试析中世纪英格兰教会对私生子权利的保护

Medieval Ecclesiastical Church and the Rights of Illegitimate Children

中世纪英格兰盛行长子继承制,这一继承制度是形成于12世纪末、13世纪初的英格兰普通法的重要组成部分,它给予家庭中的长子最优厚的权利,并使其他家庭成员处于天然的弱势地位。然而,这种不尽合理的继承制度并未给中世纪英格兰造成严重的社会问题,原因之一是当时社会中存在着很多缓冲因素,这些缓冲因素能够在既有体制下尽可能多地为弱势家庭成员争取权利。教会就是一个重要的缓冲因素,本文即考察中世纪教会在保护私生子这一弱势家庭成员权利方面所起的作用。

The primogeniture prevalent in medieval England was a basic and important part of English common law formed in the late 12th century and the early 13th century.This system gave the oldest son in the family most generous rights,which naturally put other members of the family at a disadvantage.But,in reality,the system did not bring much negative influence to the society of medieval England.This has been attributed to the existence of a variety of buffer-zone elements showing due concern for the disadvantaged family members,and winning rights for them under the existing system.The medieval church was one of these buffer-zone factors which helped much to protect the rights of illegitimate children.This essay aims to examine the details of what the medieval church did for the illegitimate children.