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A royal bastard is a child of a reigning monarch born out of wedlock. The king might have a child with a mistress, or the legitimacy of a marriage might be questioned for reasons concerning succession. Notable royal bastards include Henry Fitzroy, son of King Henry VIII of England, and the Duke of Monmouth, son of Charles II. The surname "Fitzroy" means "son of a king" and was used by various illegitimate royals, and by others who claimed to be such. In medieval England, a bastard's coat of arms was marked with a "bend" or "baton sinister."〔Given-Wilson, Chris, and Alice Curteis, ''The Royal Bastards of Medieval England'' (1995), pp. 52, 48-49.〕 The stereotypical royal bastard is Edmund in Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', intelligent, but villainous. Edmund tells his legitimate half brother Edgar: :''I must have your land. Our father’s love is to the bastard Edmond'' :''As to th’ legitimate. Fine word, ‘legitimate’ Well, my legitimate, if this letter speed'' :''And my invention thrive, Edmond the base'' :''Shall to the legitimate: I grow, I prosper. Now gods, stand up for bastards!''.〔Shakespeare, William, ''King Lear''〕 ==Ancient Rome== Unlike medieval royals, the Romans were more concerned with continuity of family name than with bloodline.〔Catharine Edwards, ''(The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome )'', pp. 51–52.〕 If a man recognized a child as his, this was accepted by law and the issue of who the biological father was did not arise.〔 If a child was not recognized, it could be exposed or brought up as a slave. Emperor Claudius initially accepted a girl as his daughter, but later rejected her and had her exposed.〔 Emperors often adopted their successors. There are no recorded examples of aristocrats in classical times accusing other aristocrats of being illegitimate, as was common among in later periods.〔 Caesarion was the bastard of Julius Caesar by Cleopatra. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Royal bastard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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