Abstract
In 1660, handfastning, signed and sworn by Frederick III, was revoked by reason of his assumption of the Danish throne in 1648. The annulment of the provisions of this act was the result of fundamental changes in the political system that led to the formation of absolutism in the Kingdom in the 1660s. These kinds of acts used to occur in Denmark from the mid-thirteenth century. Of special importance, especially for the development of Danish parliamentarism, was the handfastning issued by King Eric V Glipping under the pressure of the Danish nobility in 1282. This document, called in historiography Denmark’s first constitution, constituted the existence of Hof, determined by historians as the feudal Danish parliament. This moment is considered as the beginning of the history of parliamentarism and representative rule in the Kingdom of Denmark. By issuing this exceptional act, the monarch committed himself for the first time in the history of Denmark to convene annually at a fixed time an assembly called the Hof, which was a representation of the magnates. Including this obligation within the framework of the law obliged the king to rule with the participation of the nobles, which led to a significant weakening of royal power with a simultaneous increase in the importance of privileged states. By acquiring a number of new and existing rights and freedoms, confirmed by the handfastning of 1282, they were able to impose their will on the king and participate in the rule of the state to a greater extent than before. Important provisions of this document also include the king’s commitment that he would not imprison anyone without a court judgment, and other concessions of the ruler regarding judicial law, fragments regarding the so-called king’s letters, as well as the limitations of numerous royal prerogatives, especially regarding tax entitlements. The provisions of this handfastning also confirmed the existing and newly established state privileges.
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