Definition
Quens matrimonium (also rendered as per subsequens matrimonium in broader doctrine) is a Latin phrase denoting the legitimation of a bastard child through the subsequent marriage of the child's natural parents. Under this doctrine, a child born outside of marriage acquires legitimate status by operation of law when the parents later marry one another, provided the father acknowledges the child or the law presumes acknowledgment from the marriage itself.
The phrase names the mechanism — the marriage that follows the birth — as the operative legal event that retroactively or prospectively confers legitimacy on the previously illegitimate child.
Why It Matters in Research
This term appears almost exclusively in older common law and ecclesiastical law sources, and researchers should approach it with awareness of several practical complications.
First, the doctrine represented by quens matrimonium was a point of sharp divergence between English common law and canon law. The Catholic Church and civil law jurisdictions generally accepted subsequent marriage as a legitimating act; English common law at various periods did not, or did so only partially and unevenly. A researcher tracing this doctrine through English sources will encounter that tension repeatedly and should not assume uniform acceptance.
Second, the term itself is rare in English-language legal writing. Most English and American sources discuss the underlying doctrine under phrases such as "legitimation by subsequent marriage," "per subsequens matrimonium," or simply under the heading of "legitimacy" or "bastard." Searching for quens matrimonium as a standalone headword in historical indexes and digests will yield thin results; searching the doctrine will yield substantially more.
Third, legitimation doctrine connects directly to succession and inheritance questions. In historical sources, the stakes of legitimacy were primarily about the capacity to inherit real property, to bear a family name, and to claim the rights of a lawful heir. Researchers working in probate, estate, or family law history will encounter this doctrine embedded in those contexts rather than treated as a freestanding subject.
Fourth, American jurisdictions varied considerably on whether and how they adopted legitimation by subsequent marriage, with some states enacting express statutory schemes and others relying on common law or equity principles. Colonial and early republic sources may reflect the inherited English ambivalence rather than a settled rule.
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary provides a brief but precise entry, citing Bell: "The legitimation of a bastard by the subsequent marriage of his parents." This is the core meaning and Black's renders it faithfully.
The entry does not elaborate on the contested history of the doctrine in English common law, nor does it note that this legitimating effect was more fully embraced in civil law and ecclesiastical law traditions than in the English common law courts. Bell's reference, cited by Black's, is likely to George Joseph Bell, the Scottish jurist, which is itself instructive — Scottish law, influenced by civilian and canon law traditions, was more receptive to the per subsequens matrimonium doctrine than English common law proper.
Historical dictionaries do not cross-reference this term to the broader tensions between common law and canon law on legitimacy, which is a meaningful gap for researchers who need that context.
Jurisdictional Note
The doctrine of legitimation by subsequent marriage was more readily applied in civil law jurisdictions and in Scotland than in England. In the United States, the doctrine's acceptance depends heavily on state statute; many states enacted express legitimation statutes that either codified or modified the common law position. Researchers should not assume a uniform American rule.