"Aristocracy of officials" and "civil service aristocracy" (Danish and Norwegian: embedsaristokratiet or embetsaristokratiet) are terms used by historians to denote the elite social class (aristocracy) of university-educated higher state officials in Denmark and Norway from the early modern period until the 19th century. Particularly in Norway, which unlike Denmark had no significant nobility from the 17th century and which formally abolished nobility in 1821, the aristocracy of officials filled the vacant position at the top of society at the local, regional and national levels. Vidar L. Haanes notes that "in Norway the aristocracy of officials occupied the position in society held by the nobility elsewhere in Europe".[1] This social group, principally constituted by priests, lawyers and doctors, has with reference to the 19th century also been called "the thousand academic families" by the historian Jens Arup Seip, and they comprised less than one per thousand in the overall population. By the 19th century Norway is widely considered to have been a "Civil Servant State," reflecting the role of the civil servants as "the most enduring, consistent and visible elite."[2]
- ^ Haanes, Vidar L. (2007). "Det moderne gjennombrudd i Norge, frikirkeligheten og lavkirkeligheten". Norsk Tidsskrift for Misjonsvitenskap. 61 (1): 3–20. doi:10.48626/ntm.v61i1.4156.
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