- Norwegian noble titles
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Norwegian noble titles include the titles of the ancient aristocracy before the Unification of Norway and the titles of the institutionalised nobility of medieval and modern times. There have existed several different sets of titles, and also the function and the content of titles have varied. The 1821 Nobility Law initiated a long-range abolition of noble titles. The last titled Norwegian nobleman was Count Peder Anker Wedel-Jarlsberg. Historically unique and standing in a prominent position, is the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae.
The concept of nobility as such only arose in the High Middle Ages, and is sometimes used retroactively by historians when referring to earlier elites. It is important to understand that the Scandinavian nobility from the High Middle Ages was mostly untitled, and that modern titles of nobility, introduced in the late 17th century, did not necessarily rank higher than untitled nobility.
Contents
Noble titles
Titles of the ancient aristocracy
Title English Information jarl earl A chieftain, especially as a ruler under a king. herse A local chieftain. sysselmann An administrator of a syssel. Introduced in the late 1100s and displaced 'lendmann' and 'årmann'. lendmann A regional administrator under the King. He was usually of higher origin. årmann A local administrator under the King. He was usually of lower origin. huskarl housecarl Élite infantery. hauld hold Farmer whose family had possessed a farm for six generations or more. The highest rank of free men. Note: This list does not express accurate rank between the titles.
Titles of the old nobility (1st system)
Title Rank English Information hertug duke 'Hertug' introduced in 1237. Not in use after 1299, when Duke Håkon Magnusson became king. jarl earl The last jarl in mainland Norway was appointed in 1295 and died in 1309. hirdmann 1st: lendmann 'Lendmann' was in 1277 replaced with 'baron', which in 1308 was abolished. 2nd: skutilsvein 'Skutilsvein' was in 1277 replaced with 'ridder'. 3rd: hirdmann Later abolished. gjest Later abolished. kjertesvein Later abolished. Titles of the old nobility (2nd system)
Title English Information ridder knight A knight was styled Herr (Lord), and his wife Fru (Lady). væpner squire Titles of the new nobility
Title Title for wives Title for sons Title for daughters Fief Explanation of title hertug hertuginne hertugdømme duke markis markise markis markise mariksat marquess riksgreve riksgrevinne greve komtesse riksgrevskap count of the kingdom lensgreve lensgrevinne greve komtesse lensgrevskap count of entailed property greve grevinne greve komtesse grevskap count riksfriherre
riksbaronriksfrifrue
riksbaronessefriherre
baronfriherrinne
baronesseriksfriherreskap
riksbaronibaron of the kingdom lensfriherre
lensbaronlensfrifrue
lensbaronessefriherre
baronfriherrinne
baronesselensfriherreskap
lensbaronibaron of entailed property friherre
baronfrifrue
baronessefriherre
baronfriherrinne
baronessefriherreskap
baronibaron Furthermore, the following titles are present in the Norwegian language without necessarily having been an official title:
- vicomte (also: visegreve, borggreve etc.)
Earl of Norway
In medieval Norway, the title of jarl (earl) had the highest rank below the king himself. The earl was the only one beside the king himself who was entitled to have a hird (large armed retinue). There was usually no more than one jarl in mainland Norway at any one time, sometimes none. In mainland Norway the title jarl was usually used for one of two purposes:
- To appoint a de facto ruler in cases where the king was a minor or seriously ill (e.g. Håkon galen in 1204 during the minority of king Guttorm, Skule Bårdsson in 1217 during the illness of king Inge Bårdsson.)
- To appease a pretender to the throne without giving him the title of king (e.g. Eirik, the brother of king Sverre.) The last jarl in mainland Norway was appointed in 1295.
Selection of Earls of Norway
- Haakon Sigurdsson 976-995
- Eirik Håkonsson 1000-1012
- Svein Håkonsson 1000-1012 Brother of Eirik.
- Håkon Eiriksson 1012-1015 and 1028-1029 Son of Eirik.
- Skule Bårdsson (c. 1189–1240)
- Archbishop Jørund 1295-1309
Other earldoms
Norway was, according to tradition, united in 872. Prior to that the country was split into smaller regions ruled by their own monarch. Some of these areas were kingdoms and others were earldoms. After 872 some of the old kings were demoted to the rank of jarl and permitted to continue ruling their region in exchange for subservience to the Norwegian high king. Likewise some of the old jarls were permitted to stay and other were appointed as it was deemed necessary by the king.
Earl of Lade
- Håkon Grjotgardsson (838-900), First Jarl of Lade. Earlier King of Lade.
- Sigurd Håkonsson?-961
- Håkon Sigurdsson 961-995
- Eirik Håkonson 995-1028
- Håkon Eiriksson 1028-?
Earl of Møre
- Ragnvald Eysteinsson
Earl of Nordfjord
Earl of Sogn
Earl of Sunnfjord
Other historic earls
- Alv Erlingsson (died 1290)
- Eiríkr Hákonarson (960s – 1020s)
- Erling Skakke (1115–1179)
- Haakon the Crazy (1170s- 1214)
- Haakon II Sigurdsson (died 995)
- Knut Haakonson (c. 1208–1261)
- Sigurd Haakonsson (c. 895–962)
Duke
In 1237, jarl Skule Bårdsson was given the rank of duke (hertug). This was the first time this title had been used in Norway, and meant that the title jarl was no longer the highest rank below the king. It also heralded the introduction of new noble titles from continental Europe, which were to replace the old Norse titles.
