The Emergence of the Profession of Procurators in Early Modern Denmark

In many ways, Danish law has had its own peculiar historical development compared to most of Europe. The reason for this is probably to be found in the fact that Denmark did not have an education in law prior to 1736. Therefore, Danish law did not develop or was particularly influenced by learned law following the ius commune–inspired legal changes of the High Middle Ages, that laid the foundation for a legal tradition to be followed until the eighteenth century. Among other issues, this was the case in a procedural law that was skeptical of parties being represented in court by others than themselves, and, thus, the profession of advocates did not emerge until 1638. This step provides an insight into how law was handled, in practice, at the border of early modern ius commune.