Kofewalt

A kobold (; ''kobolt'', ''kobolde'', cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (''hausgeist'') in German folklore.

It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. But it can be a prankster as well. It may expect a bribe or offering of milk, etc. for its efforts or good behaviour. When mistreated (cf. fig. right), its reprisal can be utterly cruel.

A () meaning "little hat" is one subtype; this and other kobold sprites are known for its pointy red cap, such as the ''niss'' (cognate of nisse of Norway) or ''puk'' (cognate of puck fairy) which are attested in Northern Germany, alongside ''drak'', a dragon-type name, as the sprite is sometimes said to appear as a shaft of fire, with what looks like a head. There is also the combined form Nis Puk.

A house sprite Hinzelmann is a shape-shifter assuming many forms, such as a feather or animals. The name supposedly refers to it appearing in cat-form, Hinz being an archetypical cat name. The similarly named Heinzelmänchen of Cologne (recorded 1826) is distinguished from Hinzelmann.

The Schrat is cross-categorized as a wood sprite and a house sprite, and some regional examples correspond to kobold, e.g., Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria. The kobold is sometimes conflated with the mine demon ''kobel'' or ''Bergmännlein''/''Bergmännchen'', which Paracelsus equated with the earth elemental gnome. It is generally noted that there can be made no clear demarcation between a kobold and nature spirits.

The ''Klabautermann'' aboard ships are sometimes classed as a kobold.

Overview

A kobold is known by various names (discussed under ). As a household spirit, it may perform chores such as tidying the kitchen, but can be prankish, and when mistreated can resort to retribution, sometimes of the utmost cruelty. It is often said to require the household to put out sweet milk (and bread, bread soup) as offering to keep it in good behaviour.

The legend of the house sprite's retribution is quite old. The tale of the ''hütchen'' (or '' hodekin'' in Low German, meaning "little hat"; tale retold as Grimms ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 74) is set in the historical background after c. 1130, and attested in a work c. 1500. This sprite that haunted the castle of the Bishop of Hildesheim, retaliated against a kitchen boy who splashed filthy water on it (Cf. fig. top right) by leaving the lad's dismembered body cooking in a pot. Likewise the resident of Mecklenburg Castle, in 1327, allegedly chopped up a kitchen boy into pieces after he took and drank the milk offered to the sprite, according to an anecdote recorded by historian Thomas Kantzow (d. 1542).

The story of the "multi-formed" Hinzelmann (Grimms ''DS'' No. 75) features a typical house sprite, tidying the kitchen, repaying insolence, etc. Though normally invisible, it is a shapeshifter as its byname suggests. When the lord of Hudemühlen Castle flees to Hanover, the sprite transforms into a feather to follow the horse carriage. It also appears as a marten and serpent after attempts at expelling it.

A kobold by the similar name Heintzlein (Heinzlein) was recorded by Martin Luther. Although a group of house sprite names (Heinz, Heinzel, Heinzchen, Heinzelman, Hinzelman, Hinzemännchen, etc.) are considered to derive from diminutive pet name of "Heinrich", the name Hinzelmann goes deeper, and alludes to the spirit appearing in the guise of a cat, the name Hinz being an archetypical name for cats. Also Hinzelmann and Heinzelmänchen of Cologne are considered different house sprites altogether, the latter categorized as one of "literary" nature. The house sprite names Chim or Chimken, Chimmeken, etc. are diminutive informal names of Joachim.

But its true form is often said to be that of a small child, sometimes only felt to be as such by the touch of the hand, but sometimes a female servant eager to see it is shown a dead body of a child (cf. Hinzelmann). The folklore was current in some regions, e.g. Vogtland that the kobold was the soul of a child who died unbaptized. The Grimms (''Deutsche Sagen'') also seconded the notion of "kobold" appearing as a child wearing a pretty jacket, but Jacob Grimm (''Deutsche Mythologie'') stated contrarily that kobolds are red-haired and red-bearded, without examples. Later commentators noted that the house sprite Petermännchen sports a long, white beard. The Klabautermann is red-haired and white-bearded according to a published source.

The kobold often has the tendency to wear red pointy hats, a widely disseminated mark of European household spirits under other names such as the Norwegian '' nisse''; the North or Northeastern German kobolds named Niss or Puk (cog. puck) are prone to wearing such caps. The combined form Nis Puk is also known. In the north the house sprite may be known by the dragon-like name , said to appear in a form like a fire shaft.

Sometimes household sprites manifests as a noisemaker (poltergeist). It may first be such a rattler, then an invisible speaker, then a sprite doing chores, etc. and gradually making its presence and personality more clear (see Hintzelmann tale). In some regions, the kobold is held to be the soul of a prematurely killed child ().

They may be hard to eradicate, but it is often said that a gift of an article of clothing will cause them to leave.

The ''klopfer'' is a "noisemaker" or poltergeist type of kobold name, while the ''poppele'' and ''butz'' (which Grimm and others considered to be noise inspired) are classed as names referring to a doll or figurine.

The name ''kobold'' itself might be classed in this "doll" type group, as the earliest instances of use of the word ''kobold'' in 13th century Middle High German refers jokingly to figurines made of wood or wax, Lexer (1878). "", ''Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch'' and the word assumptively also meant "household spirit" in MHG, and certainly something of a "household deity" in the post-medieval period (gloss dated 1517).

The etymology of ''kobold'' that Grimm supported derived the word from Latin ''cobalus'' (Greek , ), but this was also Georg Agricola's Latin/Greek cypher for ''kobel'', syn. denoting mine spirits, i.e. gnome. This Greek etymology has been superseded by the Germanic one explaining the word as the compound ''kob/kof'' 'house, chamber' + ''walt'' 'power, authority' (cf. cobalt#etymology).

The '' gütel'' has a variant , a hayloft or stable kobold, which tampers with horses.

Nomenclature and origins

The "kobold" is defined as the well-known household spirit, descended from household gods and hearth deities, according to Grimms' dictionary.

However, Middle High German "" is defined as "wooden or waxen figures of a nixie-ish (''neckische'') house spirit", used in jest.Lexer, Max (1872) ''Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch'' s.v. ""

Kobold as generic term

The term "kobold" was being used as general or generic term for "house spirit" known by other names even before Grimm, e.g., Erasmus Francisci (1690) who discusses the ''hütchen'' tale under the section on "Kobold". The book ''Hintzelmann'' (published 1701, second edition 1704) was an expanded reworking by an anonymous author, based on the older-dated diaries of Pastor Feldmann (fl. 1584–1589) also used "kobold" and "poltergeist" in commentary, but this cannot be considered an independent source since the book (i.e., the rewriter) cites Erasmus Francisci elsewhere. Both these were primary sources for the kobold tales in Grimms' ''Deutsche Sagen'', No. 74, 75.

Praetorius (1666) discussed the household spirit under names such as (dat. pl. , kobold, ''gütgen'', and Latin equivalents.

Steier (1705) glossing kobold as "Spiritus familiaris" perhaps indicates kobold being considered a generic term.

Glossed sources

It is a relatively late ''vocabularius'' where ''kobelte'' is glossed as (i.e., analogized as) the Roman house and hearth deities "Lares" and ''Penates'', as in Trochus (1517), or "kobold" with "" as in Steier (1705).

While the term "kobold" is attested in Middle High German glossaries, they may not corroborate a "house spirit" meaning. The terms together with to gloss in Diefenbach's source (Breslauer's ''Vocabularius'', 1340) may (?) suggest "kobold" being regarded more like an alp and mare which are dream demons.

