illegitimate children - a history
I talked about fallen women already here , but we have yet to talk about the shame connected with being an illegitimate child. What happens when it isn't your fault you were born outside of marriage? Let's find out. Photo by legalnaija.com First of all, you couldn't inherit any title or anything. Daughter of a duke? Means nothing. No status or inheritance for you. Basically, you would be a dirty secret that got swept under the rug by most people. Even if you didn't have a parent with a title it was bad. You represented the sin of your mother. Some women ditched their children at churches in the area in order to spare themselves shame. Some even killed their own children. The term for an illegitimate child is still in use today as an insult - bastard. At this point in time, you do not have to endure abuse for being born out of wedlock (thankfully for many children), but it has not always been so. Society's Flawed View The father was considered the leader of the ho...