sidenote: Increased power of the King.] [Sidenote: Finance.] To pass from the local government to the central. It has been seen that justice and municipal law were carried on through a series of free assemblies or Gemots; so too the general meeting, or Gemot of the nation, constituted the chief legislative and judicial assembly. This was called the Witan or wise men, or the Witana-Gemot or assembly of wise men. It was doubtless originally the National Assembly of all free men, but by an easy change which befalls all such assemblies, attendance on it grew awkward to the multitude, and was shortly confined to those who bore office about the court, the king’s Thegns and bishops. The principle of representation was not understood, and the freemen, although they possessed an inherent right to be present, were not in fact represented, except in so far as the presence of friendly and neighbouring Thegns might be held to represent them. The power of the Witan was great and various, being in theory the power of a free nation. They could elect and discrown a king, and practically did elect him, though usually from among the nearest relatives of the late king. A remnant of this elective form of the monarchy still exists in our form of coronation. Peace and war were discussed in the Witan. The co-operation of the Witan was necessary to authorize alienation of public land; and to them ultimate judicial appeals were made. Early in the eleventh century, however, the king had so far improved his position that he was able to grant land without their leave, and also to call to his court cases not yet completed in the lower courts. The same change in the character of the king, which has been already mentioned, shows itself here also. He was originally the leader of a free tribe, perhaps of a clan, but gradually as his dominion extended his power rose also; and his personal influence, though somewhat undefined,