Tracts, legal and historical

171
to comprize any space of time, even after John's
birth, clearly argue that he could have been le-
gitimated per subsequent matrimonium. The clause
in an act of Parliament in 1516, is equally strong,
declaring that Alexander Stewart, natural son of
John Duke of Albany " suld be reput borne bas-
tard and unlegitimat be ony marriage." Here the
supposition of his being legitimated subsequently,
is virtually admitted.
It, therefore, now appears incontestable, that we
had received the doctrine of legitimation ex subse-
quenti matrimonio at least before the Reformation,
— most probably from the canon law — although at
the sametime this is to be taken with limitation ;
for it must be kept in view, that that law, during
Catholicism, was often modified, and obliged to
yield in some degree to local prejudices and insti-
tutions. This is a nice and curious subject, which
seemingly has not yet met with the attention it de-
served. One of the alternate conclusions in the
previous action of bastardy (Rutherford against
Stewart) sets forth, without any reference to the
Apostolic canons — " quod cle consuetucline etp?'actica
hujus regni inviolabiter observata ultra memoriam
hominum ; proles genitae inter consanguineos de jure
contrahere vetitos ante matrimonium, licet postea
desuper dispensation fuerit inter hujusmodi per-
sonas super tali impedimento, matrimonio desuper
1 Acts of Parliament, Vol. ii. p. 283.