Norwegian Noble Titles

Norwegian Noble Titles

Norwegian nobility (Norwegian: norsk adel) was an official estate and is today a social and historical group of families in the Kingdom of Norway.

The first aristocracy in today's Norway appeared during the Bronze Age (ca. 1800 BC–ca. 500 BC). This so-called bronze aristocracy consisted of regional and local élites, whose earliest known existence dates to ca. 1500 BC. These entities would re-appear as petty kingdoms before and during the Age of Vikings (793–1066). Beside a chieftain or a petty king, each of these had its own aristocracy.

Between 872 and 1050, during the so-called unification process, the first national aristocracy developed. Regional monarchs and aristocrats who recognised King Harald Halfdansson as their high king would normally receive vassalage titles. Those who refused were defeated or chose to migrate to Iceland. The subsequent lendman aristocracy—powerful feudal lords and their families—ruled their respective regions with great independence under the King. However, during the civil war era (1130–1240) the old lendmen were severely weakened, and many disappeared. This aristocracy was ultimately defeated by King Sverre Sigurdsson and the Birchlegs, after which they were replaced by supporters of Sverre.

The nobility—known as hird and later as adel—was institutionalised during the formation of the Norwegian state in the 13th century. During a couple of centuries the nobility grew into becoming a great political factor. Their land and their armed forces, and also their legal power as members of the Council of the Kingdom, made the nobility remarkably independent from the King. At its height the Council had the power to recognise or to choose inheritors of or pretenders to the Throne. In 1440 they dethroned King Eric III. The Council even chose its own leaders as regents, among others Sigurd Jonsson (Stjerne) to Sudreim. This aristocratic power lasted until the Reformation, when the King illegally abolished the Council in 1536. This removed nearly all of the nobility's political foundation, leaving them with mainly administrative and ceremonial functions. Subsequent immigration of Danish nobles (who thus became Norwegian nobles) would further marginalise the position of natives.

After 1660, when absolute monarchy was introduced, the old nobility was gradually replaced by a new. This consisted mainly of burghers who had recently been ennobled, but also of foreign nobles who were naturalised. Dominant elements in the new nobility were the office nobility (Norwegian: embetsadel), i.e. persons who received noble status by holding high civilian or military offices, and the letter nobility (Norwegian: brevadel), especially prominent in the 18th century, i.e. persons who received letters patent in return for military or artistic achievements or for monetary donations.

The 1814 Constitution forbade the creation of new nobility, including countships, baronies, family estates, and fee tails. The 1821 Nobility Law initiated a long-range abolition of all noble titles and privileges, a process in which the current bearers were allowed to keep their noble status and possible titles as well as some privileges for the rest of their lifetime. Many Norwegians who had noble status in Norway also had it in Denmark, and thus remained officially noble.

Even though officially granted privileges were abolished and official recognition of titles was removed, several families maintained an aristocratic profile, for example based on their estate and by marriage with other persons of the nobility, and still bear their inherited name and coat of arms. After 1821 and until the Second World War members of these families continued to play a significant rôle in the political and social life of the country. Today this social class is a marginal factor in the community, culturally and socially as well as politically. Several noble families live today. A handful of them, like Løvenskiold, Treschow, and Wedel-Jarlsberg, still possess considerable wealth.