The superstition was that disability of any sort was the mark of the devil. The phrases are in languages throughout Europe the devil's hoof, the devil's horn mark. It reaches back to early Christianity and the middle ages. Where a child was born out of wedlock, the church cooked up the impression that you'd done something sinful, and something dreadful would result. You will still find, particularly in Greece, people doing a little sign when they see a very badly disabled child it needs warding off.
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Hair is also a problem. I remember once, when I was reporting from Beirut at the height of the civil war, someone wrote in to the BBC complaining about my appearance.
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Historians say this will lead to civil conflict. It doesn't lead to girls being treasured. It leads to them being traded as commodities and stolen.
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Based on Topics: Christianity Quotes, Devils Quotes, Language Quotes, Marriage Quotes, People Quotes, Sin Quotes, Superstitions QuotesBased on Keywords: hoof, warding
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