The myth of the Changeling had a tie in with Christian belief, at least more old-timey archaic beliefs. A Changeling is said to have been the offspring of another mythical creature such as a fairy or elf, sometimes trolls, who would replace a human baby or child with their own, as an imposter, thus it being a Changeling. Changeling’s would have a number of deformities and so if a child with a deformity or deformities were born into a family that believed in this such stuff, then sadly the child would likely have ended up having a miserable and abusive life. It also wasn’t always visible deformity for a child to be accused of being a Changeling, it could also sometimes simply be strange or unusual behavior, such as a child with learning difficulties for example.
Featured Photo: By Pixabay.com from Pexels. I edited in colour and a border.
The tie in with Christianity comes in the belief that the abducted “real” baby or child was given to the Devil. The reason for the child abuse in families that believed in this sort of stuff, was due to the belief that torturing a Changeling would allow their real child to return. Although this wasn’t always the case as some also believed that instead, making a Changeling laugh, would bring back their real child. But as you can now very well tell, this myth actually did lead to horrible and unforgivable child abuse.
Other connections with this and Christianity is the belief that children were more susceptible to being demonically possessed and that unbaptized children were actually preyed on by fairies–yes I know, it all sounds very crazy, but people actually believed this back in early times and perhaps it would not even be so surprising as to think a very limited amount of people still believe in this, even today.
The folklore originated from Europe, which is of little surprise since Europe was known for its Christian beliefs and still pretty much is. I would like to think that somebody of good nature made up the part about making Changelings laugh instead to at least try and lesson the hardship on them, trying to stamp out the torturing of them and ultimately trying to make something very sinister, less so. But in the end, it also goes to show the very little understanding people had of medical deformities and disabilities, leading to ridiculous explanations such as this.
Some other explanations on the belief into Changelings has shown that it may have come about as a way for the average peasant family to survive, if a child is brought into the world with a disability or unusual problem, then they were seen as a drain on the families ultimate ability to survive during these more harsh times, leading to them being singled out in this way, as it was important during these times, that each family member put effort in. Sadly, this sort of situation would often lead to infanticide, when the family no longer wants to care for the struggling child.
Looking deeper into it at the same time can also bring up other beliefs older than Christianity, it would not be much of a stretch to believe that the myth of the Changeling originally came from Paganism, a much more older religion more connected to nature, who often believed in various things, such as many different gods, mythical creatures and so on. The explanation of the children being given to the Devil is more likely the folklore having evolved into a time when Christianity was becoming more popular as it swept through Europe. Other explanations by those who believed in Changelings was that fairies liked to use children as servants or that old fairies would take the place of a baby so they could live in comfort with humans, no longer having to look after themselves.
It was believed that trolls thought that having a human bring up their baby was more respectable and that it would have a better life with humans than with their own kind. There were also beliefs that fairy babies required human milk to live and only human midwifes were able to bring them into the world, which was another reason for swapping themselves.
There was also belief that a Changeling may one day return to their own kind and never be seen again, which may have also been an archaic way of explaining the reason for disappearances, because just think about it, your child runs away and is never seen again? So, then they would rather choose to believe that the child was never there’s to begin with as a way of coping with it.
Some would use charms to protect their babies or young children from being swapped with a Changeling, these can include an inverted coat being placed where they sleep or—more irresponsibly—placing a pair of open iron scissors near to where the child or baby sleeps. Another way was to just straight up watch over the child or baby while they slept.
It is one of the much more sinister pieces of folklore and is very sad to think about. But it also tells us the harsh reality of more archaic times and the explanations people would come up with for medical disabilities and illness they simply did not understand and also a way of explaining things such as the vanishing of a child and also the harsh reality of every member of a family putting in their work for the household.
Now a days pretty much everyone understands illness and disability and a much more robust system of support is in place for many countries, to support struggling families. An improved justice and education system have also lessened the belief of Changelings, pretty much entirely. It had been documented that even murder trials would side with the parent on what they had done.
Next up on the Paranormal Alphabet we arrive at D where we will be talking about Dragons.
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