Difference between revisions of "Bastardy"

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Bastards whose parents are both of the nobility are not considered baseborn<ref>[[The Sworn Sword]]: p.132</ref> and trueborn children of a bastard might change their surnames to show their legitimate nature. For example, a legitimate son of a Waters might change their surname to Longwaters. {{Ref|aFfC|8}} <ref>[[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/2999/ So Speak Martin]], June 26, 2001</ref>
 
Bastards whose parents are both of the nobility are not considered baseborn<ref>[[The Sworn Sword]]: p.132</ref> and trueborn children of a bastard might change their surnames to show their legitimate nature. For example, a legitimate son of a Waters might change their surname to Longwaters. {{Ref|aFfC|8}} <ref>[[http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/2999/ So Speak Martin]], June 26, 2001</ref>
  
At any point, the biological father of a bastard may legitimize him and bring him formally into his house; for example, [[Ramsay Bolton|Ramsay Snow]] was legitimized by his father [[Roose Bolton]].  Ramsay Bolton's official bastard status was removed, and he became the heir of [[House Bolton]], but the social stigma of his bastardy was not.   
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At any point, the biological father of a bastard may legitimize him and bring him formally into his house; for example, [[Ramsay Bolton|Ramsay Snow]] was legitimized by his father [[Roose Bolton]].  Ramsay Bolton's official bastard status was removed by royal decree (as a reward for the Boltons betraying the Starks and bowing to the Lannisters), and he became the heir of [[House Bolton]]. The social stigma of his bastardy was not lifted, however.   
  
 
[[Joffrey Baratheon]] was acknowledged by [[Robert Baratheon]] as his son, and therefore heir to [[House Baratheon]] and the [[Iron Throne]].  Joffrey's bastardy, as revealed after Robert's death, caused his claim to the Iron Throne to be disputed by Robert's brothers, [[Stannis Baratheon|Stannis]] and [[Renly Baratheon|Renly]].
 
[[Joffrey Baratheon]] was acknowledged by [[Robert Baratheon]] as his son, and therefore heir to [[House Baratheon]] and the [[Iron Throne]].  Joffrey's bastardy, as revealed after Robert's death, caused his claim to the Iron Throne to be disputed by Robert's brothers, [[Stannis Baratheon|Stannis]] and [[Renly Baratheon|Renly]].

Revision as of 15:22, 5 June 2012

A bastard is a person whose parents, at the time of their birth, were not married to each other. As a polite way of referring to someone who is bastard-born, someone may be referred to as a 'natural son' or 'natural daughter.' A less polite term is 'baseborn.' A euphemism for being bastard-born is 'being born on the wrong side of the sheets.'

Family Life and Status

In the series, it is not unexpected for noblemen to have bastard children, however, it is not typical for a noble to bring his bastards home and raise them with his own children. It's more usually expected that he will see to the child's well-being to some degree.[1] A nobly born wife has the right to take insult at her husband's bastards being introduced into her household and being commensurate in rank with her legally born children.

Bastards whose parents are both of the nobility are not considered baseborn[2] and trueborn children of a bastard might change their surnames to show their legitimate nature. For example, a legitimate son of a Waters might change their surname to Longwaters. [3] [4]

At any point, the biological father of a bastard may legitimize him and bring him formally into his house; for example, Ramsay Snow was legitimized by his father Roose Bolton. Ramsay Bolton's official bastard status was removed by royal decree (as a reward for the Boltons betraying the Starks and bowing to the Lannisters), and he became the heir of House Bolton. The social stigma of his bastardy was not lifted, however.

Joffrey Baratheon was acknowledged by Robert Baratheon as his son, and therefore heir to House Baratheon and the Iron Throne. Joffrey's bastardy, as revealed after Robert's death, caused his claim to the Iron Throne to be disputed by Robert's brothers, Stannis and Renly.

A bastard can be simultaneously acknowledged but not legitimized. For example, Eddard Stark acknowledged Jon Snow as his son and a member of House Stark, but did not legitimize him. Snow retained the bastard name of the North and the social status it conferred, and did not enter the line of succession of House Stark.

Rights of Inheritance

The baseborn have few rights under the law and custom when it comes to rights of inheritance. A bastard may inherit if the father has no other trueborn children nor any other likely kin to follow him. Additionally, a bastard can inherit if he is legitimized by a royal decree. However, a legitimized bastard falls in the order of succession at the end, after all trueborn offspring, including daughters.

Thus the custom states that bastards who take arms (noble born, knighted, etc.) take the coat of arms of their fathers with the colors reversed.[5][6], with the possible addition of a red bar sinister, as exemplified by Ser Walder Rivers.

However, any man can be knighted, even a bastard. A bastard may even be appointed to the Kingsguard. In the Night's Watch, any man may rise to command, no matter the circumstances of their birth, such was the case of Cotter Pyke, commander of Eastwatch-by-the-sea, and Jon Snow, who became its Lord Commander.

Social Status

It is considered rude to pry into the origins of a man's natural children. Men say that bastards are born from lust and lies, grow up more swiftly than other children, and their nature is wanton and treacherous.[7]

Coat of Arms

The bastards do not have the right to use the arms of their families. The custom is thus a bastard using arms (when knighted for example) adds a distinction, called "breaking". This can be in the form of a color inversion on their own coats of arms, with the addition of a possible bar sinsister.

House Targaryen House Blackfyre Arms of House Blackfyre, founded by a bastard of the House Targaryen, has the colors reversed[8].
House Frey  personnel arms of Walder Rivers The blason of Walder Rivers, bastard son of Lord Walder Frey, has the colors reversed and a red bar sinister[9]

Surnames

Each of the nine constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms have bastard surnames decreed by custom. Bastards are given these surnames to hold them apart from their fathers' houses.

Region Surname Example Character
Reach Flowers Ser Robert Flowers
Westerlands Hill Joy Hill
Iron Islands Pyke Wex Pyke
Riverlands Rivers Walder Rivers
Dorne Sand Nymeria Sand
North Snow Jon Snow
Vale Stone Alayne Stone
Stormlands Storm Ser Rolland Storm
Crownlands Waters Aurane Waters


Even if a bastard has a half sibling by the same father, the bastard surname is still applied by region. For example, Robert Baratheon's eldest bastard, born in The Vale, is called Mya 'Stone'; his bastard son in the Crownlands is called Gendry 'Waters'; and his bastard from the Stormlands is called Edric 'Storm'. All three are half siblings of the same noble, yet all carry bastard names from the place of their birth.

Notable Bastards

The North

The Iron Islands

The Riverlands

The Vale

The Westerlands

The Crownlands

The Reach

The Stormlands

Dorne

References and Notes

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Bastard (Law of England and Wales). The list of authors can be seen in the page history of Bastard (Law of England and Wales). As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.