Page:William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England (3rd ed, 1768, vol II).djvu/264

 248 wie capable of ucceeding to the whole of his mother's etate, although he was never married; the mother being ufficiently certain, though the father is not. But our law, in favour of marriage, is much les indulgent to batards.

is indeed one intance, in which our law has hewn them ome little regard; and that is uually termed the cae of batard eignè and mulier puinè. This happens when a man has a batard on, and afterwards marries the mother, and by her has a legitimate on, who in the language of the law is called a mulier, or as Glanvil exprees it in his Latin, filius mulieratus; the woman before marriage being concubina, and afterwards mulier. Now here the eldet on is batard, or batard eignè; and the younger on is legitimate, or mulier puinè. If then the father dies, and the batard eignè enters upon his land, and enjoys it to his death, and dies eied thereof, whereby the inheritance decends to his iue; in this cae the mulier puinè, and all other heirs, (though minors, feme-coverts, or under any incapacity whatoever) are totally barred of their right. And this, 1. As a punihment on the mulier for his negligence, in not entering during the batard's life, and evicting him. 2. Becaue the law will not uffer a man to be batardized after his death, who entered as heir and died eied, and o paed for legitimate in his lifetime. 3. Becaue the canon law (following the civil) did allow uch batard eignè to be legitimate, on the ubequent marriage of his mother: and therefore the laws of England (though they would not admit either the civil or canon law to rule the inheritances of this kingdom, yet) paid uch a regard to a peron thus peculiarly circumtanced, that, after the land had decended to his iue, they would not unravel the matter again, and uffer his etate to be haken. But this indulgence was hewn to no otger kind of batard; for, if the mother was never married to the father, uch batard could have no colourable title at all. Rh