in modern Norwegian or in Danish and older Norwegian spelling (;) is a term with several distinct meanings in Nordic history. The Icelandic equivalent was a .
See also: Lendmann. The term traditionally referred to a holder of a royal fief in Denmark and Norway. As the fiefs were renamed amt in 1662, the term was replaced with amtmand. In Norway these offices evolved into the modern fylkesmann office. Modern Norwegian historians often use the term (English: 'fief lord') instead of, although from the legal point of view, the king was the fief lord, and the title used by contemporaries was, not .[1]
While the was a fief-holder from the nobility, the was a civil servant who might be ennobled as a reward.
| Office | ||
|---|---|---|
| General governing power | Yes | No |
| Military commander | Yes | No |
| Tax collector | Yes | No |
| Fiscal accountability | No | Yes |
The title is also used in an entirely different meaning in modern Norway, denoting the leader of a rural police district known as a .[3]