But indications are that these Germanic household deities were current in the older periods, attested by Anglo-Saxon ''cofgodu'' (glossed "penates") and Old High German (Old Frankish) for house or hearth deities also glossed as ''penates''.

;(Middle High German location spirit ''stetewalden'')
There is an attestation to a ''kobold''-like name for a house or location spirit, given as by Frater Rudolfus of the 13th century, meaning "ruler of the site" ().

Ur-origins

Otto Schrader also observed that "cult of the hearth-fire" developed into "tutelary house deities, localized in the home", and the German kobold and the Greek '' agathós daímōn'' both fit this evolutionary path.

Etymology

The ''kobalt'' etymology as consisting of ''kob'' "chamber" + ''walt'' "ruler, power, authority", with the meaning of "household spirit" has been advanced by various authors, as early as (1861–1864) who postulated a form , quoted in Grimms' dictionary. Other writers such as Müller-Fraureuth (1906) also weighed in on the question of its etymology.

Other linguists such as Otto Schrader (1908) suggested ancestral (Old High German) "the one who rules the house". Dowden (2002) offers the hypothetical precursor .

The ''kob/kub/kuf-'' root is possibly related to Old Norse/Icelandic: ''kofe'' "chamber", or Old High German: ''chubisi'' "house". and the English word "cove" in the sense of 'shelter'.

This is now accepted as the standard etymology. Even though the Grimm brothers were aware of it, Jacob Grimm seemingly endorsed a different etymology (), though this eventually got displaced.

Kobold as doll

There are no attested uses of the word "kobold" (Middle High German: ''kobolt'') prior to the 13th century. Grimm opines that earlier uses may have existed, but remain undiscovered or lost.

The earliest known uses of the word ''kobold'' in 13th century Middle High German refer jokingly to figurines made of wood or wax. The exemplum in Konrad von Würzburg's poem (<1250) refers to a man as worthless as a kobold-doll made from boxwood.

This use does not directly support the notion of the kobold being regarded as a spirit or deity. The scenario conjectured by Grimm (seconded by Karl Simrock in 1855) was that home sprites used to be carved from wood or wax and set up in the house, as objects of earnest veneration, but as the age progressed, they degraded into humorous or entertaining pieces of décor.

;(Stringed puppet)
The ''kobolt'' and ''Tatrmann'' were also boxwood puppets manipulated by wires, which performed in puppet theater in the medieval period, as evident from example usage. The traveling juggler () of yore used to make a kobold doll appear out of their coats, and make faces with it to entertain the crowd.

Thomas Keightley comments that legends and folklore about kobolds can be explained as "ventriloquism and the contrivances of servants and others".

The 17th century expression ''to laugh like a kobold'' may refer to these dolls with their mouths wide open, and it may mean "to laugh loud and heartily".

;(Dumb doll insult)

There are other medieval literary examples using ''kobold'' or ''tatrmann'' as a metaphor for mute or dumb human beings.

Note that some of the kobold synonyms are specifically classified as ''Kretinnamen'', under the slander for stupidity category in the ''HdA'', as aforementioned.

Grimm's alternate etymology

Joseph Grimm in ''Teutonic Mythology'' gave the etymology of ''kobold/kobolt'' as derived from Latin ''cobalus'' (pl. ''cobali'') or rather its antecedent Greek ''koba'los'' (pl. ''kobaloi''; , plural: ) meaning "joker, trickster". The final ''-olt'' he explained as typical German language suffix for monsters and supernaturals.;

The derivation of ''kobold'' from Greek ''kobalos'' is not original to Grimm, and he credits Ludwig Wachler (1737).

Thus the generic "goblin" is a cognate of "kobold" according to Grimm's etymology, and perhaps even a descendant word deriving from "kobold". The Dutch ''kabout'', ''kabot'', ''kabouter'', ''kaboutermanneken'', etc., were also regarded as deriving from ''cabolus'' by Grimm, citing Dutch linguist Cornelis Kiliaan.

Conflation with mine spirit

Jacob Grimm certainly knew that ''kobel'' and ''Bergmännlein'' (=''Bergmännchen'') were the proper terms Agricola used for "mine spirits" since his ''Deutsche Mythologie'' quoted these terms from Georgius Agricola (16th cent.) in the annotation volume. , Anmerkungen zu S. 377; Grimm (1888), So to know the actual German terms ("kobel"), one needed to consult the glossary The glossary was later attached to a 1657 omnibus edition consisting of an excerpt of ''De animatibus'' added to ''de re metallica'' in XII books, which is clearly Basel 1657 edition Grimm is citing.

But Grimms' dictionary, while admitting that the mine spirit went by the name ''kobel'', considered that word merely to be a variant or offshoot of ''kobold'' (for the house spirit). The dictionary stated under "kobold" that ''kobel'' must be a diminutive cognate ). And under "kobalt" it considered the name of cobalt ore derived from the supposed mischief caused by the ''kobold'' or (mountain manikin, mountain spirit) in these mines.

Thus unsurprisingly, later writers have continued referring to mine spirits as "kobolds", or to consider "kobold" to be both house spirit and mine spirit in a wider sense (cf. , ). At any rate it is recognized that the original "house spirit" kobold got conflated with the "mine spirit", also known as ''kobel''.

Visitors from mines

Spiritualist Emma Hardinge Britten (1884) recorded a story about a "kobolds" in the mines who communicated with local German residents (of Harz Mountains?) using banging sounds, and fulfilled the promise to visit their homes. Extracted as real-life experience from a Mrs. Kalodzky, who was visiting peasants named Dorothea and Michael Engelbrecht. As promised, these kobolds appeared in the house in shadow as small human-like figures "more like a little image carved out of black shining wood". The informant claims she and her husband have both seen the beings since, and described them as "diminutive black dwarfs about two or three feet in height, and at that part which in the human being is occupied by the heart, they carry the round luminous circle", and the sighting of the circle is more common than the dwarfish beings.

Subtypes

;(Other house spirits)

The term ''kobold'' has slipped into becoming a generic term, translatable as ''goblin'', so that all manners of household spirits (''hausgeister'') became classifiable as "types" of kobold. Such alternate names for the ''kobold'' house sprite are classified by type of naming (A. As doll, B. As pejoratives for stupidity, C. Appearance-based, D. Characteristics-based, E. Diminutive pet name based), etc., in the (''HdA'').

A geographical map of Germany labeled with the different regional appellations has appeared in a 2020 publication.

Grimm, after stating that the list of kobold (or household spirit) in German lore can be long, also adds the names and .

Doll or puppet names

The term ''kobold'' in its earliest usage suggest it to be a wooden doll (Cf. §Origins under below). A synonym for kobold in that sense includes ''Tatrmann'', which is also attested in the medieval period.

What is clear is that these kobold dolls were puppets used in plays and by travelling showmen, based on 13th century writings. They were also known as and described as manipulated by wires. Either way, the idol or puppet was invoked rhetorically in writing by the minstrels, etc. to mock clergymen or other people.

The household spirit names and were thought by Grimm to derive from noise-making, but the ''HdA'' considers them to be doll names. The ''poppele'' is thought to be the German word ''Puppe'' for doll. The term ''Butz'' meanwhile could refer to a "tree trunk", and by extension either "overgrown" or "little", or "stupid" thus is cross-categorized as an example of "cretin names" (category B).Cf. Grimm ''DW'' "" sense 4), apparently a part of a wood or hedge that needs be trimmed off. Ranke suggests the meaning of ("klutz, hunk of wood") or a "small being", with a "noisemaker ghost" is possible by descent from MHG "to beat, strike".

