The bastard son is spoken of in two different senses. In the first place, it is the child born of an illicit union, usually outside of marriage. On the other hand, it also refers to a son of an unknown father. In any case, it is normally used in a derogatory way or outright as a very offensive insult.
The use today
Today the condition of bastard is not included in the laws and it does not have social importance either. From a legal point of view, the term extramarital children is used, as it is a less offensive form. On the other hand, there is no social condemnation towards those with unknown parents or whose parents have not contracted marriage.
Although the label extramarital son has replaced that of bastard son, it is evident that if an individual has this denomination about him, he may have some kind of emotional problem, since the figure of the father is not present in his life and this generates in sometimes a certain frustration.
From a legal point of view, children out of wedlock can represent problems related to inheritances or alimony. However, if a father recognizes his paternity through DNA tests, there are no legal consequences for his son, since he has exactly the same rights as if he were a child within marriage.
In the past
For centuries a clear distinction has been made between those children who were socially recognized and those who were not. The former are known as legitimate, that is, within the established legal and social framework. In other words, the child was understood to be legitimate if his parents had married and recognized the child as their own. Otherwise, any child who was born outside the institution of marriage or as a result of adultery, became a bastard child.
Bastard children have historically had a social stigma for many reasons. In the first place, because marriage was the only virtuous and legitimate way to have children. Second, because infidelity and adultery were very serious sins and with social and legal consequences.
In the monarchical tradition of all times and in most dynasties there have been cases of illegitimate children. This situation was quite common, as monarchs had to marry people of royal blood and not someone they had freely chosen.
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