Royal coronations in Norway

This is a list of royal coronations in Norway from the 12th century through to the modern era. They began in Bergen (Bjørgvin) at a time when the city was the the capital of Norway's growing overseas empire, came to Oslo when King Haakon V moved the capital there, and ended up in Trondheim, the first historical capital of Norway. The ceremony takes place at the Nidaros Cathedral, the cathedral of the Archbishop of Trondheim who is the chief prelate of the Church of Norway, the Lutheran state church. During the 20th century the coronation was replaced with a benediction performed by the archbishop who blesses the new monarch.

Before this the Norwegian kings had been proclaimed ("konungstekja" in Old Norse) at the Øyrating in Trondheim (Nidaros). The tradition had begun with King Harald I Fairhair or King Haakon I the Good in the 10th century, and continued after the coronations began. This could lead to a situation of competing claims. King Sverre was, for example, hailed as king at Øyrating in 1177, but not crowned until well after the death of King Magnus V in 1184.

For kings before the independent Norway of 1905 the modern Norwegian name forms are given in parenthesis where relevant.

Christ Church (Old Cathedral), Bergen

The first coronation in Norway, and Scandinavia, took place in Bergen in 1163 or 1164. The Christ Church (Old Cathedral) in Bergen remained the place of coronations in Norway until the capital was moved to Oslo with King Haakon V.

At the beginning of the 20th century the act of coronation had become widely viewed as an anachronism by Norwegian politicians, and two years after King Haakon VII and Queen Maud were crowned, in 1908, the coronation paragraph was removed from the Constitution with only two votes against in the Parliament. When Olav V became king in 1957 he introduced a new tradition of benediction in the Nidaros Cathedral. He was followed by his son, Harald V, in 1991.

ee also

*Norwegian monarchy
*List of Norwegian monarchs
*Norwegian Royal Regalia
*Coronation
*Kalmar Union
*Union between Sweden and Norway

ources and External links

* [http://www.riksregaliene.no/index.gan?id=27033 Riksregaliene: Kroninger og signinger] no icon
* [http://www.histos.no/bergen/vis.php?kat=5&id=27&spr=en Histos forlag: Historical Bergen]
* [http://homepage.mac.com/crowns/n/avreg.html Norwegian Coronations]
* [http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/nrk_trondelag/1.582799 NRK Trøndelag: Kroninger i Nidarosdomen] no icon
* [http://www.aftenposten.no/fakta/innsikt/article1362137.ece Aftenposten: Første folkekonge, siste kroning] no icon
* [http://www.kongehuset.no/c26966/artikkel/vis.html?tid=27589 Kongehuset: Dagens monarki - Signing] no icon