In medieval England, a childwite, or child-wit, was a fine paid by a man to a lord for unlawfully impregnating his bond-woman (female slave). The term was also selectively used of free women.
References
Childwite Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA
In medieval England, a childwite, or child-wit, was a fine paid by a man to a lord for unlawfully impregnating his bond-woman (female slave). The term was also selectively used of free women.