Diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy
This article is about the fictional humanoid type of creature. For the desktop environment for UNIX-like operating systems, seeGNOME. For the garden ornament, seeGarden gnome. For other uses, seeGnome (disambiguation).
Gnome
Gnom mit Zeitung und Tabakspfeife (English:Gnome with newspaper and tobacco pipe) byHeinrich Schlitt (1923)
Grouping
Diminutive spirit
Folklore
Renaissance
First attested
16th century
Agnome (/noʊm/[1]) is amythological creature and diminutive spirit inRenaissance magic andalchemy, introduced byParacelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depicted as smallhumanoids who live underground. Gnome characteristics are reinterpreted to suit various storytellers and artists.[2]
Paracelsus's gnome is recognized to have derived from the German miners' legend aboutBergmännlein ordæmon metallicus, the "metallurgical or mineralogical demon", according toGeorg Agricola (1530), also calledvirunculus montanos (literal Latinization ofBergmännlein, = "mountain manikin") by Agriocola in a later work (1549), and described by other names such ascobeli (sing.cobelus; Latinization of GermanKobel). Agricola recorded that, according to the legends of that profession, these mining spirits acted as miming and laughing pranksters who sometimes threw pebbles at miners, but could also reward them by depositing a rich vein of silver ore.
Paracelsus also called his gnomes occasionally by these names (Bergmännlein, etc.) in the German publications of his work (1567). Paracelsus claimed gnomes measured 2spans (18 inches) in height, whereas Agricola had them to be 3dodrans (3 spans, 27 inches) tall.
Lawn ornaments crafted as gnomes were introduced during the 19th century, growing in popularity during the 20th century asgarden gnomes.
The name of the elementcobalt descends fromkobelt, a 16th century German miners' term for unwanted ore (cobalt-zinc ore, or possibly the noxiouscobaltite andsmaltite), related as mischief perpetrated by the gnomeKobel[a] (cf.§ cobalt ore). ThisKobel is a synonym ofBergmännlein,[3] technically not the same askobold, but there is confusion or conflation between them.
The termsBergmännlein/Bergmännchen orBerggeist [de] are often used in German publications as the generic, overall term for the mine spirits told in "miners' legends" (Bergmannssage).[6]
The term may be an original invention of Paracelsus, possibly deriving the term from Latin*gēnomos, itself representing a Greek*γηνόμος, approximated by "*gē-nomos", literally "earth-dweller". This is characterized by theOxford English Dictionary (OED) as a case of "blunder",[1] presumably referring to the omission of theē to arrive atgnomus. However, this conjectural derivation is not substantiated by any known prior attestation in literature,[c] and one commentator suggests the truth will never be known, short of a discovery of correspondence from the author.[d][12]
Paracelsus usesGnomi as a synonym ofPygmæi[1] and classifies them as earthelementals.[13][14] He describes them as twospans tall.[e][15][16] They are able to move through solid earth, as easily as humans move through air, and hence described as being like a "spirit".[17] However the elementals eat, drink and talk (like humans), distinguishing them from spirits.[18][f]
And according to Paracelsus's views, the so-calleddwarf (German:Zwerg, Zwerglein) is merelymonstra (deformities) of the earth spirit gnome.[26]
Note that Paracelsus also frequently resorts to circumlocutions like "mountain people" (Bergleute) or "mountain manikins" ("Bergmänlein" [sic][27]) to denote thegnomi in the German edition (1567).[28]
There was a belief in early modern Germany about beings that lurked in the mines, known asBergmännlein (var.Bergmännlin,[29]Bergmänngen[30]), equatable to what Paracelsus called "gnomes".[31] Paracelsus's contemporary,Georgius Agricola, being a supervisor of mines, collected his well-versed knowledge of this mythical being in hismonograph,De amantibus subterraneis (rectéDe animatibus subterraneis, 1549).[31] The (corrected) title suggests the subject to be "subterranean animate beings". It was regarded as a treatise on the "Mountain spirit" (Berggeist by theBrothers Grimm, inDeutsche Sagen.[34][35]
Agricola is the earliest and probably most reliable source onBerggeist [de], then known asBergmännlein, etc.[36] Agricola's contemporaryJohannes Mathesius, aLutheran reformisttheologian, inSarepta Oder Bergpostill (1562) uses these various mine-lore terminology in his German sermon, so that the noxious ore which Agricola calledcadmia is clarified as that which German miners calledcobelt (alsokobelt,cobalt),[39] and a demon the Germans calledkobel was held responsible for the mischief of its existence, according to the preacher. Thekobel demon was also blamed for the "hipomane" [sic] or horse's poison (cf.hippomanes,§ Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg).[42][g][h]
Agricola, in his earlier Latin workBermanus, sive, de re metallica (first printed 1530, reprinted 1546, etc.), did delve into a limited discussion on the "metallurgical or mine demon" (dæmon metallicus)[i] touching on the "Corona rosacea" mine disaster (cf.§ Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg) and the framework ofPsellosian demonology (cf.§ Demonology). A Latin-German gloss in later editions identify the being he calleddaemon metallicus as cypher for GermanBergmännlein (Das bergmenlin [sic], "mountain manikin", general term for earth spirit or mine spirit).[44]
Much more details were presented in Agricola's later Latin workDe animatibus subterraneis (1549) (cf.§ De animatibus subterraneis),[45][46] known as amonograph onBerggeist ("mountain spirit") in the Grimms'Deutsche Sagen.[35] The equivalent German appellations of the demons/spirits were made available by the subsequent gloss published 1563.[48] Agricola here refers to the "gnome/mine spirit" is referred to by a variety of terms and phrases, such asvirunuculus montanos ("montain manikin", i.e., German:bergmännlein) or Greek/Latincobelos/cobelus (German:kobel) .
