Royal mottos of Norwegian monarchs
Encyclopedia
The Royal mottos or valgspråk/valspråk of the Norwegian monarchs are an old tradition. Most regents of Norway have used either a personal motto or alternatively the motto of his dynasty. The tradition of using a royal motto in other monarchies is that it most often stays the same within one dynasty. In this respect they do however serve all the traditional purposes of a national or royal motto. One example is the imprint on Krone
coins, the currency of Norway
. The last three kings have adopted the same motto as their personal motto. The royal motto Alt for Norge has a particularly high standing as it became one of the main symbols of the Norwegian struggle during the German occupation of Norway in World War II
.
The so called eidsvoll oath is also counted as a Norwegian motto in the Norwegian Wikipedia. Together with the royal motto, the eidsvoll oath is Enige og tro til Dovre faller.
Royal mottos
----
Note: (1) Compare with the motto of the U.S. state
of Missouri
(1821): "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law". Originally from Cicero
's De Legibus, Book III, Part III, Sub. VIII.
(2) The present royal motto is not easily translated into English: the literal meaning is "All for Norway" but this conveys a sense of "Everything for Norway" as opposed "Everybody for Norway" (since "alt" is in neuter gender, and would rarely refer to people). As such, it conveys a meaning of "Give all for Norway", which is interpreted as the readiness (of the sovereign, but maybe also his subjects) to give up or sacrifice everything for Norway.
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
coins, the currency of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The last three kings have adopted the same motto as their personal motto. The royal motto Alt for Norge has a particularly high standing as it became one of the main symbols of the Norwegian struggle during the German occupation of Norway in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The so called eidsvoll oath is also counted as a Norwegian motto in the Norwegian Wikipedia. Together with the royal motto, the eidsvoll oath is Enige og tro til Dovre faller.
| Regent | Reign | Royal motto (in Norwegian Norwegian language Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language... ) |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian II Christian II of Denmark Christian II was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden , during the Kalmar Union.-Background:... |
1513 – 1523 | Så var det beskikket | Thus it was ordained |
| Frederick I Frederick I of Denmark Frederick I of Denmark and Norway was the King of Denmark and Norway. The name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish, and Fredrik in Swedish and Norwegian... |
1523 – 1533 | Mitt håp er Gud alene | My hope is God alone |
| Christian III Christian III of Denmark Christian III reigned as king of Denmark and Norway. He was the eldest son of King Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg.-Childhood:... |
1536 – 1559 | Skje Herrens vilje | The Lord's will be done |
| Frederick II Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death.-King of Denmark:Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg. Frederick II stands as the typical renaissance ruler of Denmark. Unlike his father, he... |
1559 – 1588 | Intet uten Gud | Nothing without God |
| Christian IV Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV was the king of Denmark-Norway from 1588 until his death. With a reign of more than 59 years, he is the longest-reigning monarch of Denmark, and he is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects... |
1588 – 1648 | Fromhet styrker riket | Piety strengthens the realm |
| Frederick III Frederick III of Denmark Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg... |
1648 – 1670 | Herren vil være mitt forsyn | The Lord will be my guide |
| Christian V Christian V of Denmark Christian V , was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg... |
1670 – 1699 | Med fromhet og rettferdighet | With piety and justice |
| Frederick IV Frederick IV of Denmark Frederick IV was the king of Denmark and Norway from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel .-Foreign affairs:... |
1699 – 1730 | Herren er min hjelper | The Lord is my aid |
| Christian VI Christian VI of Denmark Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian... |
1730 – 1746 | For Gud og folket | For God and the people |
| Frederick V Frederick V of Denmark Frederick V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1746, son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.-Early life:... |
1746 – 1766 | Ved forsigtighet og bestandighet | By caution and consistency |
| Christian VII Christian VII of Denmark Christian VII was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1766 until his death. He was the son of Danish King Frederick V and his first consort Louisa, daughter of King George II of Great Britain.... |
1766 – 1808 | Fedrelandets kjerlighet min berømmelse | The love of the fatherland my reward |
| Frederick VI Frederick VI of Denmark Frederick VI reigned as King of Denmark , and as king of Norway .-Regent of Denmark:Frederick's parents were King Christian VII and Caroline Matilda of Wales... |
1808 – 1814 | Gud og den rettferdige sak | God and the just cause |
| Christian Frederik | 1814 | Gud og fedrelandet | God and the fatherland |
| Karl II Charles XIII of Sweden Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death... |
1814 – 1818 | Folkets vel min høyeste lov | The welfare of the people my highest law 1 |
| Karl III Charles XIV John of Sweden Charles XIV & III John, also Carl John, Swedish and Norwegian: Karl Johan was King of Sweden and King of Norway from 1818 until his death... |
1818 – 1844 | Folkets kjærlighet min belønning | The love of the people my reward |
| Oscar I Oscar I of Sweden Oscar I was King of Sweden and Norway from 1844 to his death. When, in August 1810, his father Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was elected Crown Prince of Sweden, Oscar and his mother moved from Paris to Stockholm . Oscar's father was the first ruler of the current House of Bernadotte... |
1844 – 1859 | Rett og sannhet | Right and truth |
| Karl IV Charles XV of Sweden Charles XV & IV also Carl ; Swedish and Norwegian: Karl was King of Sweden and Norway from 1859 until his death.... |
1859 – 1872 | Land skal med lov bygges | A country should be built on law |
| Oscar II Oscar II of Sweden Oscar II , baptised Oscar Fredrik was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until 1905. The third son of King Oscar I of Sweden and Josephine of Leuchtenberg, he was a descendant of Gustav I of Sweden through his mother.-Early life:At his birth in Stockholm, Oscar... |
1872 – 1905 | Broderfolkenes vel | The good of the brother peoples |
| Haakon VII Haakon VII of Norway Haakon VII , known as Prince Carl of Denmark until 1905, was the first king of Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden. He was a member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg... |
1905 – 1957 | Alt for Norge | All for Norway 2 |
| Olav V Olav V of Norway Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway... |
1957 – 1991 | Alt for Norge | All for Norway |
| Harald V Harald V of Norway Harald V is the king of Norway. He succeeded to the throne of Norway upon the death of his father Olav V on 17 January 1991... |
1991 – | Alt for Norge | All for Norway |
See also
- List of Norwegian monarchs
- Royal mottos of Swedish monarchsRoyal mottos of Swedish monarchsThe Royal motto or Valspråk of the Swedish monarch is a Swedish royal tradition stemming from the early 16th century. All regents of Sweden, beginning with Gustav Vasa, have had their own motto during their respective periods of reign. The Swedish royal motto is in many ways equivalent to a...
- Royal mottos of Danish monarchsRoyal mottos of Danish monarchsThe use of a royal motto is an old tradition among Danish monarchs, dating back at least 500 years. The use of such a motto was a way for a monarch to emphasize values or beliefs he / she held dear...
----
Note: (1) Compare with the motto of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(1821): "Let the welfare of the people be the supreme law". Originally from Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's De Legibus, Book III, Part III, Sub. VIII.
(2) The present royal motto is not easily translated into English: the literal meaning is "All for Norway" but this conveys a sense of "Everything for Norway" as opposed "Everybody for Norway" (since "alt" is in neuter gender, and would rarely refer to people). As such, it conveys a meaning of "Give all for Norway", which is interpreted as the readiness (of the sovereign, but maybe also his subjects) to give up or sacrifice everything for Norway.