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Chap. XII. CREATION OF TITLED NOBILITY. 183
kaber*) were created into fiefs, which the Counts held
as vassals of the Crown. They had the rights of “
sanctuary ” within their own domains for all crimes except
“ lëse-majesté ”—the right of “ treasure trove ” on their
estates, as well as “ flotsam et jetsam,” with exemption
from taxes and all ordinary imposts. Each county was
held by feudal tenure, and a fine was payable at the
death of the proprietor, according to the regulations of
the charter by which it was held. The county of
Langeland paid a purse of red velvet containing 400 gold rose
nobles ; Laurwigen three iron guns; in the same manner
as the small seigneuries of the Channel Islands and
many ancient manors of England are still or were
formerly held of the Crown.
The privileges of the Barons were much less than
those of the Counts, and at the proclamation of the
constitution of 1849 these (with the exception, perhaps, of
that of sealing their letters with red wax) were abolished.
The only instance of the rank of Duke being conferred
upon a subject occurs in the person of Knud Porse, Duke
of Samsø and South Halland, of whom we have already
made mention.!
It was not until after the reign of Frederic I. that the
Danish nobles definitively assumed patronymics.
Previous to that time they merely continued to be called
* These were Danneskiold - Laurwigen and Danneskiold-Samsø,
both bestowed on sons of royalty—the first on the son of Frederic III.
by Margaret Pappen; the second on the son of Christian V. by Sophia
Moth: both bore the traditional name of Gyldenløve (see p. 43).
The remaining Counties were Reventlow, Holstein, Langeland
(Ahlc-feldt), Wedellsborg, Jarlsborg, Knuthenborg, Gyldensteen,
Schacken-borg, Rantzau, Friisenborg, and Scheel. The fiefs of Laurwig and
Jarlsborg were lost with Norway.
f See p. 91.
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