The Sovereignty Act or the Absolute and Hereditary Monarchy Act ( da, Suverænitetsakten or ''Enevoldsarveregeringsakten''; no, Enevoldsarveregjeringsakten or sometimes even ''Suverenitetsakten'') refers to two similar constitutional acts that introduced

absolute Absolute may refer to: Companies * Absolute Entertainment, a video game publisher * Absolute Radio, (formerly Virgin Radio), independent national radio station in the UK * Absolute Software Corporation, specializes in security and data risk manage ...

and

hereditary monarchy A hereditary monarchy is a form of government and succession of power in which the throne passes from one member of a ruling family to another member of the same family. A series of rulers from the same family would constitute a dynasty. It is h ...

in the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

and absolute monarchy in the

Kingdom of 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 ...

, which was already a hereditary monarchy. The Danish version was signed on 10 January 1661 by the representatives of the

estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed and ...

, i.e.

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 ...

, clergy, and burghers. In Norway, which included the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

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, and

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, the act was signed on 7 August 1661 by

, clergy, burghers, and farmers. The acts gave the King absolute sovereignty (hence the name) and were signed following a coup d'etat by

Frederick III of Denmark and Norway Frederick III ( da, Frederik; 18 March 1609 – 9 February 1670) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator (colloquially referred to as prince-bi ...

in October 1660, which abolished the Danish

Council of the Realm The Council of the Realm ( es, Consejo del Reino) was a corporate organ of Francoist Spain, created by the Law of Succession to the Headship of the State of 1947. Within the institutional complex created to hierarchize the regime of Francisco Fran ...

, electoral capitulation and Elective monarchy, ending the political influence of the nobility and clergy. This was made possible partly because the Council of the Realm, and thus the nobility, had lost control over the Army during the

Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...

in the years before, and the King could now use the army with its German officers and enlisted troops to intimidate the Danish nobility into accepting the constitutional changes. The Sovereignty Act was replaced by the

King's Law The King's Law () or ''Lex Regia'' () (also called the Danish Royal Law of 1665) was the absolutist constitution of Denmark and Norway from 1665 until 1849 and 1814, respectively. It established complete hereditary ( agnatic-cognatic primogenit ...

or ''Lex Regia'' (Danish and Norwegian: ''Kongeloven'') in both kingdoms in 1665, which formed the constitution of Denmark and Norway until 1848 and

1814 Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison s ...

, respectively. It was unprecedented in giving the King unlimited power.Enevoldsarveregjeringsakten, in ''Norsk historisk leksikon'', 2nd ed. (2004) Essentially, it stated that the King was to be 'revered and considered the most perfect and supreme person on the Earth by all his subjects, standing above all human laws and having no judge above his person, ..except God alone'.

References

Literature

* Allan Tønnesen (ed.), ''Magtens besegling, Enevoldsarveregeringsakterne af 1661 og 1662 underskrevet og beseglet af stænderne i Danmark, Norge, Island og Færøerne'',

University Press of Southern Denmark University Press of Southern Denmark () is Denmark's largest university press and was founded in 1966 as ''Odense University Press'' (''Odense Universitetsforlag''). The press publishes books from the world of science in the broadest sense of the ...

, 2013, 583 pages, {{ISBN, 9788776746612 Constitution of Denmark Constitution of Norway