The was a former

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

and

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

municipal officer. The title is sometimes translated as ' bailiff', '

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

', or ' stipendiary magistrate'.

History

The was originally the king's representative in the local community, dating back to the 13th century. In Norway, the title dates back to 1337, in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

. In the 16th century, he became the head of the town court (') and began to act as a judge. In the 17th century, he began to be appointed by the king; at the same time, in

market towns A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, the

and the were jointly responsible for administration and the administration of justice. The office was usually held by a respected member of the

merchant class The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. The ...

, and he was often a member of the magistrate, both before and after his time as . Gradually, most of the town's administrative functions were brought together in the office, and during the 18th century he became the first professional civil servant in the local community. His functions were many and varied: He was a judge in both the city court and the ' (bailiff's court), he was an auctioneer, in charge of estate administration and land registration, and from 1701 he acted as chief of police and in many cases also as both magistrate and town council chairman. In 1736 a decree was issued requiring judges to undergo a legal examination, but this was slow to take hold, as the king often chose on the recommendation of the diocesan magistrate (), who often took local considerations into account. The diocesan magistrate also supervised the lower courts. Before 1919, the (

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

bailiff) was both police chief and judge. If there was a market town in the

judicial district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By region Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria, "judicial district" (german: Gerichtsbezirk) refers ...

, the was also the mayor of the town (from 1868 to 1919), elected by the king. During this period, the thus performed the functions previously performed by the .

References

Notes

Sources

* * {{Authority control Historical law enforcement occupations Obsolete occupations Economic history of Denmark Economic history of Norway Government of Denmark Government of Norway