In the law of England and Wales, a bastard is an illegitimate child, one whose parents were not married at the time of their birth. Until 1926, there was no possibility of post factum legitimisation o
Woodcut showing a hearing
The Cadfael Chronicles
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The Cadfael Chronicles is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the English author Edith Pargeter under the name Ellis Peters. Set in the 12th century in England during the Anarchy, the n
English and Welsh bastardy laws
…rights including the right to share in the father's inheritance. This legal difference between Wales and England is often referred to in the well-known "Brother Cadfael" series of Medieval detective mysteries. Colonial American bastardy laws…
Cadfael window, Shrewsbury Abbey