Danish nobility

Danish nobility is a

NGOs.

Historians divide the Danish nobility into two categories: ancient nobility (Danish: uradel) and letter nobility (Danish: brevadel) based on the way they achieved nobility. Another status based categorization distinguishes between higher and lower nobility (Danish: højadel, lavadel). "Ancient nobility" refer to those noble families that are known from the era before the Danish reformation where we have no exact knowledge of how they attained noble status, whereas letter nobility are those families that received their rank by a patent at the time of their elevation to the nobility. Families of the Lord High Councillors of Denmark prior to the introduction of absolutism in Denmark in 1660, and houses endowed with a title from 1671 onwards are regarded as higher nobility of Denmark.^{[citation needed]} Whereas all other noble families are considered lower nobility.

In 1671 a new titled higher nobility was introduced with the ranks of count and baron available for families that owned estates with a minimum of 2,500 and 1,000

• Members of the families of the counts of Orlamünde, Regenstein, Gleichen and Everstein settled in Scandinavia and became, for example, High Councillors and, a few of them, Lord High Constables of Denmark.
• Various branches of the
  Adolf VIII, Count of Holstein, was actually offered the Danish royal throne in 1448, and after his refusal, his nephew Christian I of Denmark
  received it.
• The family of
  Queen Margaret of Denmark. After the 16th century, one branch (the Kjørup branch) of the Podebusks remained in Denmark and belonged to the country's high nobility.^{[citation needed}
  ]

The following system, which was introduced in 1671 with the titles of feudal count (lensgreve) and feudal baron (lensbaron), is currently in force:

Note: Gentlemen with foreign titles (German counts or Freiherren for example) ranked below Danish lensgreverne and Danish lensfriherre. Thus from a Danish point of view, Friedrich von Ahlefeldt (see above), who had been distinguished in 1665 with a comital title by the emperor, was actually "elevated" when he became a Danish "lensgreve" after 1671. Of course his German title - which left him in the Lower Nobility in Germany - should not be termed "rigsgreve" as explained above, but perhaps "tyske greve".

Duke: a title reserved for the royal family and relatives, not part of the "nobility"

Two families bear the Danish title of duke, not being counted as "nobility":

• Dukes of Schleswig (hertug af Slesvig): originally, descendants of
  Holstein-Gottorp, Sønderborg, Nordborg, Rethwisch, Ærø, Franzhagen, Wiesenburg. Although the members possessed the title of duke in Denmark sovereignty over these lands remained for centuries in the authority of their pater familias, the king of Denmark acting as its overlord
  .
• Duke of Glücksbierg (hertug af Glücksbierg): 1818 primogeniture within the French ducal family of Decazes.

Dukes had earlier the German-inspired style of durchlauchtighed (German: Durchlaucht; English: Serene Highness), but Danish ducal titles are at present virtually non-existent. In historical contexts, for example, older predicates as (your) grace or højvelbårenhed are applied.

Marquess (only in Norway)

In 1709, Frederick IV of Denmark, in his capacity as King of Norway, granted the title Marquis of Lista to Hugo Octavius Accoramboni of Florence in Italy. Apparently the Marquis of Lista died without issue.

In 1710, the same king granted the title Marquis of Mandal to Francisco di Ratta and to the latter's nephews Giuseppe di Ratta and Luigi di Ratta of Bologna in Italy. In Norway, official recognition of this title was abolished under the 1821 Nobility Law. In Denmark it seems to have lasted until 1890.^[1]

Norway remains the only country in Scandinavia where the title of marquess has been granted, except for the Swedish Marquis Lagergren who received his title from the Pope.

Comital and Baronial noble Danish families

There are two primary periodical reviews of Danish nobility:

• Danmarks Adels Aarbog (DAA), published by Dansk Adels Forening since 1884. It publishes genealogies of extant Danish noble families, approximately 725. Additionally, ancestry charts published in its editions, have reported approximately 200 extinct houses.^[2]
• Dansk Adelskalender

References