Palace of Christiansborg where Parliament and Supreme Court used to assemble, Copenhagen, Denmark. 1905. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
The Law Library provides over 5,000 titles on Denmark and the law. Only a few of the older titles in what is an exceedingly rich collection will be discussed here. What is perhaps its oldest title was recently acquired and is at present uncatalogued (but can be read about in the blog linked here): Skånske lov [the law of Scania]. (Scania is a region in present-day southern Sweden that belonged to Denmark until 1658, when it was ceded during the First Karl Gustav War). Published in 1505, the book was printed by the Dutchman Gotfred of Ghemen, who worked in Copenhagen to produce the first book ever to be printed in Danish. The Law Library also owns the 1576 edition of Eriks sjællandske Lov [Erik’s law of Zealand] and the 1590 edition of Jyske Lov [Law of Jutland]. Both were printed in Copenhagen by Matz Vingaardt, but the former is based on a first edition which, like Skånske lov, was published by Gotfred of Ghemen in 1505. As Nathan Dorn remarks in the blog linked above, the title page of Eriks sjællandske Lov contains the same woodcut as that of Skånske lov, which depicts a king (perhaps Christian I) and the national coat of arms of Denmark. (Across the Sound from Sweden, Zealand is the island on which Copenhagen is situated, and Jutland is a peninsula in western Denmark connected to the European mainland, containing the shifting border between Denmark and Germany).
The collection of the Law Library consists mostly of monographs, but some journals, such as Lovtidende, the official gazette of Denmark, are also to be found in the Law Library's holdings. A nearly complete run of Lovtidende is available in print from its inception in 1872 to 2007. From 2008 onwards, Lovtidende has been available on the free Web External.
See Guide to Law Online: Denmark for the Law Library's curated collection of links to Danish legal materials on free Web.
The Law Library of Congress contains the world’s largest collection of law books and legal resources. It is a repository for the complete record of American law and holds foreign law materials covering all major national, state, and equivalent jurisdictions. In 1832, the Law Library was officially established to provide the United States Congress and Supreme Court with access to current and accurate legal research materials. Over time, our mission was expanded to include other branches of the U.S. Government, the public, and the global legal community. This evolving mission is supported by a collection of around three million volumes and brings together the expertise of approximately 100 lawyers, librarians, other professionals, and support staff who provide legal reference, research, and analysis using the Law Library’s collection. We also draw upon the collections and expertise of our colleagues throughout the Library of Congress.