While the MHG dictionary defines as a "knocking sound makingkobold" or poltergeist, or frightening form, Lexer (1878). "", ''Mittelhochdeutsches Handwörterbuch'' Grimm thinks that all MHG usage treats ''butze'' as a type of bogey or scarecrow ().Grimm, ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'', Band 2, s.v. "" So in some sense, ''Butz'' 'e''is simply a generic bogeyman (German: '' Butzemann''). And ''butz'' 'e'' while nominally a kobold (house spirit), is almost a generic term for all kinds of spectres in the Alps region.

The East Central German name or (diminutive of "god", i.e. "little god", var. ) has been suggested as a kobold synonym of the fetish figurine type. Grimm knew the term but placed the discussion of it under the " Wild man of the woods" section conjecturing the use of ''güttel'' as synonymous to (i.e., sense of 'idol') in medieval heroic legend. The term ''gütel'' answers to Agricola's ''guteli'' (in Latin) as an alternate common name for the mine spirit (''bergmännlein'').

Mandrake root dolls

The ''HdA'' categorizes as a dragon name. In English, "mandrake" is easily seen as a "-drake" or "dragon" name. In German, a reference needs be made to the Latin form ''mandragora'' where ''-dragora'' came to be regarded as meaning a dragon.

Since the mandrake do not natively grown in Germany, the so-called ''Alrune'' dolls were manufactured out of the available roots such as bryony of the gourd family, gentian, and tormentil ('' Blutwurz''). The lore surrounding them is thus more like a charm whose possession brought luck and fortune, supposedly through the agency of some spirit, rather than a house-haunting kobold. The alraune doll was also known by names such as (generic name for such dolls) and . It is a mistake to consider such alraun dolls as completely equivalent to the kobald, the household spirit, in Grimm's opinion.

But the kobold kind known as Alrune () did indeed exist locally in the folklore of the north, in Saterland, Lower Saxony. Alrune was also recognized as a kobold-name in Friesland, and even Switzerland.

Cretin names

The aforementioned ''butz'' may allude to a wooden object, or a "dolt" by extension. The Schrat (Schratte) is also formally categorized as a "cretin name" type of kobold nomenclature in the ''HdA''. However, the term ''Schrat'' and its variants has remained current in the sense of "house spirit" only in certain parts such as "southeast Germany": more specifically northern Bavaria including the Upper Palatinate, Fichtel Mountains, Vogtland (into Thuringia), and Austria (Styria and Carinthia) according to the various sources the ''HdA'' cites.

The tale "Schrätel und wasserbär" (kobold and polar bear) had been recorded in Middle High German, and is recognized as a "genuine" kobold tale. The tale is set in Denmark, whose king received the gift of a polar bear and lodges at a peasant's house infested by a "schretel". But it is driven away by the ferocious bear, which the spirit thinks is a "big cat". Obviously Scandinavian origin is suspected, with the Norwegian version retaining the polar bear which turns into other beasts in Central European variants. Old Norse/Icelandic ' meaning "sorcerer, giant" has been listed as cognate forms.

There exists a version of this water-bear tale, set in Bad Berneck im Fichtelgebirge, Upper Franconia, where a ''holzfräulein'' has been substituted for the schrätel, and the haunting occurring at a miller's, and the "big cat" dispatching the spirit. Still, the forms and seemed to be current around Fichtelgebirge (Fichtel Mountains), or at least in Upper Franconia region as a sprite haunting a house or stable. The ''schrezala'' form is recognized in Vogtland also.

Thus ''schretzelein'' is marked in Upper Franconia (around Hof, Bavaria) in the location map above, based on additional sources. A reputedly haunted a household at near Teuschnitz, Upper Franconia, and tended to cattle, washed the dishes, and put out the fire. But when the mistress of the house well-intendedly gave the gift of clothing to the spirit who looked like a six-year old , it exclaimed it had been now been given payment and must now leave. However, the forms are marked in Upper Franconia and in Lower Franconia on Schäfer et al.'s map.

Forms of ''schrat'' as kobold also occurs in Poland as ''skrzat'', glossed in a c. 1500 dictionary as a household spirit (), also known by variant ''skrot''. The Czech forms (standardized as ) could mean a kobold, but could also denote a "mine spirit" or a hag.

Pet names

There is a roster of names of kobolts or little folk derived from shortened affectionate forms of human names, including Chimken (Joachim),
Wolterken (Walter), Niss (Nils).

While Hinz, Hinzelmann, Heinz are categorized as C subtype "beast-shape names" (cat-shape names) in the HdA (Cf. , below),

The HdA does not explicitly include the child-sprite Heintzlein (Heinzlein) mentioned by Martin Luther in his '' Table Talk'', which turns out to be the spirit of the unwanted child murdered by its mother (a motif seen by kobolds elsewhere). This spirit is renamed "Heinzchen" in Heine's exposition, Heine requotes via Dobeneck. and perhaps also in Grimm's ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 71 as well.

Grimm also lists other variant spellings () to be considered together. Grimm's commentary then mentions Heinze as a mountain sprite ('' Berggeist'', gnome) in Rollenhagen's ''Froschmeuseler'', Heinze being a diminutive (or rather more properly the affectionate shortened forms, or hypocorism) of Heinrich.

The kobold Heinzelmännchen (another diminutive of Heinrich) is particularly associated with Cologne, is actually separated out as a "Category H Literary name" in the HdA, apparently regarded as a late literary invention or reconstruction. The Heinzelmännchen is also clearly distinguished from the Hinzelmann in current scholarship, according to modern linguist Elmar Seebold, though they may have beeninterchangeably discussed in the past. Accordingly, a mix of heinzelman, hinzelman" were given as "pet name (shortened human name)" type of kobold names by Grimm, (cf. below and the daughter article Heinzelmännchen).

Chimke (var. Chimken, Chimmeken), diminutive of Joachim is a Niederdeutsch for a poltergeist; the story of "Chimmeken" dates to c. 1327 and recorded in Thomas Kantzow's Pomeranian chronicle (cf. ). Chimgen (Kurd Chimgen), and Chim are other forms.

Wolterken, also Low German, is diminutive for Walther, and another piece of household spirit of the pet name type, ''Wolterken'' glossed as "lares" and attested together with "" and "" in (1587) ''Panurgia lamiarum''.

Nis (Niß) is also explained to be a northern pet name for Nils.

Apparel names

Under the classification of household spirit names based on appearance, a subcategory collects names based on apparel, especially the hat (classification C. a), under which are listed , etc. and even , which is one of the names of a cap or cloak of invisibility. To this group belongs the Low Saxon form () of the house sprite Hütchen from Hildesheim, which wears a felt hat (). Grimm also adds the names .

Cat-shape

The kobold Hinzelmann or Hintzelmann is completely distinguishable from the "literary" kobold Heinzelmännchen according to modern scholarship (cf. ).

