When I was in college, I was surprised to learn that if a child's mother isn't Jewish and the father is, he or she is treated as a gentile and must go through the conversion process. In other words, a person is ethnically and religiously a Jew if their mother is, not the father. I was surprised to learn this, since women have been oppressed. Seeing the shock in my face, my professor told the story of when he witnessed a child being born. He spared no detail, the blood, fecal material, the screams of pain, nothing. Wanting to faint, I remember him saying that after that moment he never doubted that she was that child's mother.
After I recovered from my story induced nausea, I began thinking about that last comment. You see, women are always 100% positive that their child is the fruit of their loins. Men, however, may never know they have a child or be 100% certain that the child belongs to him. Even with modern DNA testing, I know many husbands (mine included) that nervously joke about the mailman fathering their children.
Paternity mysteries are very common in history. Politicians, kings, emperors, rich and important men all seem to have paternity problems. Thomas Jefferson, Charles II (he had at least 19 bastards), Henry II and countless others have lingering paternity questions. Plentiful women, forced marriages, lust, vanity and alcohol have all contributed to this common problem.
My boyfriend Henry VIII (see previous post) is no stranger to paternity mysteries. Henry is known to have at least one illegitimate child, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, son of Elizabeth Blount, a lady-in-waiting for Queen Catherine of Aragon. Henry Fizroy, who reportedly looked exactly like his father, died young without an heir.
Henry VIII was king for a long time, had plenty of sex and mistresses, so he may have had more illegitimate children. Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn's sister, was Henry VIII's mistress before he met Anne. At the time, Mary was married to William Carey, a gentleman of the privy chamber. According to Genealogy Magazine and countless historians, Mary Boleyn bore two children while she was the king's mistress: Henry and Catherine.
In the world of popular history, there are always paternity rumors. Some are obviously false, while others have some merit. It is likely that Mary's two children were fathered by the king, not her husband. William Carey was known to be impotent and with no Viagra he was unlikely to have fathered children. Henry VIII never shared his mistresses like the king of France and was the only one sleeping with Mary during this period. There is even more evidence of his paternity, including the preferential treatment given to Henry and Catherine by Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth, which can be found at http://www.genealogymagazine.com/boleyn.html .
Even with modern science, we are still fascinated with paternity rumors. Johnathan Edwards (the politician not the theologian) is just one example of a powerful man who's paternity story engrossed us all. Perhaps the only thing that has changed is that men who father children out of wedlock, regardless of station, have to financially support their children. No longer are they nameless bastards longing for a connection.
