Accueillir l’enfant illégitime : modalités, enjeux, limites de la benignitas canonica. Des théories romano-canoniques aux pratiques sociales (XIIe-XVe siècles)
This paper purposed to study figures of children considered as bastards through medieval sources, as rejected and stigmatized one because they were born outside of wedlock but also as children whom society and parents had to take care, who were symbolically, legally and judicially protected. They could not inherit of their father, at least in theory, but those had to feed and educate them, or to contribute by alimenta to do it. Canonists diverged from romanists who nevertheless defined what nutrire or alere meant because from the second part of the twelfth century, popes and decretalists, step by step, demonstrate that parents had to take care of their children, even those who had been born spurii. The idea that supported this form of representation of bastards had nothing to do with favor prolis but simply sollicitudo or benignitas canonica that obliged everyone to put at the first rank the jus naturale instead of human laws that might had restricted bastard’s rigths. But those canonical demonstrations had to be precisely qualified by notarial or judicial sources that proved fatherhood obligations but also difficulties for spurii. Those medieval representations, sometimes paradoxal ones, were finally compared with conclusions of some anthropological studies
