PRIMARY SOURCES

ON COPYRIGHT

(1450-1900)

Rescript Limiting the Freedom Allowed by the 1770 Legislation, Copenhagen (1771)

Source: Kongelige Rescripter, Resolutioner og Collegialbreve for Danmark og Norge. 6:1 : 1766-1776, Gyldendal 1786, 328. The National Library of Norway.

Citation:
Rescript Limiting the Freedom Allowed by the 1770 Legislation, Copenhagen (1771), Primary Sources on Copyright (1450-1900), eds L. Bently & M. Kretschmer, www.copyrighthistory.org

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Record-ID: sc_1771

Permanent link: https://copyrighthistory.org/cam/tools/request/showRecord.php?id=record_sc_1771

Full title:
Rescript, whereby the freedom of printing permitted by the Rescript of 14 September 1770 is restricted

Full title original language:
Rescr., hvorved den ved Rescr. af 14. Sept. 1770 tilladte Trykke-Frihed indskrænkes

Abstract:
Danish and Norwegian legislation concerning censorship and print changed dramatically in the years between 1770 and 1773, following three distinct royal orders issued during and shortly after the German physician Johann Friedrich Struensee’s time in power at the Danish court. The Order of 14 September 1770 abolished, with one swift stroke, the old system of pre-publication censorship by expert readers, and set in motion the world’s most radical experiment in press freedom. Soon, however, Struensee discovered that this experiment was not to his advantage and on 7 October 1771 another royal order restricted press freedom, emphasizing that authors needed to stay within the bounds of law and clamping down on the use of anonymity. Still, conditions continued to be favorable for both authors and printers until Struensee’s downfall in January 1772 and the ensuing reaction. In a third royal order, on 20 October 1773, a new regime of post-publication censorship was put in place, which, combined with a deterring show trial, put an end to the press freedom experiment in Denmark-Norway.

1 Commentary:
commentary_sc_1771

Bibliography:
N/A

Related documents in this database:
1771: Rescript Limiting the Freedom Allowed by the 1770 Legislation

Author: Christian VII

Publisher: Gyldendal

Year: 1771

Location: Copenhagen

Language: Danish

Source: Kongelige Rescripter, Resolutioner og Collegialbreve for Danmark og Norge. 6:1 : 1766-1776, Gyldendal 1786, 328. The National Library of Norway.

Persons referred to:
N/A

Places referred to:
N/A

Cases referred to:
N/A

Institutions referred to:
Sorø Academy
The University of Copenhagen

Legislation:
N/A

Keywords:
anonymous works
censorship
censorship, pre-publication
enlightenment, the
privileges, printing

Responsible editor: Marius Buning


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