And while the name Heinzelmann (Heinzelmännchen) is forged from diminutives of Heinrich, more importantly, the names Hinzelmann, Heinzelman (or , etc.,) are names alluding to the kobold's frequent cat-like shape or transformation, and categorized Under type C "Appearance-based", subtype "beast-shape based names" in the HdA. The analysis is expounded upon by Jacob Grimm, who notes that Hinze was the name of the cat in the ''Reineke'' (German version of ''Reynard the Fox'') so it was the common pet name for cats. Thus hinzelman, hinzemännchen are recognized as cat-based names, to be grouped with (from ''kater'' "") which may be precursor to ''tatermann''.

The ''katzen-veit'' named after a cat is categorized by Grimm as a "wood sprite", but also discussed under kobold, and classed as a "cat appearance" type kobold name (category C b) in ''HdA''. Grimm localized the ''katzen-veit'' at Fichtelberg, and Prateorius also recognized this as the lore of the Vogtland region, though Praetorius's work published (1692) under the pseudonym Lustigero Wortlibio claims ''katzen-veit'' to be a famous "cabbage spirit" in the Hartzewalde (in Elbingerode, now part of Oberharz am Brocken in the Harz mountains, cf. map).

The ''Hitzelmann'' that haunted Hudemühlen Castle in Lower Saxony was described at length by Pastor Feldmann ''Der vielförmige Hintzelmann'' (1704). As the title suggests, this Hinzelmann was a many and varied shapeshifter, transforming into a white feather, or a marten, or a serpent. (cf. ).

The kobold appears in the guise of a cat to eat the panada bribe, in Saintine's version.

Poltergeists

The ''HdA''’s category D consists of kobold names from their behavioural characteristics, and other than some non-German sprites discussed, these are mainly the poltergeists, or noise-making spirits (otherwise, they are names derived after their favourite dish, cf. below). The poltergeists include the ("knocker"), , etc.

Some poltergeists had been assumed to be named after their noise-making nature in the past, but ''HdA'' re-categorized them otherwise as puppet names. So rather than taking to be a form of "doll", Grimm argued that the poltergeist (or )　and 　(regionally also , etc.) were related to verb meaning to 'soft-knock or thump repeatedly' (or , "noisemaking"), with a side meaning of a 'muffled (masked, covered-up) ghost to frighten children'.

Likewise, though Grimm thought was reference to noise, even though ''butz'' seems to refer to a "tree trunk" and thus, had been classed as A for doll-name by ''HdA''.

Rumpelstilzchen of Grimms' KHM No. 55 (as well as the Rumpelstilt mentioned by Johann Fischart) are discussed as a poltergeist type of kobold by Grimm as well, though not formally admitted under this poltergeist category of kobold names in the HdA. The name Rumpelstilts is composed of meaning "(crumpled) noise" and with several meanings such as "stilts", a pair of poles used as extension of legs.

Milk-lovers

In category D, there are names deriving from their favorite food being the bowl of milk, namely ("Potjack")and the Swiss meaning "milk vat" (cf. ).

Heinzelmännchen

The Heinzelmännchen of Cologne resemble short, naked men. Like typical house sprites, they were said to perform household chores such as baking bread, laundry, etc. But they remained beyond sight of humans. According to Ernst Weyden (1826), bakers in the city until the late 18th century never needed hired help because, each night, the kobolds known made as much bread as a baker could need. However, the people of the various shops could not suppress their curiosity at seeing them, and schemed to see them. A tailor's wife strewed peas on the stairs to trip up and hope to see them. Such endeavors caused the sprites to disappear from all the shops in Cologne, before around the year 1780.

This house sprite is included as kobold, but is considered a literary retelling, based on the fact the knowledge about the sprite had been spread by August Kopisch's ballad (1836).

Miscellaneous

Other house spirits categorized as "K. Other names" by the ''HdA'' are , , . The ''mönch'' lore is widespread from Saxony to Bavaria.

King Goldemar, king of dwarfs, is also re-discussed under the household spirit commentary by Grimm, presumably because he became a guest to the human king Neveling von Hardenberg at his Castle Hardenstein for three years, making a dwarf sort of a household spirit on a limited-term basis.

For cognate beings of kobolds or house spirits in non-German cultures, see .

Characteristics

The kobold is linked to a specific household. Some legends claim that every house has a resident kobold, regardless of its owners' desires or needs. The means by which a kobold enters a new home vary from tale to tale.

Should someone take pity on a kobold in the form of a cold, wet creature and take it inside to warm it, the spirit takes up residence there. A tradition from Perleberg in northern Germany says that a homeowner must follow specific instructions to lure a kobold to their house. They must go on St John's Day between noon and one o'clock, into the forest. When they find an anthill with a bird on it, they must say a certain phrase, which causes the bird to transform into a small human. The figure then leaps into a bag carried by the homeowner, and they can then transfer the kobold to their home. Even if servants come and go, the kobold stays.

House kobolds usually live in the hearth area of a house, although some tales place them in less frequented parts of the home, in the woodhouse, in barns and stables, or in the beer cellar of an inn. At night, such kobolds do chores that the human occupants neglected to finish before bedtime:Rose 40, 183. They chase away pests, clean the stables, feed and groom the cattle and horses, scrub the dishes and pots, and sweep the kitchen. The is described as a spirit that scrapes the horse (that is to say, with the currycomb or in German, '' Striegel'') in their stalls, feeds the swine to fatten them, and draws water and carries it over to the cattle to drink.

Other kobolds help tradespeople and shopkeepers.

Kobolds are spirits and, as such, part of a spiritual realm. However, as with other European spirits, they often dwell among the living. The spirit's doings, and how humans interact will be discussed further below ()

Kobolds can take on the appearance of children, be dressed a certain way, or manifest as non-human animals, fire, humans, and objects. This is further discussed below ()

Physical description

There seems to be contradictory opinion on whether a kobold should be generally regarded as boyish looking, or more elderly and bearded. An earlier edition (1819) of the ''Brockhaus Enzyklopädie'' gives the childlike description, however, a later edition (1885) amends to the view of an elderly looking kobold, with a beard. Yet actual instances of a bearded household kobold seems to concentrate on one lone example or two.

The lore that a kobold, when spotted is often seen as a young child wearing a pretty jacket is presented in Grimms ''Deutsche Sagen'' (1816), No.71 "Kobold". And a cherubic, winged child illustration occurs in the 1704 printed book narrative of the kobold, ''Hintzelmann'' (cf. right).

The bearded look was underscored by Jacob Grimm's ''Deutsche Mythlogie'' where the kobold was ascribed red hair and beard, without specific examples. Simrock summarized that "they" (apparently applying broadly to dwarfs, house spirits, wood sprites, and subterranean folk) tend to have red hair and red beard, as well as red clothing. The example of Petermännchen of Schwerin is a story that mentions its white beard, and an instance of a kobold from Mecklenburg, with long white beard and wearing a hood (') mentioned by Golther is in fact Petermännchen also. The klabautermann which some reckon to be a ship-kobold has been purported to have a fiery red head of hair and white beard.

On the kobold assuming the guise of small children, there is a piece of lore that the kobolds are the spirits of dead children and often appear with a knife that represents the means by which they were put to death. Cf.

Other tales describe kobolds appearing as herdsmen looking for work "", p. 46. and little, wrinkled old men in pointed hoods.

One 19th century source claimed mine kobolds with black skin were seen by her and her husband multiple times. (cf. ).

Red cap

Kobolds supposedly also tend to wear a pointy red hat, though Grimm acknowledges that the "red peaky cap" is also the mark of the Norwegian '' nisse''.; Grimm mentions the spirit known as (meaning "little hat" of felt, cf. ) immediately after, perhaps as an example of such a cap-wearer.

