GOBLIN

A 'goblin' is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described in as a grotesquely disfigured or gnome-like , that may range in height from that of a dwarf to that of a human. They are attributed with various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases goblins have been classified as constant annoying little creatures.

Contents

Etymology

Origins in folklore

Goblin Places

Early Fiction

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

Etymology

According to "''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English''" the name is probably derived from the Anglo-French ''gobelin'' (medieval Latin ''gobelinus''), which is probably a diminutive of ''Gobel'', a name related to the word ''kobold''. Goblin is also related to the French ''lutin''[1]. In addition, there also exist various other alternative spellings of the word goblin, including: ''Gobblin'', ''gobeline'', ''gobling'', ''goblyn'', ''gobelinus'' (medieval Latin), and ''vulgus gobelinum'' (demon) (Latin).
Dwarfs, hiisi, duende, tengu, Menninkäinen and kallikantzaroi are often translated into english as 'goblins'. The Erlking and Billy Blind are sometimes called goblins. Goblins are often used as a general term to mean any small mischievous being.
According to some traditions, goblin comes from Gob or Ghob, the king of the gnomes, whose inferiors were called Ghob-lings.[2]
Skratta is old Scandinavian word for a goblin or monster (modern Icelandic skratti, a devil).
Any creature resembling a goblin, but larger than a man, is considered a Troll.

Origins in folklore

One fabled origin for goblins is in France, in a cleft of the Pyrenees, from which they spread rapidly throughout Europe. They hitched a ride with Viking ships to get to Britain. ^[1][2] They have no homes, being nomadic, dwelling temporarily in mossy cracks in rocks and tree roots.
Sir Walter Scott in his ''Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft'' ascribed gnomes, kobolds and goblins, along with Scottish ''bogles'', to all correspond with a caricature of the Sami people.

★ The Benevolent Goblin, by Gesta Romanorum (England) [3]

★ The Boy Who Drew Cats (Japanese fairy tale)

★ ''The Cook and the House Goblin'' (Estonia), from A Book of Ghosts and Goblins (1969)

★ Erlking is a malevolent goblin from German legend.

★ 'Ghosts and Goblins' is a phrase traditionally associated with Halloween.

★ ''The Goblin of Adachigahara'' (Japanese fairy tale)[4]

★ The Goblin and the Grocer, by Hans Christian Andersen

★ ''The Goblin Pony'', from The Grey Fairy Book (French fairy tale)

★ ''The Goblins at the Bath House'' (Estonia), from A Book of Ghosts and Goblins (1969)

★ ''The Goblins Turned to Stone'' (Dutch fairy tale) ^[3]

★ Goblin’s Thimbles are another name for foxgloves.

★ Gwyn ap Nudd was ruler over the goblin tribe. (Welsh folklore) [5]

★ Shiva has a cohort of goblins and ghouls (India).

★ The Snow Queen, by Hans Christian Andersen

★ ''Twenty-Two Goblins'' (Indian fairy tale)[6]

Goblin Places

★ Les Baux de Provence: (France) was once the haunt of goblins and witches, according to legend

★ 'Bryn y Ellyllon' 'The Hill of the Goblins', Somerset

★ The 'Gap of Goeblin', a hole and underground tunnel in Mortaine, France. ^[4]

★ Goblin Combe, in North Somerset

Early Fiction

★ The Goblins a comedy play (1638 England)

★ Goblin Market (1859 Italy)

★ The Princess and the Goblin (1872)

★ ''Davy and the Goblin'' by Charles E. Carryl [7]

★ ''The Hoard of the Gibbelins'' in The Book of Wonder (1912)

See also

★ Goblins in modern fiction

★ Hobgoblin

★ Nilbog

★ Redcap

★ Ghoul

★ Imp

★ Gremlin

★ Kallikantzaroi

★ Kyöpelinvuori

★ Kobold

★ Orc (Middle-earth)

★ Sprite (creature)

★ Brownie

★ Troll

★ Wirry-cow

★ Wight

★ Halloween

★ Vinayakas

★ Dwarf

Notes

1. ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures'' by Pierre Dubois, in English 2005
2. ''Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were'' by Michael Page & Robert Ingpen, 1987
3. ''Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks'', 1918, compiled by William Elliot Griffis
4. ''Ghosts, Goblins, and Haunted Castles'', Aventinum Publishers, 1990 in English, page 51

References

Further reading

★ ''British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions'' by Wirt Sikes

★ ''Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were'' by Michael Page & Robert Ingpen

★ ''The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures'' by Pierre Dubois

★ ''Goblins!'' and ''The Goblin Companion'' by Brain Froud

★ ''Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins: an Encyclopedia of the Little People'' by Carol Rose