ABSTRACT
The Danish word derives from the Old Norse Naad and Old Danish nathæ and nath, and is related to the German Gnade. Its lexical meaning includes both secular and theological usages. It can mean an especially kindly and generous demeanor borne by a person, and was, in this sense, an epithet for a monarch (for example, “your Grace”). Theologically it refers to a disposition of God toward a sinful, unworthy person, or the benefits conveyed by such a disposition. It is both a power that God possesses and gives, and the preferred station or position occupied by the one who receives it.1