The kobold wearing a red cap and protective pair of boots is reiterated by, e.g., Wolfgang Golther. Grimm describes household spirits owning fairy shoes or fairy boots, which permits rapid travel over difficult terrain, and compares it to the league boots of fairytale.

There is lore concerning the infant-sized niss-puk ( var. ''Neß Puk'', where ''Puk'' is cognate to English puck) wearing (pointed) red caps localized in various part of the province of Schleswig-Holstein, in northernmost Germany adjoining Denmark.

Karl Müllenhoff provided the "kobold" lore of the of Schleswig-Holstein, in his anthology, this tale localized at Rethwisch, Steinburg (Krempermarsch). No. 350 "", pp. 261–262, with an endnote at p. 601. The Schwertmann was said to dwell in a (or ''donnerloch'', "thunder pit", i.e., pit in the ground said to be caused by lightning), which Müllenhoff insists was a "large water pit". It would emerge from this pit-hole and perpetrate mischief on villagers, but could also (try to) be helpful. It could appear in the guise of fire, and appreciated the gift of shoes, though his burning feet quickly turns them into tatters.{{Refn, group="lower-alpha", Note that the English translation of the essay "tales from his own collection, no. 346{{{sic.." is a misprint for No. 348 "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuxNAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA258 , 2=Der Teufel in Flehde is localized in Rehm-Flehde-Bargen in the Dithmarschen.{{sfnp, Müllenhoff, 1845, p=258 In the Beowulf essay Müllenhoff also cites "{{lang, de, Der Dränger" ("the presser", No. 347), said to breach dams, localized around the mouth of the Eider, close to e.g. Stapelholm. According to supposed eyewitness accounts by people in Stapelholm the Niß Puk{{efn, Müllenhoff: {{langx, de, Leute aus.. Stapelholm, die den Niß Puk gesehen haben.." was no larger than a 1 or 1 1/2 year old infant (some say 3-year old){{efn, Müllenhoff, "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuxNAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA317 , 2=430. Die Wolterkens": "{{lang, de, nicht größer als ein oder anberthalbjähriges Kind sei. Andre sagen, er sei so gross wie ein dreijähriges". and had a "large head and long arms, and small but bright cunning eyes",{{efn, Müllenhoff: "{{lang, de, Er hat einen grosen Kopf und lange Arme, aber kleine, helle, kluge Augen". and wore "red stockings and a long grey or green tick coat.. ndred, peaked cap".{{efn, Müllenhoff: "{{lang, de, trägt er ein paar rothe Strümpfe,.. lange graue oder grüne Zwillichjacke und.. rothe spitze Mütze".{{harvp, Müllenhoff, 1845 "No. 430. {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YuxNAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA317 , 2=Die Wolterkens", pp. 317–319 with various notes.

The lore of the house kobold ''puk''{{efn, Also ''drak'' was also current farther east in Pomerania, including now Polish Farther Pomerania.{{sfnp, Berger, 2001, pp=163–167 The kobold-''niss''-''puk'' was regarded as wearing a "red jacket and cap" in western Uckermark.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=156 The tale of {{lang, de, pûks told in Swinemünde (now Świnoujście){{efn, Cf. Drak lore of this city under {{section link, , Fire phenomena. held that a man's luck ran out when he rebuilt his house and the blessing passed on to his neighbor who reused the old beams. The pûks was witnessed wearing a cocked hat ({{lang, de, aufgekrämpten Hut), red jacket with shiny buttons.

Invisibility and true form

The normal invisibility of the ''Chimgen'' (or ''Chim'') kobold is explained in legend which tells of a female servant taking a fancy to her house's kobold and asking to see him. The kobold refuses, claiming that to look upon him would be terrifying. Undeterred, the maid insists, and the kobold tells her to meet him later—and to bring along a pail of cold water. The kobold waits for the maid, nude and with a butcher knife in his back. The maid faints at the sight, and the kobold wakes her with the cold water. And she never wished to see the Chimgen{{Refn, name="chimgen-forms" ever again.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=252

In one variant, the maid urges her favourite kobold named Heinzchen (or actually Heintzlein) to see him in his natural state, and is then led to the cellar, where she is shown a dead baby floating in a cask full of blood; years before, the woman had borne a bastard child, killed it, and hidden it in such a cask.{{Refn, Martin Luther (1566) ''Tischreden'' ('' Table Talk''), translated in {{harvp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=140–141, via Dobeneck.{{Refn, Grimm ''DS'' No. 71 consolidates the versions into the anecdote of "Kurd Chimgen" or "Heinzchen", since it cites both Praetorius and Martin Luther as sources.{{sfnp, Grimms, 1816, p=92 {{Refn, This matches the retelling given by Saintine (1862), accompanied by Gustave Doré's illustration of the child floating in its own blood inside a tub (cf. Fig. right), but the text is altered and the illustration omitted in the English translation.

True identity as child's ghost

Saintine follows the story above with a piece of lore that kobolds are regarded as (ghosts of) infants, and the tail ("caudal appendage") that they have represent the knife used to kill them. What Praetorius (1666) stated was that the goblin haunting a house often appeared in the guise of children with knives stuck in their backs, revealing them to be ghosts of children murdered in that manner.{{Refn, name="praetorius-childghost"

The lore that the kobold's true identity is the soul of a child who died unbaptized was current in the Vogland (including such belief held for the gutel of Erzgebirge).{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, pp=149–150 Like the soul, the kobold can assume any shape, even "sheer fire".{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, p=152

Cf. Grimm, the lore that unbaptized children become {{lang, de, pilweisse ({{interlanguage link, bilwis, de, lt=''bilwis''){{Refn, group="lower-alpha", The "Pilweise of Lauban" is regarded as being related to the stable-kobold, ''schretelein''. Cf. Schrat. Also, the ''Irrlicht'' (≈ will-o'-the-wisp), called {{lang, de, Dickepôten locally in the southern Altmark, were said to be the souls of unbaptized children.{{Refn, Dickepôten described as a name of a "Jack-o'-Lanterns" by Thorpe.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=158 This is presumably the will-o'the-wisp of Altmark referred to by C. P. G. Scott and Ashliman.

Goldemar's traces

Although King Goldemar (or Goldmar), a famous kobold from Castle Hardenstein, had hands "thin like those of a frog, cold and soft to the feel", he never showed himself.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=256 King Goldemar was said to sleep in the same bed with Neveling von Hardenberg. He demanded a place at the table and a stall for his horses.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=256 The master of Hudemühlen Castle, where Heinzelmann lived, convinced the kobold to let him touch him one night.

When a man threw ashes and tares about to try to see King Goldemar's footprints, the kobold cut him to pieces, put him on a spit, roasted him, boiled his legs and head, and ate him.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, pp=256–257

Fire phenomena

The kobold is said to appear as an oscillating fire-pillar ("stripe") with a part resembling a head, but appears in the guise of a black cat when it lands and is no longer airborne (Altmark, Saxony).{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=155 Benjamin Thorpe likens this to similar lore about the '' dråk'' ("drake") in Swinemünde (now Świnoujście), Pomerania.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=155

A legend from the same period taken from Pechüle, near Luckenwald, says that a ''drak'' (apparently corrupted from {{lang, de, Drache meaning "drake" or "dragon"{{Refn, Ashliman states the kobold is otherwise known as ''{{linktext, Drache'' which is standard non-dialect German for "dragon", but he prefers to render this as "drake".) or kobold flies through the air as a blue stripe and carries grain. "If a knife or a fire-steel be cast at him, he will burst, and must let fall what which he is carrying".{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=156 Some legends say the fiery kobold enters and exits a house through the chimney.{{harvp, Ashliman, 2006 "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHzDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA53 , 2=Fire", p. 53. Legends dating to 1852 from western Uckermark ascribe both human and fiery features to the kobold; he wears a red jacket and cap and moves about the air as a fiery stripe.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=156 Such fire associations, along with the name ''drake'', may point to a connection between kobold and dragon myths.