The pertinent gloss, also quoted by Jacob Grimm,[50] states that the more ferocious of the "underground demons" (daemon subterraneus) were called in GermanBerg-Teufel or "mountain-devil", while the milder ones were calledBergmännlein, Kobel, Güttel[j].[3] And thedaemon metallicus "mine demon" aka Bergmännlein (bergmenlein [sic]) is somehow responsible for depositing rich veins of ore ("fundigezech)" (specifically rich silver[51] ore).[52][49]
A different entry in the gloss reveals that the "metallurgical demon" (daemon metallicus) orBergmännlein is somehow responsible for leaving a rich vein of ore (fundigezech),[49] specifically a rich vein of silver.[53][55]
According to Agricola inDe animatibus subterraneis (1549), these mountain-cave demons were called by the same name,cobalos, in both Greek (i.e.kobalos) and German (i.e.kobel[56][35] var.kobal[58] ). The Latin form is appended in the margin (pl.cobali, sing.cobalus) They were thus called on account of them aping or mimicking humans. They have the penchant to laugh, while seeming to do things, without accomplishing anything.[45][46]
In classical Greek literature,kobalos (κόβαλος) refers to an "impudent rogue",[59][60] or in more modern parlance, "joker"[61] or "trickster".[62] The chemistJ. W. Mellor (1935) had suggested "mime".[65]
These were otherwise called thevirunculos montanos, literally translatable into German asBergmännlein, or English as "mountain manikin"[k][67][68] due to their small stature (about 2 feet).[l] They had the appearance of old age, and dressed like miners,[m] in laced/filleted shirt[n][o] and leather apron around the loins.[45][69][46] And although they may pelt miners with gravel/pebbles[p] they did no real harm, unless they were first provoked.[45][46]
Agricola goes on to add there are similar to the beings which the Germans calledGuteli (singular:Gutelos;German:Gütel,[35][72] var.Güttgen), which are amicable demons that are rarely seen, since they have business at their home taking care of livestock.[q][45][69] AGütel orGüttel is elsewhere explained as not necessarily a mountain spirit, but more generic, and may haunt forests and fields.[73][r][s] The Hoovers render these as "goblins".[46]
Agricola finally adds these resemble theTrullis (trolls?) as they are called especially by the Swedes,[t] said to shapeshift into the guise of human males and females, and sometimes made to serve men.[45][69]
Purportedly a mountain demon incident caused 12 fatalities at a mine named Rosenkrans at Anneberg[78] or rather Rosenkranz[79][80] or Rosenkrone[81] (Corona Rosacea[41]) atAnnaberg-Buchholz, in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) inSaxony.[36] The demon took on the guise of the horse, and killed the twelve men with its breath, according to Agricola.[82][84]
Agricola has a passage inBermanus which is quoted by a modern scholar as relevant to the study of his contemporary Paracelsus.[85] The passage contains the line[86] basically repeated by Olaus, as "there exist in ore-bearing regions six kinds of demon more malicious than the rest".[87][77]
This is probably misstated or misleading, sinceBermanus citesPsellus,[44] who devised aclassification of six demon classes, where clearly it is not all six, but just the fifth class of subterranean demons which are relevant to mining.[88]
This demon class is also equatable to Agricola's Cobali and "Getuli" (recté "Guteli")[89][s] according to commentators.[88][90]
It has also been noted that Agricola distinguished the "mountain devil", exemplified byRübezahl with the small-staturedBergmännlein.[91] Although the popular notion was that Rübezahl was indeed lord of the gnomes, as told in folktales around the Risengibirge (Giant Mountains) region in Silesia, published by 18th century folktale collectorMusäus.[92]
Agricola explaining that the "mine demon"dæmon metallicus or "Bergmenlin" somehow deposited "rich mines" was mentioned above.[52]
Agricola knew of certain noxious unwanted ores the Germans miners calledkobelt, though he generally referred to it by the Greek term,cadmia.[37][93] Thiscadmia/kobelt appears to have denoted a cobalt-zinc ore, but Agricola ascribes to it corrosive dangers to the miners' feet, and it is noted thatsmaltite, a cobalt andnickel arsenide mixture presents corrosive properties.[93] This ore, which defied being smelted by themetallurgy of that time, may also have beencobaltite, composed of cobalt, arsenic, and sulfur.[94]
