Sex, Gender, and Illegitimacy in the Castilian Noble Family, 1400–1600 by Grace E. Coolidge (review)

Reviewed by: Sex, Gender, and Illegitimacy in the Castilian Noble Family, 1400–1600 by Grace E. Coolidge Paige Daniela Banks Sex, Gender, and Illegitimacy in the Castilian Noble Family, 1400–1600. By Grace E. Coolidge. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2022. xv + 308 pp. Hardcover 65. 00, e-book 65. 00. Coolidge's 2022 book seeks to explore the intersections of gender and illegitimacy in a noble, Castilian context, asking questions about illegitimate children's place in their families and in society, as well as how parents' lives were affected when they had affairs and illegitimate children. Coolidge devotes her first chapter to a discussion of what the presence of illegitimate children could mean for their fathers. She examines the reasons why fathers often provided support for these children, including the potential for illegitimate children to become their fathers' heirs in the absence of legitimate children; the potential for the father's social and political advancement through the marriage of his illegitimate children; and the potential for the illegitimate child to become a symbol of the father's masculinity. The second chapter addresses the effect illegitimate children had on their mothers. Coolidge stresses that, despite moral writings of the time stressing chastity for women, premarital and extramarital affairs were commonplace and their repercussions were not always severe or even negative. The third chapter explores the care families gave—or refused to give—to illegitimate children and investigates why some families invested more in their illegitimate children than others. The fourth chapter discusses the challenges illegitimate children might face upon reaching adulthood. The fifth and final chapter uses the approach of the history of emotions to examine the effects of illegitimacy on an internal rather than sociopolitical level. Coolidge pays careful attention to the complexities and contradictions in the lives of Castilian noble families with illegitimate children. For example, recognizing the different realities among mothers of illegitimate children, Coolidge provides examples of women who engaged in willing affairs as well as women who were victims of unwanted sexual advances, often from men in positions of authority over them. Coolidge uses this theme of complexities to challenge a range of assumptions about the lived experiences of people in these families. For example, she challenges the notion that having an illegitimate child would be a burden on any mother with counterexamples (such as instances of lower-class women who enjoyed social advancement through birthing the children of noble fathers) while also acknowledging those whose experiences End Page 319 do fit common assumptions (such as women who experienced difficulties in their marriages or social lives after having children out of wedlock). Coolidge effectively carries this theme throughout the chapters, introducing nuance, supporting her claims with examples, and reminding the reader of how much experiences could vary, although at times the point is overemphasized. Throughout the book, Coolidge uses anecdotes of individuals and families to illustrate her claims about illegitimacy. For example, Coolidge's claim that churchmen could effectively "prove" their manhood by fathering children despite their vows of chastity becomes much stronger through the story of Pedro González de Mendoza, who managed not only to maintain his successful clerical career but also to provide high-status paths for his sons. Most importantly for the chapter on emotional history, these anecdotes allow the reader to better understand these people's experiences and even potentially empathize with them. This methodology is largely effective in supporting the points Coolidge makes. However, with so much focus on individuals, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether Coolidge is telling the story of someone who was the exception or someone who was the rule. Of course, it would be unreasonable to expect Coolidge to be able to provide the exact percentage of clergymen who fathered illegitimate children, whose social standings benefited from the supposed masculine power of the affairs versus those whose reputations were damaged by their lack of self-control—such records simply do not exist and never have. Where possible, however, it would have been helpful if she had indicated which stories represented typical or exceptional experiences. Coolidge brings both legal and literary evidence into her discussion of illegitimacy. She cites examples of laws and court cases. . .