Asbtract: In the 19th century, the society in the Romanian Principalities (Moldavia and Walachia) was in a full process of modernization. The woman’s individualization inside the couple as well as the foreign military occupations triggered an escalation of adultery. The present paper studies the way in which the 19-th century laws of Moldavia and Walachia (united after 1862 into Romania) tried to control this social phenomenon, by punishing the infringement of the obligation of matrimonial fidelity. Comparing the provisions concerning the adultery from the laws of Moldavia, Walachia and Romania, we come to the conclusion that while the criminal punishment of adultery diminished from prison between two month up to three years and forfeit (before 1865) to prison up to six month (in 1865), the civil punishments remained almost the same: divorce, prohibition of marriage between the two lovers (this prohibition first introduced in Moldavian law was extended after 1865 in Walachia), loss of dowry (with all its fruits and interests), loss of all the patrimonial advantages received from the innocent spouse and exceptionally an alimony in favor of the innocent spouse (up to a third of  the guilty spouse’s incoming). 

Keywords: adultery, Moldavia, Walachia, 19-th century family law, criminal and civil punishments