The presence of this nuisance orekobelt was blamed on the similar-soundingkobel mine spirits, as Mathesius noted in his preaching.[42] The inferred etymology ofkobelt deriving fromkobel, which Mathesius does not quite elocute, was explicitly articulated byJohannes Beckmann inBeiträge zur Geschichte der Erfindungen (tr. English asThe History of Inventions, discoveries and origins, 1797).[41]
Thekobel spirit possibly the namesake of the ore is characterized as a "gnome or a goblin" by science writerPhilip Ball.[93][96] However, 20th century dictionaries had suggested derivation fromkobold, for example, Webster's in 1911 which didn't distinguish kobel from kobold and lumped them together,[97] and the OED which conjectured that the orekobolt and the spiritkobolt/kobold was the same word.[98] An alternative etymology derivingkobolt ore fromKübel, a type of bucket mentioned by Agricola, has been suggested by Karl Müller-Fraureuth.[73][100]Peter Wothers suggests thatcobalt could derive (without connection to Agricola) fromcobathia for noxious smoke.[95]
―Olaus MagnusHistoria de gentibus septentrionalibus[87][77]
The erudite SwedishOlaus Magnus in hisHistoria de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (1555) also provides a chapter on "demons in the mines".[87][77] Although Olaus uses the term "demon" (daemon) and not the uninvented coinage "gnome", the accompanying woodcut he provided (cf. Fig. right) has been represented as "gnome" in modern reference sources.[2][101][102]
Bergmännerlein, Wights, and Subterraneans (Unter-Irrdische)
―engraving by Thomas Cross, Sr. (fl. 1632-1682), frontispiece to Praetorius (1668) [1666]Anthropodemus Plutonicus.
Johannes Praetorius inAnthropodemus Plutonicus (1666) devotes a chapter of considerable length to the beings he callsBergmännrigen orErdleute "earth people", and follows Agricola to a large extent. Thus he considers earth spirits to be of two types, one more evil and sinister looking. The other, more benevolent and known asbergmännlein orkobolde. He gives the measurement of what he calls theBergmännrigen at "drey viertel einer Ellen lang",[103][104] perhaps shy of one and a half feet.[u]
The mention ofkobolde here as a name for the underground spirit is an unresolved contradiction to Praetorius dedicating a wholly separate chapter on the kobold as house sprite[105] with a separate frontispiece art labeled "8. Haußmänner/Kobolde/Gütgen" for the house spirits.[106]
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2024)
The anecdote of the "Rosenkranz" mine localized in Saxony was already given above in§ Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg. This and other near modern attestations are given in Wolfersdorf's anthology (1968) above.[107]
German lore regarding gnomes orberggeist (mine spirits) regard them as beneficial creatures, at least if they are treated respectfully, and lead miners to rich veins of ore.[109]
The silverthaler minted by DukeHenry the Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel which features a "wild man" (cf. right) was seen to reassert his claim of complete ownership of the local silver and forest resources of theHarz Mountains, probably depicting the supernatural that miners believed led them to the whereabouts of silver ore. Even though the wild man above surface could be a vague supernatural guide, it is pointed out that it must be theBergeist burrowing underground which guides miners to exact spots. In the Harz area, it is a beingBergmönch or "mountain monk" who uses the so-called "mining light (Grubenlicht orGeleucht) to guide miners to their quarry or to their exit.[110][111]
The lantern he holds is apparently an ignited lump oftallow (Unschlitt).[112] It is also said that the Bergmönch was originally a mine supervisor who begged God to let him continue oversight of mines after death. If ignored it will angrily appear in its giant true form, with eyes as large as cartwheels, his silver lantern measuring a German bushel orScheffel [de].[v][112]
Nineteenth-century miners in Bohemia and Hungary reported hearing knocking in the mines. The mining trade there interpreted such noises as warnings from the kobolds to not go in that direction. Although the Hungarian (or Czech) term was not given by the informant, and called "kobolds" of these mines, they were stated as the equivalents of theBerggeist of the Germans.[116]
Nineteenth-century German miners also talked of theBerggeist, who appeared as small black men, scouting ahead of miners with a hammer, and with their banging sound indicating whether veins of ore, or breaks in the veins called 'faults', and the more knocks, the richer the vein lay ahead.[117]
There is also a experiential report of a German mine sprite communicating residents and visiting their house (cf.Kobold#Visitors from mines).
