The Nobility Law (full name: ''Law concerning modifications and closer determinations of the Norwegian Nobility's rights''; no, Adelsloven or ''Lov, angaaende Modificationer og nærmere Bestemmelser af den Norske Adels Rettigheder'') was passed by the national parliament in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the Storting, on 1 August 1821. It abolished

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

titles and privileges within two generations and required legal proof of nobility in the meantime. The law reflected the democratic philosophy of the Storting's majority, and was passed effectively unanimously in 1815 and 1818, but was both times vetoed by the King before being passed with a large majority the third time. It initiated the abolition of all noble titles and privileges, while the current nobility and their living legitimate children were allowed to keep their noble status or titles and certain privileges for the rest of their lives. Under the law, nobles who wished to present a claim to nobility before the Norwegian parliament were required to provide documentation confirming their noble status.

Text in English

§ 1. The countships and the barony in Norway shall, in regard to the administration of the functions of the civil authorities, be placed either under the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

wherein the estates are located or under the nearest county; however, the countships may together constitute a county if it most graciously should please His Majesty to appoint for them their own authority. The assumption of administration by the respective county governor (prefect) shall be effective from 1 October this year. § 2. As soon as the currently appointed judges withdraw, in the aforementioned districts all decisions in cases in the second instance, and other functions proper to the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

s, shall be placed in the superior court in the bishopric in which the district is located. § 3. The right previously accorded to counts, barons and noblemen, resulting from their privileges or the laws, to appoint or to propose clerical or civil officials on their estates is, in accordance with § 21 of the Constitution, entirely abolished. § 4. Likewise, the so-called "neck and hand," or the duty imposed on the nobility to have criminals on their estates arrested, prosecuted, and punished, together with the right of term and restitution following from it and accruing to the nobility, shall henceforth be abolished, so that hereafter, with respect to the arrest, prosecution, and punishment of criminals, as well as the imposition of fines, it shall occur on the estates of the nobility according to the regulations generally in force in the kingdom. § 5. The freedom from taxes and

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s to which counts and barons are at the present time entitled with respect to the dues for their primary farm and for a certain quantity of associated tenant farms, together with the freedom from taxes and tithes to which noblemen resident on farms are entitled with respect to their primary farms, shall terminate with the present fief holders or owners, and not be passed down to their heir. § 6. The rest of the present privileges and prerogatives of the nobility shall, insofar as they do not conflict with § 108 of the Constitution, remain for the noblemen who today are in possession thereof and for their children born in lawful wedlock at the time of publication of this law, such that they shall retain the same for their lifetime, as long as they legally prove their title thereto before the next regular Storting. After the deaths of these persons, who thus remain in possession of certain noble rights, all hereditary noble status here in the kingdom ceases to exist. § 7. Anyone who does not prove his nobility with legal documents before the next regular Storting shall have forfeited his right to present claims of nobility in the future either for himself or for the children whom he now has.The translation is not official.

Original text in Danish

§ 1. § 2. § 3. § 4. § 5. § 6. § 7.

List

The 18th family, Bergh, withdrew their claim, and the claims of ''Captain'' Brømbsen and F.J. Cold were dismissed as unproven.

References

Literature

* Paulsen, P.I. (1931) ''Norges Lover 1660–1930''. Grøndahls & Søns Boktrykkeri, Oslo. pp. 93–94. * Storthings-Efterretninger 1814–1833

External links