I love your book series The Last Kingdom regarding the 6th, Death of KINGS, page 137 Deuterenomy  23, 3, the rule of the bastard, mamzer.

Ancient ISREAL was practising polygamy. Ergo a man could have many wives of different degrees, first wife, secondary, slave wife, while all offspring will be legitimate, like the case of  JACOB who sired 12 sons and one daughter of four wives, two were maids. Hence until today in Judaism only a  a child conceived by a married woman  with a man other than her husband would be  considered mamzer, a bastard. According to the Hebrew BIBLE therefore Alfred’s son Osferth is not a bastard. What the Church has done with the Hebrew Bible is another matter.

Kind regards

Thalia Gur-Klein