The gnomes ofSwiss folklore are also associated with riches of the mines. They are said to have caused thelandslide that destroyed the Swiss village ofPlurs in 1618 - the villagers had become wealthy from a localgold mine created by the gnomes, who poured liquid gold down into avein for the benefit of humans, and were corrupted by this newfound prosperity, which greatly offended the gnomes.[118]
This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(August 2024)
Grimm discusses the Bergmänlein somewhat under the subsection of Dwarfs (Zwerge), arguing that the dwarf'sNebelkappe (known asTarnkappe in theNibelungenlied) slipped from being known as a cape or cloak covering the body in earlier times, into being thought of as caps or head coverings in the post-medieval era. As an example, he cites the Bergmännlein wearing a pointed hat, according toRollenhagen's poemFroschmeuseler.[70][120]
As can be glimpsed by this example, the approach of Grimm's "Mythologische Schule" is to regard the lore of the variousmännlein or specificallyBergmännlein as essentially derivatives of theZwerge/dvergr of pagan Germanic mythologies.[121][w]
In the 1960s there developed a general controversy between this "mythological school" and its opponents over how to interpret so-called "miner's legends". What sparked the controversy was not over theBergmännlein type tale per se, but over Grimms' "Three Miners ofKuttenberg",[x] who are trapped underground but supernaturally maintain longevity through prayer.[122] Siegfried Kube (1960) argued the tale was based on ancient mythology, i.e., pagan alpine worship.[125] This was countered byWolfgang Brückner [de] (1961) who regarded the tale as inspired by medieval Catholic notion of thepurgatory.[126] WhereasIna-Maria Greverus (1962), presented yet a different view, that it was not based on organized church doctrine, but a world-view and faith in the miner's unique microcosm.[127][126]
Greverus at least in her 1962 piece, centered her argument on theBerggeist (instead ofBergmännlein).[127][128] Grimm also uses theBerggeist apparently as a type ofZwerg,[131] but there has been issued a caveat that the meaning of the termBerggeist according to Grimm may not necessarily coincide with the meaning used by the proletarian Greverus.[128]Gerhard Heilfurth [de] and Greverus'sBergbau und Bergmann (1967) amply discuss theBergmännlein.[132]
The collection of tales under the classification of "Berggeist" was already anticipated as far back as Friedrich Wrubel (1883).[133][134][136] LaterFranz Kirnbauer [de] publishedBergmanns-Sagen (1954), a collection of miner's legends which basically adopted Wrubel's four-part classification, except Wrubel's Part 2 was retitled as one about "Bergmännlein".[133][135]
InKarl Müllenhoff's anthology (1845), legends No. 443Das Glück der Grafen Ranzau and No. 444Josias Ranzaus gefeites Schwert feature theBergmännlein-männchen or its female formBergfräuchen.[137][138]
Other collected works also bear "Berggeist-sagen" in the title, such as the collection of legends inLower Saxony by Wolfersdorf (1968).[107]
The English word is attested from the early 18th century. Gnomes are used inAlexander Pope's "The Rape of the Lock".[14] The creatures from this mock-epic are small, celestial creatures that were prudish women in their past lives, and now spend all of eternity looking out for prudish women (in parallel to the guardian angels in Catholic belief). Other uses of the termgnome remain obscure until the early 19th century, when it is taken up by authors ofRomanticist collections offairy tales and becomes mostly synonymous with the older wordgoblin.
The Earth is filled almost to the center withGnomes orPharyes, a people of small stature, the guardians of treasures, of mines, and of precious stones. They are ingenious, friends of men, and easie to be commandded. They furnish the children of theSages with as much money, as they have need of; and never ask any other reward of their services, than the glory of being commanded. TheGnomides or wives of theseGnomes orPharyes, are little, but very handsom; and their habit marvellously curious.[139]
De Villars used the termgnomide to refer to female gnomes (often "gnomid" in English translations).[140]Modern fiction instead uses the word "gnomess" to refer to female gnomes.[141][142]
In 19th-century fiction, thechthonic gnome became a sort of antithesis to the more airy or luminousfairy.Nathaniel Hawthorne inTwice-Told Tales (1837) contrasts the two in "Small enough to be king of the fairies, and ugly enough to be king of the gnomes" (cited afterOED). Similarly, gnomes are contrasted toelves, as inWilliam Cullen Bryant'sLittle People of the Snow (1877), which has "let us have a tale of elves that ride by night, with jingling reins, or gnomes of the mine" (cited afterOED).
The Russian composerMussorgsky produced a movement in his workPictures at an Exhibition, (1874) named "Gnomus" (Latin for "The Gnome"). It is written to sound as if a gnome is moving about.
Franz Hartmann in 1895 satirizedmaterialism in an allegorical tale entitledUnter den Gnomen im Untersberg. The English translation appeared in 1896 asAmong the Gnomes: An Occult Tale of Adventure in the Untersberg. In this story, theGnomes are still clearly subterranean creatures, guarding treasures of gold within theUntersberg mountain.
As a figure of 19th-centuryfairy tales, the term gnome became largely synonymous with other terms for "little people" by the 20th century, such asgoblin,brownie,leprechaun and other instances of thehousehold spirit type, losing its strict association with earth or the underground world.
Creatures calledgnomes have been used in thefantasy genre of fiction and later gaming since the mid-nineteenth century, typically in a cunning role, e.g. as an inventor.[143]
InL. Frank Baum'sOz books (published 1900 to 1920), the Nomes (so spelled), especiallytheir king, are the chief adversaries of the Oz people. They are ugly, hot-tempered, immortal, round-bodied creatures with spindly limbs, long beards and wild hair, militantly collecting and protecting jewels and precious metals underground.Ruth Plumly Thompson, who continued the series (1921 to 1976) after Baum's death, reverted to the traditional spelling. He also featured gnomes in his bookThe Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. They watch over the rocks, their king is part of the Council of Immortals, and they created the sleigh bells forSanta Claus's reindeer.
