Divorce in Denmark

Skilsmisse

Until the Reformation it was the canon law, that established when a married couple could get divorced. It could only be if there were exceptional circumstances. It could, for example be that one party had not consented to the marriage voluntarily, but had been forced. Other grounds were adultery, broaching and secret illnesses, which was only discovered after the wedding. The parties could be separated - but would not be alloewed to remarry.

Tamper Court

After the Reformation, and Christian the Fifth, and the Danish Code of 1683, the same rules carried on. But now the parties could be permitted to remarry because the church no longer considered marriage as a sacrament. A couple would divorce, but their case presented by tamper law, a special church marriage tribunal. The court came together four times a year - on tamper days. The name is a "Danishization" of the latin "quatuor tempora" - the four parts of which the church year was divided into.

Back to Denmark Page►

Text Text