1814 · Constitutions

Constitution of Norway

Norway

A constitution written at Eidsvoll in a few weeks in 1814, setting up a limited monarchy and a parliament with real power.

Why it matters

It is one of the oldest national constitutions still in force. It also shows how a small country can combine the American and French models in its own way.

Built on

1787 (in force 1789)

Constitution of the United States

United States

borrowed the idea of a written constitution and the separation of powers

1812

Constitution of Cádiz

Spain

used the Spanish constitution as a model of a liberal text

Went on to shape

No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

Norway

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.