Bastardy in medieval Scotland
Kate Wallace discusses a new assessment of illegitimacy in the Scottish Middle Ages
This book is the first full-length exploration of bastardy in medieval Scotland from the 11th to the 15th centuries. Susan Marshall steers us through the waters of how illegitimacy was defined, which was not as straightforward as one might think. Parents could potentially legitimise their child by marrying after the birth, so you could be born a bastard, but might not remain a bastard.There were detailed explanations in canon law of who was and was not illegitimate, suggesting that illegitimacy was not unusual.
The ramifications of being, or having a bastard reached to the inheritance of lands and the royal succession.The Church held that unmarried parents might legitimise their children and pass on lands or titles by marrying. Secular law, as set out in Scotland’s earliest legal treatise Regiam Majestatem, declared that illegitimate children should not inherit even if their parents cemented their relationship in legal terms after the birth. Property and money thus passed through legitimate descendants. Both positions upheld marriage as a bedrock of society, but the discrepancy reflects the contested social position of illegitimate children.
The bulk of the book concentrates on the legal, political and cultural implications of illegitimacy. Marshall looks at how the experience of being a bastard shaped the lives of particular social groups, including women and those who embraced ecclesiastical life.The degree to which illegitimacy was stigmatised depended on individual circumstances. Many illegitimate men attained high office and made advantageous marriages despite the stain around their birth. Children who had no possibility of inheriting might end up with a career in holy orders, and sometimes rules were circumvented to ensure that illegitimate children benefitted from their family’s wealth.
There was a double standard where women were concerned. Sometimes papal dispensations were granted for couples to marry after they had already had children, with the proviso that the blame for the children’s illegitimacy fell on the woman.This reflected the Church’s conviction that it was particularly shameful for a woman to have children out of wedlock. Marshall explores the example of Margaret Stewart, daughter of James II of Scotland. Her liaison with William Crichton, 3rd lord Crichton, resulted in the birth of a daughter, meaning that the Scottish princess was rendered unmarriageable.
Marshall draws on a range of contemporary evidence, offering insight into how legal theory and practice came together.With her focus on social and political factors, she offers a fresh perspective on the significance of illegitimacy in the Scottish Middle Ages.
KateWallace is an amateur historian, whose main areas of interest are the Tudor monarchs and Mary Queen of Scots.
The ramifications of being, or having a bastard reached to the inheritance of lands and the royal succession
The Scottish Local History Forum (SLHF) is for individuals and organisations involved with local history, heritage and culture. Founded in 1983, it is the umbrella group for local history in Scotland. Members come from all parts of Scotland as well as overseas, and include individuals, historical groups and societies, and heritage organisations such as libraries, archives and museums.
SLHF NEWS
The Forum has an annual prize for the best paper published in its journal.This prize is sponsored by Birlinn Ltd and in 2021 was awarded unanimously by the Forum’s three-person judging panel to Dr Graham Clark’s ‘A Survey of Corrugated-iron Churches in Scotland’ in Scottish Local History’s spring 2021 issue (no.108).
The Forum recently held its annual conference, by Zoom. This was on ‘Taking part: Aspects of Scottish sports and pastimes’ and generated much thought on various sports.
One of the most intriguing to many was a paper by Dr Fiona Skillen of Glasgow Caledonian University on women’s football in Scotland. It surprised many that 100 years ago, the FA banned women from playing football but 50 years later UEFA voted almost unanimously to allow women to play football. ‘Almost unanimously’ because one nation voted against lifting the ban – Scotland, a sobering thought.