Broken promises of marriage in early eighteenth-century Norway: The case of Madam Bull vs Lieutenant Rosencrantz

Anne-Sofie Schjøtner Skaar

doi:10.7557/4.7169

Authors

Anne-Sofie Schjøtner Skaar Norwegian University of Science and Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7557/4.7169

Keywords:

Margrete Bull, Christian Rosencrantz, Norway, Trøndelag, Broken Promise of Marriage, Matrimonial Cases, Legal History, Case-study, Love Magic, Marriage Contracts

Abstract

In early modern Norway, the engagement was by law binding and many people were in this period subjected to prosecution for breaking a promise of marriage. This article sheds light on the agency of women seeking justice for broken promises of marriage in early eighteenth-century Norway – a period in which the legislation and judicial practice in such cases was at its strictest – exemplified with a specific case-study from Northern Trøndelag. The case concerned two people from the upper echelon of society, Margrete Bull and Christian Rosenkrantz, and is in some ways a typical example of how such matters could be handled in court in this period. According to Margrete, Christian had given her a promise of marriage and made her pregnant, but Christian denied both the engagement and the fatherhood and moreover married another woman of higher standing. In a period of four years, from 1707 to 1711, the case was addressed multiple times in the local court, the Chapter Court (Kapittelrett) and finally in the Supreme Court of Denmark-Norway. In the end, Margrete Bull was the victorious party and was awarded with a sizable compensation. In line with previous research on the topic, this case demonstrates the importance of honor and local support, but moreover indicates that only those in possession of sufficient resources could take a trial to the level presented here.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Bull, Jens, Den trønderske slekt Bull: utgitt på grunnlag av N. R. Bulls stamtavle av 1886 (Oslo: Cammermeyers boghandel, 1938).

Dahl, Svein T., Geistligheten i Nord-Norge og Midt-Norge i tiden 1536–1700 (Trondheim, 2000).

Gottlieb, Beatrice, The Family in the Western World: From the Black Death to the Industrial Age (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1993). https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780195073447.001.0001

Hirsch, J. C. W. & Hirsch, Kay, Fortegnelse over danske og norske Officerer med Flere, fra 1648–1818, 12 vols (facsimile ed. of handwritten manuscript, [Copenhagen] 1907).

Hodne, Ørnulf, Kjærlighetsmagi. Folketro om forelskelse, erotikk og ekteskap (Cappelen Damm Faktum, 2012).

Johansen, Hanne M, ‘Dømt til ekteskap? En retts- og sosialhistorisk undersøkelse av ekteskapssakene ved kapittelretten i Bergen 1604–1708’ (hovedfagsoppgave thesis, University of Bergen, 1984).

Johansen, Hanne M., ‘Ekteskap, erstatning eller avvisning? – Om makesøking og falske ekteskapsløfter i Norge 1570–1800’, Historisk Tidsskrift, 70 (1991), 1–29.

Johansen, Hanne M., ‘Widowhood in Scandinavia – an Introduction’, Scandinavian Journal of History, 29 (2004), 171–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/03468750410008798 https://doi.org/10.1080/03468750410008798

Johansen, Hanne M. ‘Marriage or money? Legal actions for enforcement of marriage contracts in Norway’, in The Marital Economy in Scandinavia and Britain 1400–1900, ed. by Maria Ågren & Amy L. Erickson (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2005) pp. 23–38.

Koefoed, Nina J., Besovede kvindfolk og ukærlige barnefædre. Køn, ret og sædelighed i 1700-tallets Danmark (Museum Tusculanums forlag, 2008).

Kong Christian den femtes Norske Lov af 15de April 1687, ed. by Otto Mejlænder (Christiania: Mallings Bohandels Forlag, 1883).

Bartnes, Henrik & Haakon Kvam, Beitstadboka. Gårdsboka, 3 vols (Steinkjer: Beitstaden historielag, 1977–1994).

Lennartsson, Malin, I säng och säte. Relationer mellan kvinnor och män i 1600-talets Småland (Lund: Lund University Press, 1999).

Næsje, Bjørn, ‘Klagemål over Kongens embets- og tjenestemenn: En kildestudie av norske supplikker inneholdende klagemål over embets- og tjenestemenn mellom 1700 og 1730’ (MA thesis, University of Oslo, 2008). http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-21014

Stone, Lawrence, Uncertain Unions: Marriage in England 1660–1753 (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1992).

Sundin, Jan, För gud, staten och folket (Lund: A.–B. Nordiska bokhandelns förlag, 1992).

Telste, Kari, Brutte løfter. En kulturhistorisk studie av kjønn og ære 1700–1900. Acta Humaniora, 67 (Oslo: University of Oslo, 2000).

Välimäki, Mari, ‘Responsibility of a Seducer? Men, Women, and Breach of Promise in Early Modern Swedish Legislation’, in Gender in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, ed. by Marianna Muravyeva & Raisa Maria Toivo (New York: Routledge, 2012), pp. 191–203. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203110607 https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203110607