Abstract (eng)
This master thesis deals with divorce and the development of the divorce question between 1783 and 1884 in Austria and France. The investigation begins before 1783, as the jurisdiction in both countries was based on canon law. The divorce question developed in Austria and France in a complex field of tension and change of ecclesiastical and state jurisdiction. This change has been demonstrated by relevant research literature and legal sources from Austria and France. The pursuit of power between secular and ecclesiastical authorities makes marriage a battleground. The Catholic Church presupposes that marriage is an indissoluble bond, whereas, from a worldly point of view, marriage is regarded as a dissolvable civic contract. The development was not linearly progressive, but iterative-disruptive. The focus of my research interests are marriage and divorce law in Austria and France between 1783 and 1884, as well as the legal grounds for annulling marriage had to differentiate the different divorce options. The concept of marriage as a sacrament, enshrined in canon law, allowed only an indefinite divorce or a temporary separation from bed and board. The concept of marriage as a civil contract also opened up the possibility of a consensual divorce from the bed and board. The prerequisite for a marriage with a remarriage option, however, was civil marriage. It was introduced on the 3rd of September 1791 only in France, banned in 1816 and reintroduced in 1884. My intention was to make a contribution to the cultural and gender history in the period between 1783 and 1884 in Austria and France. It was not possible to enter into the divorce laws for all those persons who were not members of the Catholic religion.