Beowulf

[purplepidjrobin]

I'm watching it now on 5, and wondering...

Did the original Graendel have Learning Difficulties, and the description grew over the years to become a monster?

Stupid Sunday night conversation with DP, what do you guys think?

[LIZS]

Given that the original story is over 1500 years old and passed down through the oral storytelling tradition then I guess we will never know ! Stems from the dark ages and the traditions of Norse legends, Greek Myths and so on.

[r3dh3d]

I blame his mother.

[purplepidjrobin]

Lizs, that's exactly what I thought. The film is set in 571AD, and briefly mentions the rise of the Christian Church in Europe, so the story probably predates that by at least a couple of generations - lots of time for exaggeration.

Evidence for:
Sensory issues
Inappropriate facial expression
Lack of social skills
Severe eczema
Speech delay
Malformation of hands and feet
And, as r3dh3d said, a refrigerator mother!!

[ouryve]

Interesting. I didn't watch it, but had a giggle about it being on, since one of DS1's current rituals is licking the bathroom towel, shouting Beowulf! Goodness knows where he got the word from in the first place. He's only 6 and not that advanced a reader!!!

[purplepidjrobin]

ouryve, I'm not that advanced a reader, and I eat books!

Film is absolutely brilliant, if a little gory - but it's CGI. Maybe someone could get it for you for Christmas. DNiece (5) sat through all three LOTR films when they were on recently

[ouryve]

We don't let him watch anything gory. He has a blood phobia, anyhow and hates loudness and over-excitement. There's also issues like the way, when he was frustrated with a broken lego model the other day, he said he needed to get a gun and kill me, then his brother, then himself then everyone that tells me we need to continue to stick with stuff at CBeebies level. (Goodness knows what he hears at school )

It's purely and simply the word that he loves, anyhow. He will run away with himself playing with words and how they sound. This particular one has become a bit of a ritual.

[Goblinchild]

Legends are wonderful, there have been several versions of the Beowulf story over the past few years. The Thirteenth Warrior had a different slant on it.
As a folklorist, I've long been interested in the similarities in the descriptions of changeling children and some of the similarities with ASD.

[purplepidjbauble]

@ Ouryve, Beowulf is a pretty awesome word, tbh lol

@ Goblin, I'll take that as an agreement with my theory, shall I? I reckon a lot of legends are based on reality, and why not the reality of SEN blown out of proportion over generations of oral tradition?

Someone should write a book