Selection of dukes
- Skule Bårdsson
- Håkon Magnusson Before he became King.
In the Norwegian overseas possessions
Earl of Caithness
This was presumably actually a Scottish mormaership, later Scottish earldom of Caithness, usually united to the person of Norwegian jarl of Orkney islands.
King of Mann and the Isles
See King of Mann and the Isles, King of Mann and Lord of the Isles.
Earl of Iceland
After Iceland had acknowledged Norwegian overlordship in 1261, a jarl was sent there as the king's high representative. The title was abolished in 1308.
Earls of Iceland
Earl of Orkney
The ruler of the Norwegian dependency of Orkney and Shetland held the title of jarl. The Norse jarl controlled Orkney in the period 875-1231. In 12th and early 13th centuries, two branches of the princely house sometimes rivalled, sometimes co-reigned as jarls. When both the lines went extinct in male line, the earldom of Caithness was granted to Magnus, second son of the earl of Angus, whom the king of Norway apparently confirmed in the title. After his male line's extinction, king of Norway granted it to a female-line descendant, the then earl of Strathearn. His death led to division of possessions, and a son-in-law, Erengisle Suneson, a magnate of Sweden, got Norway's recognition to his title. Already during the lifetime of this elderly and childless titular earl, Lord Henry Sinclair got Norway's grant.
Earls of Orkney
- Ragnvald Eysteinsson, 890
- Turf-Einar, 910
- Thorfinn Turf-Einarsson, 963
- Saint Magnus Erlendsson, 1108 to 1117
In 1098 Sigurd Magnusson was made King of Orkney. In the 13th century and 14th century, the earldom became an unwanted anomaly as the only fief in an otherwise centralized Norwegian kingdom and the title was allowed to lapse from time to time. In 1379 Haakon VI Magnusson granted the earldom to the Scottish Henry Sinclair.
Earls of Orkney, Sinclair dynasty
- Henry Sinclair, 1st Earl of Orkney (d. 1400)
- Henry Sinclair, 2nd Earl of Orkney (d. 1418)
- William Sinclair, 3rd Earl of Orkney (d. 1480) (surrendered 1470)
Lendmann, Baron
Lendmann was the highest rank attainable in the hird of the Norwegian king, and a lendmann stood beneath only earls and kings. Magnus Lagabøte abolished the title lendmann in 1277, and the lendmenn were given the title of Baron, in 1308 Haakon V abolished the title Baron as well.
- Gaut from Ænes
- Jon Gautsson Hird of Magnus V
- Munan Gautsson Hird of Magnus V
- Ogmund Crouchdance
- Alv Erlingsson (baron)
- Audun Hugleiksson (baron)
Modern noble titles
Count
- Countship of Laurvigen est. 29. September 1671 later known as Larvik
- Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve 1671 - 1704
- Ferdinand Anton Danneskiold-Laurvig 1704 - 1754
- Frederik Ludvig Danneskiold-Laurvig 1754 - 1762
- Christian Conrad Danneskiold-Laurvig 1762 - 1783
- Inheritance feud 1783 - 1785
- Christian Ahlefeldt-Laurvig 1785 - 1791
- Frederik Ahlefeldt-Laurvig 1791 - 1805
- The King of Denmark1805 - 1817
- Countship of Griffenfeld est. 1673. Renamed Tønsberg in 1676. Renamed Jarlsberg in 1684.
- Peder Schumacher Griffenfeld 1673-1676
- King Christian V of Norway 1676-1678
- Ulrik Fredrik Gyldenløve 1678-1683
- Gustav Fredrik Wilhelm Wedel 1683-?
- Peder Anker Wedel Jarlsberg ?-1893
Friherre, Baron
- Barony of Rosendal est. 1678
- Ludvig Rosenkrantz 1678-?
- Rosenkrone family 1745-1927 as a Stamhus.
Marquess
Other ennoblements
It was common for the King to give an ennoblement by letters patent as a reward. This did not give the right to use at title, but in most cases the recipients were given a new noble last name or a noble predicate like af, von or de.
Examples of untitled noble families ennobled by letters patent include:
- Løvenskiold 6 November 1739
- Tordenskiold 1716
- Gyldenkrantz 29 January 1783
A number of families, since referred to as Uradel by historians, were never ennobled, as they were noble from time immemorial. In some cases they were instead confirmed as noble on various occasions. Sometimes all families who were noble before the Reformation were considered to be Uradel. These families were mostly of Danish origin, but several of them had branches living in Norway, for example the family Kaas. Old Scandinavian noble families did not use noble predicates and were historically untitled, although in some cases individual members or branches would also receive titles.
See also
- Hauld/Hold
- Hirdmann
- Huskarl
- Norwegian nobility
Sources
- Norsk forsvarshistorie, krigsmakt og kongemakt; Ersland and Holm; Eide forlag; 2000; ISBN 82-514-0558-0
External links
Categories:- Norwegian nobility
- Norwegian noble titles
- Noble titles by nation
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