J. R. R. Tolkien, in thelegendarium (created 1914 to 1973) surrounding hisElves, uses "Gnomes" as the initial- but later dropped- name of theNoldor, the most gifted and technologically minded of his elvish races, in conscious exploitation of the similarity with the wordgnomic.Gnome is thus Tolkien's English loan-translation of theQuenya wordNoldo (pluralNoldor), "those with knowledge". Tolkien's "Gnomes" are generally tall, beautiful, dark-haired, light-skinned, immortal, and wise. They are also proud, violent, and unduly admire their own creations, particularly their gemstones. Many live in cities below ground (Nargothrond) or in secluded mountain fortresses (Gondolin). He uses "Gnomes" to refer to both males and females. InThe Father Christmas Letters (between 1920 and 1942), which Tolkien wrote for his children, Red Gnomes are presented as helpful creatures who come from Norway to the North Pole to assist Father Christmas and his Elves in fighting the wicked Goblins.
BB'sThe Little Grey Men (1942) is a story of the last gnomes in England, little wild men who live by hunting and fishing.
InC. S. Lewis'sThe Chronicles of Narnia (created 1950 to 1956), the gnomes are sometimes called "Earthmen". They live in theUnderland, a series of caverns. Unlike the traditional, more human-like gnomes, they can have a wide variety of physical features and skin colours where some of them are either standing at 1 ft or being taller than humans. They are used as slaves by theLady of the Green Kirtle until her defeat, at which point they return to their true home, the much deeper (and hotter) underground realm of Bism.
InJ. K. Rowling'sHarry Potter series (created 1997 to 2007), gnomes are pests that inhabit the gardens of witches and wizards. They are small creatures with heads that look like potatoes on small stubby bodies. Gnomes are generally considered harmless but mischievous and may bite with sharp teeth. In the books, it is stated that theWeasleys are lenient to gnomes, and tolerate their presence, preferring to throw them out of the garden rather than more extreme measures.
InA. Yoshinobu's Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, the European concept of a gnome is used in order to introduce the Far Eastern notion of theKoropokkuru, a mythical indigenous race of small people: gnomes are a persecuted minority banned from learning wizardry and attending magical schools.[144]
InTerry Brooks'Shannara series (created 1977 to 2017), gnomes are an offshoot race created after the Great Wars. There are several distinctive classes of gnomes. Gnomes are the smallest race. InThe Sword of Shannara they are considered to be tribal and warlike, the one race that can be the most easily subverted to an evil cause. This is evidenced by their allegiance to the Warlock Lord inThe Sword of Shannara and to the Mord Wraiths inThe Wishsong of Shannara.
Terry Pratchett included gnomes in hisDiscworld series. Gnomes were six inches in height but quite strong, often inflicting pain upon anyone underestimating them. One prominent gnome became aWatchman inAnkh-Morpork as the force became more diversified under the command ofSam Vimes, withBuggy Swires appearing inJingo. Another gnome in the series wasWee Mad Arthur a pest terminator inFeet of Clay.
One of the first movements inMussorgsky's 1874 workPictures at an Exhibition is named "Gnomus" (Latin for "The Gnome"). It is written to sound as if a gnome is moving about, his movements constantly changing in speed.
A classical piece of music written to sound as if a gnome is moving about.
"The Laughing Gnome" is a song by English musicianDavid Bowie, released as a single in 1967. It became a hit when reissued in 1973, in the wake of Bowie's commercial success.
The 1970 albumAll Things Must Pass by English musicianGeorge Harrison has a cover image of the musician sitting among a group of garden gnomes.
In theDungeons & Dragonsfantasyrole-playing game, gnomes are one of the core races available for play asplayer characters.[145] They are described as being smaller thandwarves and large-nosed. They have an affinity with small animals and a particular interest in gemstones. Depending on setting and subrace, they may also have a natural skill with illusion magic or engineering.
In theWarcraft franchise (1994 to present), particularly as featured in themassively multiplayer online role-playing gameWorld of Warcraft,gnomes are a race of beings separate from butallied to dwarves and humans, with whom they share the lands of the Eastern Kingdoms. Crafty, intelligent, and smaller than their dwarven brethren, gnomes are one of two races in Azeroth regarded as technologically savvy. It is suggested in lore that the gnomes originally were mechanical creations that at some point became organic lifeforms. InWorld of Warcraft, gnomes are an exile race, having irradiated their home city of Gnomeregan in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to drive out marauding foes.[146]
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl , a 2024 British stop motion animated comedy film produced by Aardman Animations and the BBC released for Christmas features a large number of robotic garden gnomes.
Historic garden gnomes on display at the Gnome Reserve in Devon, UK. The ornament on the left of the image was produced by Eckardt and Mentz in the late nineteenth-century,
By the late twentieth century the garden gnome had come to be stylised as an elderly man with a full white beard and a pointed hat.