A {{interlanguage link, fire drake, ja, ファイアー・ドレイク could also refer to the will-o'-the-wisp during the Shakespearean period.{{Refn, Ashliman also makes note that "fire drake" referred to a will-o'-the-wisp in England too, at one time. And "fire drake" was used as shorthand for ''dråk'' of Pomerania{{efn, Kitteredge cites {{harvp, Jahn, 1886 ''Volkssagen aus Pommern und Rügen', pp. 105ff, 110, etc. by literary scholar George Lyman Kittredge,{{efn, Just as Ashliman used "drake" for the Pomeranian ''drak''. who went on to explain, that the German wisps, called {{lang, de, Irrlicht or {{lang, de, Feuermann ("fiery man") are conflate with, or rather indistinguishable from the German fire-drakes (''dråk'').{{harvp, Kittredge, 1900, p=431, n3, cont. to p. 432. To the ''Irrlicht'' is attached a folk belief about the fire-light being the soul of unbaptized children{{Refn, According to the appended note by anthologist Rochholz, cited by Kitteredge. a motif already noted for the kobold. And the cited story of the ''Feuermann'' ( Lausitz legend) explains it to be a wood-kobold ({{lang, de, Waldkobold) which sometimes entered houses and dwelled in the fireplace or chimney, like the Wendish "drake".

But the ''HdA'' does not furnish kobold names for "fire" or "wisp", and instead, {{lang, de, Dråk, Alf, Rôdjackte which are said to fly through air like an enflamed hay-pole ({{lang, de, Wiesbaum) laden with grain or gold (according to Pommeranian lore){{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, p=159 have all been categorized under the "I dragon names" category.{{Refn, ''HdA'', "Kobold", n 67) 68) 69) citing Zfdk 1, The connection between the fiery drak and the dragon-associated name in the Austrian dialect {{lang, de, Tragerl for shooting star is commented on by Ranke.{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, p=159 (cf. {{section link, , Animal form below for lore of kobolds hatching from eggs, thus leading to comparisons with basilisks and dragons).

Animal form

Other kobolds appear as non-human animals.{{sfnp, Lüthi, 1986, loc=p. 4, note* Folklorist D. L. Ashliman has reported kobolds appearing as wet cats and hens.

In Pomerania there are several tales specimens that a kobold, ''puk'', or {{lang, de, rôdjakte/rôdjackte hatches from a yolk-less chicken egg ({{lang, de, Spâei, Sparei),{{sfnp, Berger, 2001, p=163{{Refn, More specifically a kobold or {{lang, de, rôdjakte from an egg in Jahn, No. 154. from Kratzig (now Kraśnik Koszaliński). and Haas (1896) from Rügen, two tales. and in other tales, a kobold (aka "redjacket") appears in a cat's guise or a ''puk'' appears as a hen.{{sfnp, Berger, 2001, p=167

The comparison is readily made to the legend of the hen-hatched basilisk, and Polívka makes further comparisons to lore involving hens and dragons.

Thorpe has recorded that the people of Altmark believed that kobolds appeared as black cats while walking the earth.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, pp=155–156 The kobold Hinzelmann could appear as a black marten ({{langx, de, schwartzen Marder) and a large snake.{{rp, 111{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, pp=244–245

One lexicon glosses the French term for werewolf, '' loup-garou'', as kobold.{{Refn, Rädlein (1711), Loup-garou as Bär-Wolff, German Wehr-Wolff and Kobold, cited by Grimm ''DW'' "Kobold" 1. 1) b). This is somewhat underscored by the remark that werewolf transformation was considered an ability of sorcerers with unibrow, which was a physical mark shared with the Schratel spirit (as wood sprite).{{sfnp, Simrock, 1855, p=439

These do not comprise an exhaustive list of what forms the kobold can take on. The ''hinzelmann'' besides the cat appears as a "dog, hen, red or black bird, buck goat, dragon, and a fiery or bluish form", according to an old encyclopedic entry. Ranke (1910) gave a similar list for kobold transformations which includes bumblebee (''{{linktext, Hummel'').{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, p=152

Activities and interactions

Offerings and retributions

A kobold expects to be fed in the same place at the same time each day.

But it is known that the kobold becomes extremely dedicated to caring for its household, performing the chores and services in its maintenance, as in the case of the Hinzelmann. The association between kobolds and work gave rise to a saying current in 19th-century Germany that a woman who worked quickly "had the kobold" ("sie hat den Kobold").{{sfnp, Grimms, 1816, p=91

Legends tell of slighted kobolds becoming quite malevolent and vengeful, afflicting errant hosts with supernatural diseases, disfigurements, and injuries.{{sfnp, Lüthi, 1986, p=5 Their pranks range from beating the servants to murdering those who insult them.{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=139–142Rose 151–2.

In the story of the Chimmeken of the Mecklenburg Castle, (''supra'', dated 1327 given by Kantzow) the milk customarily put for the sprite by the kitchen was stolen by a kitchen-boy (''Küchenbube''), and the spirit consequently left the boy's dismembered body in a kettle of hot water.{{Refn, A variant about Chimmeke, localized in Loitz also exists. In comparison, a more amicable {{lang, de, pück anecdotally served monks at Mecklenburg monastery, bargaining for multicolored tunic with lots of bells in return for his services.{{Refn, Comparison made by Haas (1896) The latter tale occurs in Grimm (1854) {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCqo5yNwmGEC&pg=PA479, 2=''Deutsche Mythologie'', p. 479, 3te Ausgabe, Band I, and "II" is a misprint, {{= {{harvp, Grimm, Stallybrass tr., 1883, {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=P8AoAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA503 , 2=1: 503.

A similar episode of the vengeful {{lang, de, Hüdeken{{Refn, name="praetorius-feltcap" (normalized as {{lang, de, Hütchen{{Refn, Grimms ''DS'', and Francisci.) occurs in a chronicle of Hildesheim, c. 1500,{{Refn, Johannes Trithemius ''Chronicon Hirsaugiense, '' (1495–1503), translated by Ritson, and called an "old chronicle", in {{harvp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=141–142 {{Refn, These tales are regurgitated by Praetorius also, marked as #2.{{sfnp, Praetorius, 1666, pp=375–378 {{Refn, Also in Grimm's ''Deutsche Sagen'' "No. 74 Hütchen, a composite from several sources other than Praetorius, including modern oral tradition,{{sfnp, Aschner, 1909, p=63 with the kitchen tale at {{harvp, Grimms, 1816, pp=100–101.{{Refn, One of the Grimms' DS sources is Erasmus Francisci (1690)'s version. where the sprite exacted vengeance from the kitchen boy of the castle{{Refn, name="schelwig-stift" who had the habit of throwing kitchen filth on him; the sprite strangled the lad in his sleep, leaving the severed body parts cooking in a pot over the fire. The head cook who complained was pushed from the heights to his death.{{Refn, That the kobold "pushed (''{{linktext, stieß'')" the master cook off the bridge occurs in Grimms' ''DS''{{sfnp, Grimms, 1816, p=101 as in the various sources, i.e. Francisci,{{sfnp, Francisci, 1690, p=796 Tritemius and Ritson's translation, via Weyler. Thus the "illusory" bridge in Heine appears to be an embellishment.{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=141–142 {{Refn, The murder of the "Bishop of Hildesheim's Kitchen-boy" is retold in nursery rhyme fashion by M. A. B. Evans (1895).

