English and Welsh bastardy laws

In the law of England and Wales, a bastard (also historically called whoreson, although both of these terms have largely dropped from common usage) is an illegitimate child, one whose parents were not married at the time of their birth.

[1] A more defined possibility is that such a traveller was a member of the corps de bast, referring to the division of an army who arrived in town with their pack saddles the night before the troops, and left the day after, so that they may deal with all of the provisions of an army, and even do advanced scouting.

5 c. 60) and the Family Law Reform Act 1969 (c. 46) allowed a bastard to inherit on the intestacy of his parents.

In Medieval Wales, prior to its conquest by and incorporation in England, a "bastard" was defined solely as a child not acknowledged by his father.

This legal difference between Wales and England is often referred to in the well-known "Brother Cadfael" series of Medieval detective mysteries.