AfterWorld War II (with early references, in ironic use, from the late 1930s) the diminutive figurines introduced as lawn ornaments during the 19th century came to be known as garden gnomes. The image of the gnome changed further during the 1960s to 1970s, when the first plastic garden gnomes were manufactured. These gnomes followed the style of the 1937 depiction of the seven dwarves inSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs byDisney. This "Disneyfied" image of the gnome was built upon[citation needed] by the illustrated children's book classicGnomes (1976), in the original DutchLeven en werken van deKabouter, by authorWil Huygen and artistRien Poortvliet, followed in 1981 byThe Secret Book of Gnomes. Garden gnomes share a resemblance to the Scandinaviantomte and nisse, and the Swedish term "tomte" can be translated as "gnome" in English.
The expression "Gnomes of Zurich", Swiss bankers pictured as diminutive creatures hoarding gold in subterranean vaults, was derived from a speech in 1956 byHarold Wilson, and gained currency in the 1960s (OED notes theNew Statesman issue of 27 November 1964 as earliest attestation).
^And again in the Johannes Huser edition of 1589–1591 from an autograph by Paracelsus.
^The asterisk(*) at the beginnings of the presumed Latin or Greek words indicateslinguistic reconstruction.
^A rhetorical comparison is made toMurray Gell-Mann who did write to theOxford English Dictionary regarding the word origin of "quark".
^If 1 span is taken to be 9 inches, 2 spans equal 1.5 feet. Cf. below where Agricola gives 3dodrans (equal to 3 spans, i.e., 2.25 feet).
^Them being "taciturn" according to C. S. Lewis[16] appears to be a misattribution, for Paracelsus states: "The mountain manikins [gnomes] are endowed with speech like the nymphs [undines, water], and the vulcans [salamanders, fire] speak nothing, yet they can speak but roughly and rarely".[19] Hartmann also seems to misstate the "spirits of the woods" as saying nothing,[20] since this answers to "sylvestres" of the forests, given as an alternate name sylphs, or air spirits.[21][22]
^The Hoovers in their translation of Agricola echo the opinion thatkobalt has this name because thekobel demon was blamed for it. Cf. alsoJohann Beckmann (1752).[41] See§ Cobalt ore for further details on the "cobalt" etymology.
^The main text itself discusses "dæmon" in relation to "metallum" but the set phrase "dæmon metallicus" occurs in the end gloss.
^Agricola specifies "nempe nani tres dodrantes longi" wheredodrans glosses as "three-quarters of a foot", i.e., "dwarf 2.25 feet tall". The Hoovers' translation converts to "about 2 feet".
^Here "metallicorum" is glossed as "miner", even though the old translation renders as "metal [re]finers".[69]
^The dated rendition gives "laced petticoat" while the Hoovers gave "filleted garment" for Latinvittatus (vitta "band, ribbon").
^indusium or "laced petticoat" in the old translation[69] could refers to either an upper or lower garment, thus the Hoover's give "garment", but here prob. in the sense of shirt, not skirt, cf. Bergmännlein wearing "white shirt" inRollenhagen'sFroschmäuseler poem, noted by Grimm.[70]
^iumentum can mean cattle, etc., though Lavater tr. Harris gives "horses"
^(East Central German)Gütel,Güttel purportedly diminutives of "God",[73] as it referred to fetish figurines, and as such ostensibly identifiable with kobold (as figurines).[74]
^abGrimm citesVáclav Hanka's "Old" Bohemian glosses, 79b as giving "gitulius" forkobolt, followed byalpinus glossed as "tatrman". Grimm makes the point that all these have "doll" or "puppet" connotations, sincealphinus was the term for achess piece (the queen, apparently also called "the fool"), andtatrman is attested with the usage "guiding him with strings".[75][76]
^Atroll is obviously rather generic. Lecouteux gives Swedish:gruvrå.[35]
^Williams calculates to "half a foot" which must be off, perhaps 3/4 misread as 1/4.
^Modern UK/US bushel is about 35The German bushel orScheffel historically was a widely differing unit of dry volume, depending on region, it was around 50 liters in many areas, but given as 310 odd liters in the Duchy of Braunschweig.[113][114]
^Baba (2019)'s specific mention of "Bergmännlein" is limited to saying they appear as characters in two tales from the collection ofKarl Müllenhoff, at p. 26. She discusses near synonyms in Grimm'sDeutsche Mytholgie, namely,männlein being used as circumlocution for dwarf (Zwerg), p. 26, andZwerg being aBerggeist pp. 101, 103; or equivalent to a mine spirit, p. 125, and deriving from the Germanic dvergr p. 134. As a reminder, Agricola's monograph on "mountain elves" was considered a book onBerggeist in the Grimms'DS.[35]
^ab"Gnome".Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved12 March 2008.
