Royal Bastards

Royal Bastards PDF Author: Sara McDougall
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198785828
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian ideas about legitimate marriage, it is assumed, set the standard for legitimate birth. Children born to anything other than marriage had fewer rights or opportunities. They certainly could not become king or queen. As this volume demonstrates, however, well into the late twelfth century, ideas of what made a child a legitimate heir had little to do with the validity of his or her parents' union according to the dictates of Christian marriage law. Instead a child's prospects depended upon the social status, and above all the lineage, of both parents. To inherit a royal or noble title, being born to the right father mattered immensely, but also being born to the right kind of mother. Such parents could provide the most promising futures for their children, even if doubt was cast on the validity of the parents' marriage. Only in the late twelfth century did children born to illegal marriages begin to suffer the same disadvantages as the children born to parents of mixed social status. Even once this change took place we cannot point to 'the Church' as instigator. Instead, exclusion of illegitimate children from inheritance and succession was the work of individual litigants who made strategic use of Christian marriage law. This new history of illegitimacy rethinks many long-held notions of medieval social, political, and legal history.

Royal Bastards

Royal Bastards PDF Author: Sara McDougall
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198785828
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Get Book Here

Book Description
The stigmatization as 'bastards' of children born outside of wedlock is commonly thought to have emerged early in Medieval European history. Christian ideas about legitimate marriage, it is assumed, set the standard for legitimate birth. Children born to anything other than marriage had fewer rights or opportunities. They certainly could not become king or queen. As this volume demonstrates, however, well into the late twelfth century, ideas of what made a child a legitimate heir had little to do with the validity of his or her parents' union according to the dictates of Christian marriage law. Instead a child's prospects depended upon the social status, and above all the lineage, of both parents. To inherit a royal or noble title, being born to the right father mattered immensely, but also being born to the right kind of mother. Such parents could provide the most promising futures for their children, even if doubt was cast on the validity of the parents' marriage. Only in the late twelfth century did children born to illegal marriages begin to suffer the same disadvantages as the children born to parents of mixed social status. Even once this change took place we cannot point to 'the Church' as instigator. Instead, exclusion of illegitimate children from inheritance and succession was the work of individual litigants who made strategic use of Christian marriage law. This new history of illegitimacy rethinks many long-held notions of medieval social, political, and legal history.

Courtship, Illegitimacy, and Marriage in Early Modern England

Courtship, Illegitimacy, and Marriage in Early Modern England PDF Author: Richard Adair
Publisher: Manchester University Press
ISBN: 9780719042522
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
This is a study of bastardy and marriage between the 16th and 18th centuries, exploring the topic from a regional perspective. The book asserts that the very concept of national demographic data is shown to be deeply flawed.

Illegitimacy

Illegitimacy PDF Author: Shirley F. Hartley
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520332857
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1975.

Illegitimacy

Illegitimacy PDF Author: Jenny Teichman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780631128076
Category : Illegitimacy
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description


Illegitimacy in Medieval Scotland, 1100-1500

Illegitimacy in Medieval Scotland, 1100-1500 PDF Author: Susan Marshall
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
ISBN: 178327588X
Category : SOCIAL SCIENCE
Languages : en
Pages : 267

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Book Description
First full-length examination of bastardy in Scotland during the period, exploring its many ramifications throughout society.

Deviant Maternity

Deviant Maternity PDF Author: Angela Joy Muir
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000035034
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This is the first-ever book to explore illegitimacy in Wales during the eighteenth century. Drawing on previously overlooked archival sources, it examines the scope and context of Welsh illegitimacy, and the link between illegitimacy, courtship and economic precarity. It also goes beyond courtship to consider the different identities and relationships of the mothers and fathers of illegitimate children in Wales, and the lived experience of conception, pregnancy and childbirth for unmarried mothers. This book reframes the study of illegitimacy by combining demographic, social and cultural history approaches to emphasise the diversity of experiences, contexts and consequences.

Illegitimacy

Illegitimacy PDF Author: Amey Brown Eaton Watson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Illegitimacy
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description


Illegitimacy Laws of the United States, Analysis and Index

Illegitimacy Laws of the United States, Analysis and Index PDF Author: Ernst Freund
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Illegitimacy
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description


Illegitimacy in Britain, 1700-1920

Illegitimacy in Britain, 1700-1920 PDF Author: Alysa Levene
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781403990655
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This book provides a lively consideration of historical illegitimacy from a variety of methodological approaches and geographical standpoints. It subjects commonly-accepted themes to rigorous investigation, and draws out new conclusions on the mobility, strategies, and experiences of parents of illegitimate children. Paternity is given a novel spotlight, as is the survivorship of illegitimate infants. The authors engage with themes from historical demography, and social, cultural, medical, and gender history, giving the book wide appeal.

Illegitimacy, Family, and Stigma in England, 1660-1834

Illegitimacy, Family, and Stigma in England, 1660-1834 PDF Author: Kate Gibson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192692828
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 314

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Book Description
Illegitimacy, Family, and Stigma is the first full-length exploration of what it was like to be illegitimate in eighteenth-century England, a period of 'sexual revolution', unprecedented increase in illegitimate births, and intense debate over children's rights to state support. Using the words of illegitimate individuals and their families preserved in letters, diaries, poor relief, and court documents, this study reveals the impact of illegitimacy across the life cycle. How did illegitimacy affect children's early years, and their relationships with parents, siblings, and wider family as they grew up? Did illegitimacy limit education, occupation, or marriage chances? What were individuals' experiences of shame and stigma, and how did being illegitimate affect their sense of identity? Historian Kate Gibson investigates the circumstances that governed families' responses, from love and pragmatic acceptance, to secrecy and exclusion. In a major reframing of assumptions that illegitimacy was experienced only among the poor, this volume tells the stories of individuals from across the socio-economic scale, including children of royalty, physicians and lawyers, servants and agricultural labourers. It demonstrates that the stigma of illegitimacy operated along a spectrum, varying according to the type of parental relationship, the child's race, gender, and socio-economic status. Financial resources and the class-based ideals of parenthood or family life had a significant impact on how families reacted to illegitimacy. Class became more important over the eighteenth century, under the influence of Enlightenment ideals of tolerance, sensibility, and redemption. The child of sin was now recast as a pitiable object of charity, but this applied only to those who could fit narrow parameters of genteel tragedy. This vivid investigation of the meaning of illegitimacy gets to the heart of powerful inequalities in families, communities, and the state.