Swedish nobility

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The Swedish nobility (Adeln) were historically a legally privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse (a classification defined by tax exemptions and representation in the diet that also applied to clergy). Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges. They still do possess some privileges such as the protection by law of their family names, titles and coats of arms. The House of Knights or Riddarhuset also has a special tax for all noblemen over the age of 18. Belonging to the nobility in present day Sweden still carries many social privileges, and is of considerable social and historical significance.

Swedish nobility is organized into three classes according to a scheme introduced in 1561:

Count (greve)
Baron (friherre, baron)
untitled nobility (obetitlad adel)

In 1778 Gustav III introduced the Commander class which consists of the descendents of commanders of the Order of the Northern Star and the Order of the Sword.

(A Swedish duke (hertig) has always been of royal status and counted as such.)

The House of Knights.

Following the elevation of a commoner into nobility by the Swedish monarch, the key concept was that of introduction to one's peers in the House of Knights (Riddarhuset), which formerly was a chamber in the Riksdag of the Estates, the Swedish Parliament. After 1866 the Palace of the Nobility served as official representation for the nobility and was regulated by the Swedish government, but this regulation has decreased, as have the privileges. Many noble families are introduced and their members are listed in a calendar published every three years. There are many noble families that are unintroduced and they are not registered in the House of Knights.

1 Medieval nobility: Frälse
2 Nobility after 1561
3 Titles of high nobility
4 Privileges
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Medieval nobility: Frälse

The institution of Swedish (and Finnish) nobility dates back to 1280, when it was stated in the Decree of Alsnö that magnates who could afford to contribute a mounted soldier to the cavalry were to be exempted from tax - at least from ordinary taxes - just as the clergy already had been. The archaic Swedish term for nobility, frälse, also included the clergy with respect to their exemption from tax.

The background for this was that the old system of a leiðangr fleet and a king constantly on travel through the realm (between the estates of Uppsala öd) had by this time became outmoded and in need of replacement. The crown's court and castles were now to be financed through taxes on land.

Soon it was agreed that the king should govern the realm in cooperation with a Privy Council (or Royal Council), in which the bishops and the most distinguished magnates (i.e. the most prominent contributors to the army) participated. When critical decisions were necessary, the whole frälse was summoned to the diets.

Swedish nobility had no hereditary fiefs. In the case where a noble was granted a castle belonging to the crown, his heirs couldn't later claim their ancestors' civil or military rights. The lands of the magnates who constituted the medieval nobility were their own and not "on lease" from a feudal king. If they by their own means (including the suffering of their local peasantry) built a castle and financed its troops, then the castle was theirs, but its troops were expected to serve as a part of the army of the realm.

For extended periods, the commander of Viborg at the Novgorod/Russian front did, in practice, function as a margrave, keeping all the crown's income from the fief to use for the defense of the realm's eastern border. But despite heavy German influence during the medieval period, the elaborate German system with titles such as Lantgraf, Reichsgraf, Burggraf and Pfalzgraf was never applied in Sweden.

[edit] Nobility after 1561

Axel Oxenstierna secured all government appointments to be filled by nobles.

At the coronation of Eric XIV in 1561, Swedish nobility became formally hereditary for the first time upon the creation of the higher titles of Count (greve) and Baron (friherre, baron). The House of Knights was organized in 1626. The grounds for introduction into this House became either birth into an "ancient" noble family or ennoblement by the King or Queen. Consequently, a great interest in genealogy followed.

The Lord High Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, was the architect of the Instrument of Government of 1634, which laid the foundation of modern Sweden. It guaranteed that all government appointments were to be filled by candidates from the nobility, a move which helped mobilize support for, rather than opposition to, a centralized national government.

Due to the many wars fought by Sweden, the crown needed some means of rewarding its officers, and since the royal coffers were not without end, ennoblement and grants of land were useful substitutes for cash payments. During the 17th century, the number of noble families grew by a factor of five. In less than a century, the nobility's share of Swedish land ownership rose from 16% to over 60%, which led to considerably lower tax revenue for the crown. The "reductions" of 1655 and 1680, however, brought land back into the crown's possession.

Following the German model, historically all members of a noble family were generally titled. If the family was of the rank of a Count or a Baron, all members received that title as well. However, following the new Instrument of Government from 1809, a change was made more in line with the British system so that, for later nobility, only the head of the family could hold the title. There also exist Swedish families in which all members are noble but only the head carries the title of "Count". But this new rule applies only to ennoblements granted after 1809, so the vast majority of noble families are still of the old kind.

In contrast to the United Kingdom and the Benelux countries, no hereditary titles or honours have been granted since 1902, when explorer Sven Hedin was ennobled by the King (that honor was hereditary, but he left no heirs). Since 1975 the Swedish monarch no longer has the legal right to ennoble. Deposed royal princes have been granted Luxembourgish or Belgian titles of nobility instead.