According to Max Lüthi, the household spirits' being ascribed such abilities reflect the fear of the people who believe in them.{{sfnp, Lüthi, 1986, p=5

The bribe left to the household spirit was a combination of milk and bread according to multiple sources. In the printed edition of ''Der vielförmige Hintzelmann'' (1704), Hintzelmann was supposed to be provided with a bowl of sweet milk with white bread crumbled over it (as illustrated in the book).{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, pp=241, 243 The offering was to be milk and ''{{linktext, Semmel'' (bread roll) also according to a lexicon for Altmark.{{Refn, Danneil, Johann Friedrich (1839), quoted in Grimm, ''DW'' "Kobold". The offering was described as panada (bread nd milksoup) in the French retelling by Saintine.

Novelist Heinrich Heine noted in connection with the present (Hildesheim) tale that the favourite food was the gruel for the Scandinavian '' nisse''.{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, p=142

Other dairy lore

As a sort of the reverse of the offering, one tradition claims that the kobold will strew wood chips (sawdust, {{lang, de, Sägespäne) about the house and putting dirt or cow manure in the milk cans. And if the master of the house leaves the wood chips and drinks the soiled milk, the kobold is pleased and takes up residence at the household.{{sfnp, Grimms, 1816, p=91{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=239{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, p=143

The bribe put out for the kobold may be butter, for example, the Niß Puk of the Bombüll farmstead at Wiedingharde in Schleswieg-Holstein would tend to the {{linktext, milchcows, but demanded a morsel of butter on a plate each evening, and the Puk would choke the best milking cow if it was not provided.

According to the lore from South Tyrol (now part of Italy), the Stierl farmstead at {{ill, Unterinn, de experienced the trouble where the farmer's wife could not make butter for all her churning in the bucket ({{lang, de, Kübel).{{Refn, group="lower-alpha", This is similar to the lore that the mine-kobold (properly ''kobel'') was thought responsible for swapping silver with then worthless cobalt; the silver-mining operation also involved used of the bucket ''Kübel'', which Muerller-Fraureuth conjecturesd was the root of the sprite's name ''kobel''. The farmer decided it was the doings of a kobold, and went down to the basement where lived Kröll Anderle who was learned in the magic books,{{efn, Of this character, there is a separate legend, "109. Vom Kröll Anderle" is told in Heyl, p. 290. and Anderle gave instructions to dip a glowing hot skewer into the liquid while churning the bucket under the eaves, which succeeded. But the kobold driven out repaid the farmer's wife with a hot log leaving her a permanent burn injury.

Good-evil duality

Archibald MacLaren has attributed kobold behaviour to the virtue of the homeowners; a virtuous house has a productive and helpful kobold; a vice-filled one has a malicious and mischievous pest. If the hosts give up those things to which the kobold objects, the spirit ceases its annoying behaviour.{{sfnp, MacLaren, 1857, p=224 Hinzelmann punished profiligacy and vices such as miserliness and pride;{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=246 for example, when the haughty secretary of Hudemühlen was sleeping with the chamber maid, the kobold interrupted a sexual encounter and hit the secretary with a broom handle{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=250 King Goldemar revealed the secret transgressions of clergymen, much to their chagrin.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=256

Even friendly kobolds are rarely completely good,{{sfnp, Lüthi, 1986, p=4 and house kobolds may do mischief for no particular reason. They hide things, push people over when they bend to pick something up, and make noise at night to keep people awake.{{sfnp, Saintine, 1862, p=290 The kobold Hödeken of Hildesheim roamed the walls of the castle at night, forcing the watch to be constantly vigilant.{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=141–142 A kobold in a fishermen's house on the Wendish Spree, about a German mile ({{convert, 7.5, km, mi) from the Köpenick quarter of Berlin, reportedly moved sleeping fishermen so that their heads and toes lined up.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, pp=83–84 King Goldemar enjoyed strumming the harp and playing dice.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=256

Good fortune

A kobold can bring wealth to his household in the form of grain and gold. In this function it often is called Drak. A legend from Saterland and East Friesland tells of a kobold called the ''Alrûn'' (which is the German term for mandrake). In the tale from Nordmohr/Nortmoor, E. Friesland, now Low Saxony) despite standing only about a foot tall, the creature could carry a load of rye in his mouth for the people with whom he lived and did so daily as long as he received a meal of biscuits (''Zwieback'') and milk.{{harvp, Kuhn, Schwartz, 1848 "C. Gerbräuche und Aberglauben", "XVI. Dråk, kobold" No. 220, p. 423{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, pp=156–157 Kobolds bring good luck and help their hosts as long as the hosts take care of them.

The kobold Hödekin, who lived with the bishop of Hildesheim in the 12th century, once warned the bishop of a murder. When the bishop acted on the information, he was able to take over the murderer's lands and add them to his bishopric.{{sfnp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=141–142

The house-spirit in some areas were called ''Alrûn'' ("mandrake"), though this was also the name of a trinket sold in bottles,{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=49 which instead of being genuine mandrake could be any doll shaped from some plant root. And the saying ''to have an Alrûn in one's pocket'' means "to have luck at play".{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, pp=156–157 However, kobold gifts may be stolen from the neighbours; accordingly, some legends say that gifts from a kobold are demonic or evil. Nevertheless, peasants often welcome this trickery and feed their kobold in the hopes that it continue bringing its gifts. A family coming into unexplained wealth was often attributed to a new kobold moving into the house.

Eradication

Folktales tell of people trying to rid themselves of mischievous kobolds. In one tale, a man with a kobold-haunted barn puts all the straw onto a cart, burns the barn down, and sets off to start anew. As he rides away, he looks back and sees the kobold sitting behind him. "It was high time that we got out!" it says.{{sfnp, Ashliman, 2006, p=47 A similar tale from Köpenick tells of a man trying to move out of a kobold-infested house. He sees the kobold preparing to move too and realises that he cannot rid himself of the creature.

Exorcism by a Christian priest works in some tales; in certain versions of the Hödekin in the kitchen of the castle enfeoffed to the Bishop of Hildesheim, the bishop managed to exorcise Hödekin using "ecclesiastical censures" or church-spells. The attempts to expel the Hintzelmann from the Castle Hudemühlen by a nobleman and later by an exorcist trying to use a book of holy spells were foiled; it later left of its own will.

Insulting a kobold may drive it away, but not without a curse; when someone tried to see his true form, Goldemar left the home and vowed that the house would now be as unlucky as it had been fortunate under his care.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=257

Other specialized kobolds

Other than the mine spirit kobold above, there are others "house spirits" that haunt shops, ships , etc. places of various professions.

