great council

noun

1. (in Norman England) an assembly composed of the king's tenants in chief that served as the principal council of the realm and replaced the witenagemot.

2. (formerly in Italy) the municipal council in some towns or cities, as in Venice.

great council

noun

1. (in medieval England) an assembly of the great nobles and prelates to advise the king

Word History and Origins

Origin of great council¹

First recorded in 1730–40

Example Sentences

"Jaehaerys called the Great Council to prevent a war being fought over his succession. For he knew the cold truth: the only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself."

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Viserys was chosen by the Great Council to succeed his grandfather, King Jaehaerys Targaryen, over his elder cousin, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, because he was the king’s oldest male descendant.

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Since the Great Council passed her over, she has been known as “the Queen Who Never Was.”

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Tensions grew: Bartholomew attempted a reconciliation at what was intended as a global gathering of the faithful in a “Holy and Great Council” in Crete in 2016.

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To get to the Anselm Kiefer exhibition at the Palazzo Ducale in Piazza San Marco, you have to wend your way past the grand courtyard, up the stone staircases where the Doges themselves once tread, through the Great Council’s chamber with Tintoretto’s Il Paradiso beaming down and still then through a narrow doorway.

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