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in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (; ) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a .
Stortingsmelding nr 22 (2000-2201) punkt 3
/ref>
Fief-holder
The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royalfief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...
in Denmark and Norway. As the fiefs were renamed ''amt
Amt is a type of administrative division governing a group of municipalities, today only in Germany, but formerly also common in other countries of Northern Europe. Its size and functions differ by country and the term is roughly equivalent to ...
'' in 1662, the term was replaced with ''amtmand
__NOTOC__
The ''Amtmann'' or ''Ammann'' (in Switzerland) was an official in German-speaking countries of Europe and in some of the Nordic countries from the time of the Middle Ages whose office was akin to that of a bailiff. He was the most se ...
''. In Norway these offices evolved into the modern ''fylkesmann
The county governor ( nb, statsforvalteren; nn, statsforvaltaren, lit. ''state administrator'' in English) is a Norwegian government agency that represents the central government administration in every county in Norway. Responsible for a numb ...
'' office. Modern Norwegian historians often use the term (English: 'fief lord') instead of , although from the legal point of view, the king was the fief lord, and the title used by contemporaries was , not .
While the was a fief-holder from the nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
, the was a civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
who might be ennobled
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
as a reward.
Modern police officer
The title is also used in an entirely different meaning in modern Norway, denoting the leader of a rural police district known as a {{Lang, no, lensmannsdistrikt./ref>
See also
*Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
References