Natt och Dag (, literally "night and day") is a Swedish

noble family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

and the oldest surviving family of pure Swedish extraction, with origins stretching back at least as far as the late

thirteenth century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Eu ...

. However, the actual name ''Natt och Dag'', alluding to the contrasting colours of its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, was not coined until the sixteenth century, and was not used as a surname by the family itself until the eighteenth century It is therefore customary to write the name in parentheses (e.g. ''Bengt Stensson (Natt och Dag)'') when applying it to individuals prior to 1700.

History

The family's oldest known ancestor is the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

Lawspeaker A lawspeaker or lawman ( Swedish: ''lagman'', Old Swedish: ''laghmaþer'' or ''laghman'', Danish: ''lovsigemand'', Norwegian: ''lagmann'', Icelandic: , Faroese: '' løgmaður'', Finnish: ''laamanni'', kl, inatsitinuk) is a unique Scandina ...

Värend Värend was in the Middle Ages the most populous of the constituent "small lands" of the province Småland, in Sweden. Early on, Växjö became its center. Around 1170, Värend broke out of the diocese of Linköping, and formed its own diocese of ...

, and Councillor of the Realm Nils Sigridsson (Natt och Dag), who is first attested in a document from 11 May 1280 and lived at Ringshult, near Torpa in Östergötland. It is possible the family's origins stretch even further back. Gabriel Anrep, a Swedish genealogist of the 19th century, wrote: In the

fifteenth century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. Man ...

, the family split into two branches. The junior branch, descended from Bo Stensson (Natt och Dag), adopted the surname ''

Sture Sture () was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud' (compare the Swedish word ''stursk'' and the Old Norse ...

'', although they continued to bear the Natt och Dag coat of arms, and thus are sometimes considered either as an offshoot of the Natt och Dag or as a separate dynasty, the Younger Sture Family. The Younger Stures enjoyed great prominence in the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Svante Nilsson and his son

Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger ( sv, Sten Sture den yngre) (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (reg ...

ruled Sweden as regents ( sv, riksföreståndare) during the period 1503-20, and Sten's sons

Nils Stensson Sture Nils Stensson Sture (1512 – 1526 or 1528), born 1512, was the eldest son and heir of Sten Sture the Younger. The so-called Daljunkern ('the Dale-Junker', i.e. the junker from Dalarna), the young leader of an unsuccessful rebellion against ...

and

Svante Stensson Sture Svante Stensson Sture or Svante Sture the Younger (born 1 May 1517 in Stockholm, d. 24 May 1567 in the Sture Murders at Uppsala Castle) was a Swedish count, riksmarsk and statesman. From 1562 to 1564, during the Livonian War, he was governor of ...

, and the latter's son

Nils Svantesson Sture Nils Svantesson Sture (b. 20 July 1543 at Hörningsholm Castle, d. 24 May 1567 in the Sture Murders at Uppsala Castle) was a Swedish diplomat and soldier during the reign of Erik XIV of Sweden. He was the son of Svante Stensson Sture and Märta ...

, were all important figures in Swedish politics during the reigns of Kings Gustav I and

Erik XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

. This branch became extinct with the death of Svante Mauritzson Sture in 1616. Nattochdagvapen1625

The senior branch of the family was descended from Bo Stensson's elder brother, Bengt Stensson (Natt och Dag), who was a

, Lawspeaker of

Närke Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

and Councillor of the Realm, and died circa 1450. The family again split in two after Bengt Stensson's grandson Johan Månsson (Natt och Dag), with one line descending from Johan's elder son Måns Johansson and the other from his younger son Åke Johansson. Åke's great-grandson and namesake Åke Axelsson (Natt och Dag) lived 1594-1655. He served as a Councillor of the Realm and also as Marshal of the Realm, and on 20 April 1652 he was

ennobled Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

by Queen Christina. With this the Natt och Dag were formally inducted into the

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility ( sv, Adeln eller Ridderskapet och Adeln) has historically been a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term ...

, and their coat of arms was added to the Riddarhus; however, this line died out in 1666 with Åke's grandson Carl Axelsson (Natt och Dag). The other line descended from Måns Johansson produced a number of military officers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, during Sweden's Great Power Era, and in more recent times the prominent governmental official and the writer Niklas Natt och Dag. This branch of the family survives to the present day. One branch of the family resides in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, using the truncated surname ''Dagg''.

Coat of arms

* Shield: Parti per fess Or and Azure. * Helm: Six peacock feathers between two colours. The Natt och Dag coat of arms are

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial all ...

, as the Or and Azure colours represent day and night, respectively.

Noted members

Main Branch

Måns Johansson Måns (alternatively Maans) is a Swedish given name that may refer to *Måns, fictional cat in the ''Pelle Svanslös'' children's stories of Gösta Knutsson ** 8536 Måns, a minor planet named after the cat * Måns Andersson, 17th century Swedish e ...

, resided at Ringshult at the shores of

Sommen Sommen () is a lake in the South Swedish highlands lying across the border of the provinces of Östergötland and Småland. Situated about 147 metres above mean sea level, the lake has an area of and has a maximum depth of 60 metres. The lake is ...

. During the

Dacke War The Dacke War ( sv, Dackefejden) was a peasant uprising led by Nils Dacke in Småland, Sweden, in 1542 against the rule of Gustav Vasa. Dacke and his followers were dissatisfied with the heavy tax burden, the introduction of Lutheranism, and t ...

he sided with

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...

despite having a difficult relation towards him. He was put in charge of an army to suppress the rebellion. * Johan Månsson (Natt och Dag), executed in

Stockholm Bloodbath The Stockholm Bloodbath ( sv, Stockholms blodbad; da, Det Stockholmske Blodbad) was a trial that led to a series of executions in Stockholm between 7 and 9 November 1520. The event is also known as the Stockholm massacre. The events occurred af ...

. * Måns Bengtsson (Natt och Dag), killed

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (1390s – 27 April/4 May 1436) was a Swedish nobleman, rebel leader and military boss of German ancestry. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union. En ...

. * Christina Natt och Dag, foster mother of queen Christina. * Åke Natt Och Dag *Gösta Natt Och Dag (later Dagg) * * Niklas Natt och Dag, Swedish writer

Younger Sture Branch

* Nils Bosson Sture * Svante Nilsson *

References

Sources

This article is partially based on material from Nordisk familjebok, 1913.

External links

{{Commons category
The Natt och Dag Family – official home page
Swedish noble families