When and by whom was divorce created?

derrt bird: When was divorce created?
who came up with divorce? how did divorce start

Answers and Views:

Answer by Kelsey H
It existed even in Biblical times. Probably, for as long as marriage has existed!

Answer by 4X4 Woman
You know I am not sure and I have mixed feelings weather it was a good thing or a bad thing?

Answer by lakaria_2000
Henry VIII of England is known for founding the Anglican Church in order to obtain his numerous divorces.Divorce existed in antiquity, dating at least back to ancient Mesopotamia. The ancient Athenians liberally allowed divorce, but the person requesting divorce had to submit the request to a magistrate, and the magistrate could determine the reasons given were insufficient. Although liberally granted in ancient Athens, divorce was rare in early Roman culture. As the Roman Empire grew in power and authority, however, Roman civil law embraced the maxim, “matrimonia debent esse libera” (“marriages ought to be free”), and either husband or wife could renounce the marriage at will. Though civil authority rarely intervened in divorces, social and familial taboos guaranteed that divorce occurred only after serious circumspection. The Christian emperors Constantine and Theodosius restricted the grounds for divorce to grave cause, but this was relaxed by Justinian in the 6th century. After the fall of the empire, familial life was regulated more by ecclesiastical authority than civil authority. By the 9th or 10th century of the Christian era, the frequency of divorce had been greatly curtailed by the influence of the Christian church. ( 2 Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, p. 96 (14th ed. 1896)). The Christian church considered marriage a sacrament instituted by God and Christ indissoluble by mere human action. Canons of the Council of Trent, Twenty-fourth Session.[9]

Although divorce, as known today, was generally prohibited after the 10th century, actions allowing the separation of husband and wife and annulment of the marriage were well-known. What is today referred to as “separate maintenance” (or “legal separation”) was termed “divorce a mensa et thoro” (“divorce from bed-and-board”). The husband and wife physically separated and were forbidden to live or cohabit together; but their marital did not terminate. 2 Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, p. 125, n. 1 (14th ed. 1896). Because the marriage did not end, the husband had a continuing duty to support his wife (alimony). From the earliest years of the Christian age until the 18th century, annulment was the only means by which a marriage could be dissolved, and the circumstances under which annulment was proper was solely within the province of ecclesiastical courts. The common-law courts had no power over marriage since it was a status granted by the Church. The grounds for annulment were determined only by Church authority. Annulment was known as “divorce a vinculo matrimonii,” or “divorce from all the bonds of marriage,” for canonical causes of impediment existing at the time of the marriage. “For in cases of total divorce, the marriage is declared null, as having been absolutely unlawful ab initio.” 1 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 428 (Legal Classics Library spec. ed. 1984); 2 Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, p. 1225, n. 1; 1 E.Coke, Institutes of the Laws of England, 235 (Legal Classics Library spec. ed. 1985). The Sacrament of Marriage produced one person from two, inseparable from each other: “By marriage the husband and wife are one person in law: that is, the very being of legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage or at least incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband: under whose wing, protection and cover, she performs everything.” (Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, p. 435 (Legal Classics Library spec. ed. 1984). Since husband and wife became one person upon marriage, that oneness could only be dissolved if the parties improperly entered into the marriage initially.

Marriage later came to be considered a civil contract, and civil authorities gradually asserted their power to decree divorce. Since no precedents existed defining the circumstances under which marriage could be dissolved, civil authorities heavily relied on the previous determinations of the ecclesiastic courts and freely adopted the requirements set down by those courts. Although the common-law courts gradually assumed the power to dissolve marriages, divorce was considered contrary to public policy, and the courts strictly construed those circumstances under which they would grant a divorce. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, p. 429.

Because marriage could not be terminated except in the most extreme circumstances, common-law courts refused the grant of a divorce if evidence revealed any hint of complicity between the husband and wife to divorce, or if they attempted to manufacture grounds for a divorce. Divorce was granted only because one party to the marriage had violated a sacred vow to the “innocent spouse.” If both husband and wife were guilty, “neither would be allowed to escape the bonds of marriage.” Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, p. 401. Eventually, the idea that a marriage could be dissolved in cases in which one of the parties violated the sacred vow gradually allowed expansion of the grounds upon which divorce could be granted from those grounds which existed at the time of the marriage to grounds which occurred after the marriage, but which exemplified violation of that vow, such as abandonment, adultery, or “extreme cruelty.” Kent’s Commentaries on American Law, p. 147.

Answer by rich2481
back in the caveman days when the wife was bitching the man didn’t bring fire home and big strong Mongoloid over in the other cave had food and fire and would give her the best food, or had the biggest brontosaurus she had ever seen,,,

it was all a woman’s fault

Answer by shygirl78
Ask the British i think they started it.They’re good at it

Answer by Sassy OLD Broad
In the Bible….a Jew could say to his wife “I divorce thee, I divorce thee, I divorce thee..” and that was it. Look it up. Wish it was this easy today. Godloveya.

Answer by backwardsinheels
I’ve included a link to Wikipedia’s divorce page. Go to the “History” section.

I always think back to Henry VIII, but he didn’t invent it.

Answer by funkychunky7000
as soon as the first woman was born

Answer by joe v
I think it was about the same time they made killing your spouse illegal.

Answer by Sebastian Rothwyn
Divorce was created the instant that marraige was created.

Answer by *Pretty In Pink*
It has existed since the time of Jesus it seems.

Answer by ღ Divorce Dating ღ
Divorce is a legal term like an agreement that contains rights and obligations if not followed then any party can file a complaint to dissolve it on the other hand it can also dissolved at will like mutual consent of the parties. In the light of jurisprudence divorce came into being when first marriage was done legally.

Answer by MASTER OF PROFILES
when Adam and Eve had their first fight