[edit] Titles of high nobility

The first counts and barons, created in 1561 by Eric XIV:

Svante Sture of Hörningsholm, 1562 count of Vestervik and later also Stegeholm
Peder Joakimsson Brahe of Rydboholm, 1562 count of Visingsborg
Göstaff Johansson of Haga, 1562 count of Bogesund (originally Enköping)
[Stenbock] Gustaf Olofsson, baron of Torpa
[Leijonhufvud] Sten Eriksson, baron of Grevsnes
[Grip] Birger Nilsson, baron of Vines
[Oxenstierna] Gabriel Kristersson, baron of Mörby
Lars Fleming, baron of Arvasalo (in Finland)
[Gera] Karl Holgersson, baron of Björkvik
[Gera] Göran Holgersson, baron of Ållonö
[Horn af Åminne] Klas Kristersson, baron of Joensuu (in Finland)
[Stenbock] Erik Gustafsson, baron of Torpa (younger son of Gustaf Olofsson)

John III granted the first baronies (the earlier had been hereditary estates):

Öresten and Kronobäck to Erik Gustafsson of Torpa
Lundholm to Nils Göransson Gyllenstierna, new baron, accordingly
Viikki (in Finland) to Klas Eriksson Fleming, new baron
Leckö to Hogenskild Bielke, new baron
Ekholmen to Pontus De La Gardie, new baron
Kungs-Lena to Olof Gustafsson Stenbock (elder son and heir of Gustaf Olofsson)
and, 1571 county of Raseborg (in Finland) to baron Sten Eriksson of Grevsnes' widow and heirs

Charles IX created only one:

barony of Nynäs (in Finland) to Abraham Leijonhufvud

(Svante Bielke and Nils Bielke were elevated to baronial rank by him without baronies)

Gustav II Adolf created:

county of Leckö to Jakob De La Gardie
county of Pärnu (in northern Livonia, now Estonia) to Franz Bernhard von Thurn
barony of Kemiö (in Finland) to Axel Oxenstierna
barony of Bergkvara to Karl Karlsson Gyllenhielm
barony of Tuutarhovi (in Ingria) to Johan Skytte
barony of Orreholm to Jakob Vilhelmsson Spens

Christina created:

county of Södermöre to Axel Oxenstierna
county of Wasaborg to Gustav Gustavsson, her illegitimate half-brother
county of Ortala to Lennart Torstensson
county of Kuressaare (later exchanged to Pärnu) to Magnus De La Gardie
county of Sortavala to Johan Adam Banér
county of Pori to Gustav Horn af Björneborg
county of Vestervik and Stegeholm to Hans Kristofer von Königsmark
county of Korsholm and Vasa to Gabriel Oxenstierna
county of Bogesund to Fredrik Stenbock
county of Salmi and Suistamo pogosta to Carl Gustav Wrangel
county of Kruunupori to Ture Oxenstierna
county of Nyborg to Arvid Wittenberg
county of Karleborg to Klas Tott
county of Liljenborg to Axel Lillie
county of Mariestad to Lars Kagg
county of Skeninge to Robert Douglas
county of Skövde to Kristofer Karl von Schlippenbach
county of Enköping to Antonius von Steinberg
barony of Vibyholm to Gustav Gustavsson, her illegitimate half-brother
barony of Virestad to Lennart Torstensson
barony of Kronoberg to Peder Sparre
barony of Korppoo to Nils Bielke
barony of Härlunda to Seved Bååt
barony of Kajaani to Per Brahe
barony of Örneholma to Johan Adler-Salvius
barony of Liperi pogosta to Hermann Fleming
barony of Oulu to Erik Gyllenstierna
barony of Kitee pogosta to Axel Lillie
barony of Loimijoki to Arvid Wittenberg
barony of Limingo to Matias Soop
barony of Marienburg to Gustav Horn af Marienborg and certain his relatives
barony of Vöyripori to Carl Gustaf Paijkull
barony of Tohmajärvi pogosta to Lars Kagg
barony of Kokkola to Gustav Banér
barony of Sund to Erik Ryning
barony of Laihia to Karl Bonde
barony of Pyhäjoki to Klaus Bielkenstierna
barony of Iijoki to Åke Axelsson Tott
barony of Ikalapori to Schering Rosenhane
barony of Hailuoto to Bernt Taube
barony of Hedensund (then Arnäs) to Knut Posse
barony of Vinberg to Gustaf Adolf Leijonhudvud
barony of Lindeberg to Carl Gustav Wrangel and his brothers
barony of Lindeborg to Lorentz von der Linde
barony of Willenbruch and Harzefeld to Pierre Bidal
barony of Ludenhof to Hans Wrangel
barony of Eksjö to Reinhold Liewen
barony of Elfkarleby to Mårten Leijonhufvud
Lauri Cruus baron of Gudhem
Robert Douglas baron of Skälby
Hans Wachtmeister baron of Koivisto
Johan Kurck baron of Lempäälä
Jakob and Anders Lilliehöök barons of Närpes
Kasper and Karl Henrik Wrede af Elimä barons of Elimäki
Erik Fleming baron of Lais

Charles X Gustav created:

county of Sölvesborg to Corfitz Ulfeldt
- (afterwards: Lars Kagg got exchanged becoming count of Sölvesborg, then Carl Gustav Wrangel)
P.Wuertz baron of Örneholma
barony of Kastell ladugården to Rutger von Ascheberg

Charles XI created:

county of Börringe to Gustav Carlsson, his illegitimate half-brother

source: Nordisk Familjebok

[edit] Privileges

The noble estates are not abolished in Sweden, but their privileged position has been weakened step by step since 1680. The nobility's political privileges were practically abolished by the reformation of the Riksdag of the Estates in 1866, and the last rights of precedence to certain governmental offices were removed in the 1920s. By then the last tax exemption privileges had also been abolished. However, some minor privileges remained up until 2003, when the law granting these noble privileges was completely abolished.

The perks of nobility today are limited to protection of noble titles and certain elements and styles used in coats of arms: a helm with an open visor, a coronet showing rank, a medallion and the use of supporters. Modern Swedish law makes no distinctions on the grounds of nobility.