What did people in the middle ages think of downies?

I've often heard that changelings were an explaination for genetic defects like that.
For example, some depictions of elves and fairies look like people with Williams Syndrome.

>>460255
Probably just had to be looked after by the townspeople like a large child

>>460352
is that where the "village idiot" archetype got started?

>>460255
It probably varied based on how high functioning they were.

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>>460347
>elves and fairies
>medieval

down's syndrome was incredibly rare in the past because women had children in their early twenties instead of waiting until their late 30s as they do today

>>460750
Marrying and thus reproducing late was the main birth control method in rural France until the industrial times.
Marrying young was for nobles. And for times/places where having lots of children didn't mean dividing the fields into unprofitable plots.

>>460255
I suppose they could drive a plough or guard cattle. So they were probably tolerated.

They used to call them 'mongs' because they look like Asians, ie flat faces and epicantic folds on their eyes

>>460355
Probably.

>>460804
Men marry later, women don't. Men have to establish themselves and get a steady stream of income before they can marry, and then they'll pick a younger woman.

>>460255
>>460347
I read somewhere that Martin Luther advocated putting the changelings into a furnace. They'd shoot out through the chimney and fly to join their faerie parents. If a mistake was made, hard luck.
Those Germans never change I guess.

>>460973

mongoloids, yup

>>461118
Yeah, he also wanted to get rid of the jews.

At best they just believed they were very weird or that some genetic anomaly meant they got a bunch of mongol genes (hence mongoloid)

At worse they believed they were demons or some sort of curse

They died very young, downies older than 20-30 is a recent thing because of advances in medicine ... they have weak malformed hearts and a shitload of health complications

>>460698
Medieval people weren't all Abelards.

>>460255
the same shit people think of americans now