Legal Definitions - adulterini

Adulterini is a historical legal term that referred to children conceived as a result of adultery. In many historical legal systems, the status of such children carried significant implications regarding their legitimacy, inheritance rights, and social standing.

• Imagine a scenario in a medieval European kingdom where a nobleman's wife had a child with a knight who was not her husband. Under the prevailing legal and religious doctrines of the time, this child would be classified as adulterini. This status would typically mean the child could not inherit the nobleman's titles or lands, even if the nobleman acknowledged them, because their conception occurred outside the legitimate marital bond.

• Consider a historical legal system where a man, while legally married to one woman, fathered a child with another woman. Even if the man later divorced his first wife and married the second woman, the child born during the existence of the first marriage would historically be deemed adulterini. This classification often prevented the child from being recognized as a legitimate heir to their father's estate, regardless of the father's wishes, due to the circumstances of their birth.

• In certain ancient societies with strict social and legal codes concerning family lineage, if a married woman gave birth to a child whose biological father was definitively proven not to be her husband, that child would be labeled adulterini. This designation could lead to severe social ostracization for both the mother and the child, and the child might be legally barred from participating in certain civic or religious roles, reflecting a profound legal and social disability.