^abcAgricola, Georgius (1657) [1530]."Animantium nomina latina, graega, q'ue germanice reddita, quorum author in Libro de subterraneis animantibus meminit".Georgii Agricolae Kempnicensis Medici Ac Philosophi Clariss. De Re Metallica Libri XII.: Quibus Officia, Instrumenta, Machinae, Ac Omnia Denique Ad Metallicam Spectantia, Non Modo Luculentissime describuntur; sed & per effigies, suis locis insertas ... ita ob oculos ponuntur, ut clarius tradi non possint. Basel: Sumptibus & Typis Emanuelis König. p. [762].Dæmonum:Dæmon subterraneus trunculentus: bergterufel;mitis bergmenlein/kobel/guttel
^cf. the compilationHeilfurth & Greverus (1967) and its explanatory, pp. 56–58, 189–190 on past anthologies by Wrubel (1883) using "Berggeist" as category,[4] and Stötzel (1936) essentially following but renaming the category as "Bergmännchen.[5]
^Paracelsus (1658),II: 392: "Gnomi humiles sunt, duas circiter spithamas æquantes";Paracelsus (1567), p. 181: "die Gnomi sein klein bis auff zwo spannen unnd dergleichen ungeferlich";Paracelsus & Sigerist tr. (1941), p. 235: "The mountain people are small, of about two spans".
^Paracelsus (1658),II: 391: "Terra autem gnomis tantum chaos ist. Illi enim transeunt solidas parietes, saxa & scopulos, instar spiritus...";Paracelsus (1567), p. 179: "also den Gnomis die erde ihr Lufft, dann ein jedes ding wonet, geht und steht im Chaos. Die Gnomi gehn durch ganze felsen, mauren, unnd was innen ihr Chaos zu gros ist...";Paracelsus & Sigerist tr. (1941), p. 234–235: "the mountain manikins have the earth which is their chaos. To them it is only an air";Paracelsus & Sigerist tr. (1941), p. 232: "to the gnomi in the mountains: the earth is the air and is their chaos.. Now, the earth is not more than mere chaos to the mountain manikins. For they walk through solid walls, through rocks and stones, like a spirit;"
^Paracelsus (1567), p. 195: "Die Riesen kommen von den Waltleuten, die zwerglein von den Erdleuten, unnd seinmonstra von ihnen wie die Syrenen von den Nymphen, von solche dingen werden wol selten geborn".
^Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens, Walter de Gruyter (1974), s.v. "Paracelsus", Band6 1395–1398.
^Sigerist's translation: "The giants come from the forest people and the dwarfs from the earth manikins. They are monstra like the sirens from the nymphs. Thus these beings are born".[23] The Latin term "monstra" is used as is in the 1567 German edition also.[24] However, this is not "monster" in the common modern sense, and explained as the "misbegotten" (Mißgeburten) in one reference handbook in its entry on "Paracelsus".[25]
^This clarification (identification of cadmia's real German form) is possible through Agricola's publications too, but is more complicated. In the text itself he write that the ore in Latincadmia was called in Germancobaltus, which is of course Latinized.[37] The pure German formkobelt can be looked up in the appended glossary ("Cadmia metallicaKobelt"), or by tabulating a comparison with the contemporary German translations which the Hoovers have done.[38]
^abcAgricola, Georgius (1546) [1530]."Bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus".Georgii Agricolae De ortu & causis subterraneorum lib. 5. De natura eorum quae effluunt ex terra lib. 4. De natura fossilium lib. 10. De ueteribus & nouis metallis lib. 2. Bermannus, siue De re metallica dialogus lib.1. Interpretatio Germanica uocum rei metallicæ, addito Indice fœcundissimo. Basel: Froben. pp. 432–433.BER: ..genus certè dæmonum,..metallicis inferunt; AN: Eius generis dæmonum quod in metallis esse solet.. Psellus mentionem fecit.... Gloss, p. 477: "Daemon metallicus:Das bergmenlin". The title page describing the contents list the gloss as "Interpretatio Germanica uocum rei metallicæ.." but the gloss itself has the header "Sequuntur rerum, de quibus scribimus, nomina, quae ipsis posuerunt Germani, nec tamen nomina prosuerunt omnibus rebus, quibus uel abundant, uel non carent".
^abcdefgAgricola, Georgius (1614) [1549]."37". In Johannes Sigfridus (ed.).Georgii Agricolae De Animantibus subterraneis. Witebergæ: Typis Meisnerianis. pp. 78–79.
^abcdeExcerpted translation footnoted in President and Mrs. Hoover (1912)'s translation ofDe re metallica,[71] requoted by Wothers,[41]
^Library of the Surgeon General's Office (1941)."Agricola".Index-catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, United States Army (Army Medical Library) (4 ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 24–28.
^Gloss titledAppellationes quadrupedum, insectorum, volucrium, piscium (1563), quote: "Daemon subterraneus.. bergmenlein/kobel/guttel".[47] See full quote with opposite translation, below.
^Grimm's annotation to hisDeutsche Mythologie.[49] He states the source as the 1657 editionde re metall. libri XII which is misleading since it (as quoted from below) is an omnibus edition including selections fromDe animantibus, and Grimm is actually quoting the appended gloss toDe animantibus, notDe re metallica.
^There is the German formKobalen, the -en presumably a definite article suffix. This term applies to a mountain-cave demon, answering to LatinCobali,virunculi montani (used here by Agricola),Berggeister, Gnome, and Kobold, according to German linguistPaul Kretschmer.[57]
^Liddell and Scott (1940).A Greek–English Lexicon. s.v. "koba_l-os, ho". Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN0-19-864226-1. Online version retrieved 25 February 2008.
^abcMüller-Fraureuth, Karl (1906)."Kap. 14".Sächsische Volkswörter: Beiträge zur mundartlichen Volkskunde. Dresden: Wilhelm Baensch. pp. 25–26.ISBN978-3-95770-329-3.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens, Walter de Gruyter (1974), s.v. "Kobld", Band5: 26–31ff. Reprint (1987), p.5: 29ff
^Latin:"Flatum vero emittebat ex rictu"[45] apparently omitted by the Hoovers, Wothers provides his own translation that it "only with his breath killed more than twelve labourers" and comments on the demon appearing in horse's guise, and issuing poison breath out of its mouth.[41] Cf.German:Anhauch.[36]
^Just below mention of the mine "Corona rosacea", writes: "Eius generis demonum, quod in metallis esse solet, inter reliqua, sex (6) enim numerat, Psellus mentionem fecit,.. cæteris peius" (worse than the rest).[44]
^"Guteli" was Agricola's spelling, thus "Getuli" is not faithful to it. However,gitulius (var.getulius, gaetulius) as syn.kobolt is attested,[76] so the learned Englishmen were perhaps providing the correct standard Latin.
^The trend of 21st century scholarship seems to be to categorize thekobel, etc. as "gnome".Peter Wothers titles his section on discussion on cobalt as §Gnomes and Goblins.[95] And while Wothers's Fig. 24 (= the fig. under§ Olaus Magnus) labels the creature as "mining demon",Britannica Online labeled it as "gnome".
^Agricola mentions the bucket repeatedly, in Latin asmodulus, glossed as "kobel".[99] Cf. also Grimm,Deutsches Wörterbuch, Band 5, s.v. "Kobel", as well as "Köbel" and "Kübel".
^Olaus appears to be quoting Munsterus (Münster), identified as author ofCosmographia,[90] i.e.,Sebastian Münster the cartographer. He names Agricola apparently as an additional authority for confirmation. But much material found in Olaus are actually to be found in Agricola, as explained in several notes above.
^In the published version of Rollenhagen's work, "Bergmännlein" is used in theindex, but the verses themselves read: "Funden sich auf dem Berg beysammen Der kleiner Männlein ohne Nahmen,/ In weissen Hemdlein, spitzgen Kappen,/ Als man gewohnt an den Bergknappen".[119]
^Cf.Baba (2019). Generally speaking, "the mythological school inherits their mentor Grimm's genre-classification theories", p. 71, and the mythological school, as the name implies is the approach of seeking "vestiges of mythology".
^abYoshida, Takao (December 2008). "Sanrei to meikai: Gurimu 〈sannin no kōfu〉densetsu wo meguru mondaikei"山霊と冥界――グリム〈三人の鉱夫〉伝説をめぐる問題系―― [TheBerggeist and the Netherworld: the body of issues concerning Grimm's 〈Die drei Bergleute〉legend].Gaikoku bungaku kenkyū外国文学研究 (27). Nara Women's University:149–194.
^de Montfaucon de Villars, N.-P.-H. (1913) [1670].Comte de Gabalis. London: The Brothers, Old Bourne Press.OCLC6624965.Archived from the original on 13 May 2015.
Paracelsus (1567)."De nymphis, syl. pyg.et salamandris". In Flöter, Balthasar (ed.).Philosophiæ magnæ, des Edlen ... Herrn D. Aureoli Theophrasti von Hohenhaim ... Tractatus aliquot, jetzt erst in Truck geben, etc. Köln: Truckts G. Vierendunck in verlegung A. Birckmans Erben. pp. 170–.
Praetorius, Johannes (1666)."II. Von Bergmännrigen / Erd-Leuten".Anthropodemus Plutonicus. Das ist, Eine Neue Welt-beschreibung Von allerley Wunderbahren Menschen: Als da seyn, Die 1. Alpmännergen, Schröteln, Nachtmähren. 2. Bergmännerlein, Wichtelin, Unter-Irrdische. 3. Chymische Menschen, Wettermännlein. ... 22. Zwerge, Dümeken. Vol. 1. Illustrated by Thomas Cross (fl. 1632-1682). Magdeburg: In Verlegung Johann Lüderwalds. pp. 44–156.
Praetorius, Johannes (1668) [1666]."II. Von Bergmännrigen / Erd-Leuten".Anthropodemvs Plvtonicus, Das ist Eine Neue Weltbeschreibung Von Allerley Wunderbahren Menschen, Als da seyn... Vol. 1. Illustrated by Thomas Cross (fl. 1632-1682). Magdeburg: In Verlegung Johann Lüderwalds. pp. 41–140. Alternate url:[1]
Stötzel, Heinrich, ed. (1936)."2. Das Bergmannchen".Die Bergmannssage. Düsseldorf: G.H. Nolt. pp. 75–.
-Hist_septentrionalibus-p210-demons-in-mines.jpg)
-p0000-02Bergm%25C3%25A4nnerlein_Wichtelin_Unter-Irrdische.jpg)
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg)
-p0000-08hau%25C3%259Fm%25C3%25A4nner-kobolde-g%25C3%25BCtgen.jpg){kind=link}