The Klabautermann (cf. also {{section link, , Klabautermann below) is a kobold from the beliefs of fishermen and sailors of the Baltic Sea.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=240 Adalbert Kuhn recognized in northern Germany the form {{lang, de, Klabåtersmanneken (syn. {{lang, de, Pûkse) which haunted mills and ships, subsisted on the milk put out for them, and in return performed chores such as milking cows, grooming horse, helping the kitchen, or scrubbing the ship.

The ''bieresel'', sometimes called a type of kobold{{Refn, name="kuhn&schwartz-bieresel" live in breweries and the beer cellars of inns or pubs, bring beer into the house, clean the tables, and wash the bottles, glasses and casks. The family must leave a can of beer,{{Refn, name="kuhn&schwartz-bieresel", Kuhn&Schwartz (1848) under section "XVI. Dråk, kobold",{{harvp, Kuhn, Schwartz, 1848 "C. Gerbräuche und Aberglauben", "XVI. Dråk, kobold" No. 221 (Bieresel, von Grochwitz bei Torgau), p. 423 translated by Thorpe under section "Dråk-Kobold-Fire-drake".{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, p=157 (cf. Hödfellow) and must treat the kobold with respect, never mocking or laughing at the creature.

Klabautermann

{{main, Klabautermann

The Klabautermann is a spirit that dwells in ships, according to the beliefs of the seafaring folk around the Baltic Sea in Germany and Netherlands, etc.{{sfnp, Kirby, Hinkkanen, 2013, p=48 The spirit has been classed as a ship-kobold{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, pp=162–163 and is sometimes even called a "kobold".{{sfnp, Kirby, Hinkkanen, 2013, p=48 The Klabautermann typically appears as a small, pipe-smoking humanlike figure wearing a red or grey jacket, or yellow attire, wearing nightcap-style sailor's hat or a pair of yellow hoses and riding boots, and a "steeple-crowned" pointy hat.{{Refn, name="Obersteuermann-Werner", Kuhn&Schwartz, with first mate (''Obersteuermann'') Werner from Hamburg as informant.{{sfnp, Thorpe, 1852, pp=49–50

Klabautermanns may be benevolent and aid the ship's crews in their tasks, but also be a menace or nuisance. For example, it may help pump water from the hold, arrange cargo, and hammer at holes until they can be repaired. But they can pull pranks with the tackle lines as well.

The Klabautermann is associated with the wood of the ship on which it lives. It enters the ship via the wood used to build it, and it may appear as a ship's carpenter. It is said that if an unbaptized child is buried in a heath under a tree, and that timber is used to build a ship, the child's soul will become the klabautermann which will inhabit that ship.{{sfnp, Ranke, 1910, pp=162–163

Parallels

Kobold beliefs mirror legends of similar creatures in other regions of Europe, and scholars have argued that the names of creatures such as goblins and ''kabouters'' derive from the same roots as ''kobold''. This may indicate a common origin for these creatures, or it may represent cultural borrowings and influences of European peoples upon one another. Similarly, subterranean kobolds may share their origins with creatures such as gnomes and dwarves.

Sources equate the domestic kobold with creatures such as the Danish {{lang, da, nis{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=239 and Swedish tomte, Scottish brownie,{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=239 the Devonshire pixy, English boggart, and English hobgoblin.{{sfnp, Keightley, 1850, p=239

If the definition of kobold is extended beyond the house sprite and extended to mine spirits and subterranean dwellers (aka gnomes), then the parallels to mine-kobolds can be recognized in the Cornish knocker and the English bluecap Summers, Montague, {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJY0AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA216 , 2=p. 216, note 4. in Taillepied, Noël (1933) 588''A Treatise of Ghosts: Being the Psichologie, Or Treatise Upon Apparitions'', Translated by Summers, London: Fortune Press. as well as the Welsh coblynau.

Irish writer Thomas Keightley argued that the German kobold and the Scandinavian nis predate the Irish fairy and the Scottish brownie and influenced the beliefs in those entities, but modern folklorist Richard Mercer Dorson noted Keightley's bias as a strong adherent of Grimm, embracing the thesis of regarding ancient Teutonic mythology as underlying all sorts of folklore.

British antiquarian Charles Hardwick ventured a theory that the spirits like the kobold in other cultures, such as the Scottish bogie, French goblin, and English Puck were also etymologically related.{{Refn, Roby, John (1829). ''Traditions of Lancashire''. Quoted in Hardwick, p. 139. The sources spell the word ''khobalus''. In keeping with Grimm's definition, the ''kobaloi'' were spirits invoked (i.e., used as invective?) by such tongue-wagging rogues.Liddell and Scott (1940). ''A Greek–English Lexicon''. s.v. "{{URL, 1=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2358260&redirect=true , 2=koba_l-os, ho". Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Oxford: Clarendon Press. {{ISBN, 0-19-864226-1. Online version retrieved 25 February 2008.

The ''zashiki-warashi'' (lit. 'sitting-room lad') of Japanese folklore parallels the kobold. Many points of commonality have been pointed out, for instance, the house inhabited by the sprite flourishes, but will fall to ruin once it leaves. The ''warashi'' is also of prankish nature,{{sfnp, Tsunoda, 2007, p=24 but does not actually help out with household chores.{{sfnp, Tsunoda, 2007, p=24 Both sprites can be appeased by offerings of favorite food, which is {{interlanguage link, sekihan, ja, 赤飯, lt=''azuki-meshi'' (" adzuki rice") for the Japanese version.{{sfnp, Tsunoda, 2007, p=24

In culture

Literary references

German writers have long borrowed from German folklore and fairy lore for both poetry and prose. Narrative versions of folktales and fairy tales are common, and kobolds are the subject of several such tales.
The kobold is invoked by Martin Luther in his Bible, translates the Hebrew ''lilith'' in Isaiah 34:14 as ''kobold''.Jeffrey, David Lyle, ed. (1992). ''A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English Literature''. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. {{ISBN, 0-8028-3634-8, p. 452.

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust'', the kobold represents the Greek element of earth.{{Refn, {{blockquote, Salamander shall glow,
Undine twine,
Sylph vanish,
Kobold be moving.

Who did not know
The elements,...
, Goethe, tr. Hayward This merely goes to show that Goethe saw fit to substitute "kobold" for the gnome of the earth, one of Paracelsus's four spirits. In ''Faust'' Part II, v. 5848, Goethe uses ''Gütchen'' (syn. ''Güttel'' above) as synonym for his gnome.

Theatrical and musical works

A kobold is musically depicted in Edvard Grieg's lyric piece, opus 71, number 3.

''Der Kobold'', Op. 3, is also Opera in Three Acts with text and music by Siegfried Wagner; his third opera and it was completed in 1903.

The kobold characters Pittiplatsch occurs in modern East German puppet theatre. . Pumuckl the kobold originated as a children's radio play series (1961).

Games and D&D literature

Kobolds also appear in many modern fantasy-themed games like ''Clash of Clans'' and ''Hearthstone'', usually as a low-power or low-level enemy. They exist as a playable race in the ''Dark Age of Camelot'' video game. They also exist as a non-playable rat-like race in the ''World of Warcraft'' video game series, and also feature in tabletop games such as '' Magic: The Gathering''. In ''Dungeons & Dragons'', the kobold appears as an occasionally playable race of lizard-like beings. In ''Might and Magic'' games (notably '' Heroes VII''), they are depicted as being mouse-dwarf hybrids. In the video game Home Safety Hotline, Kobolds appear as humanoid creatures with dog-like faces.

Fantasy novels and anime

The fantasy novel ''Record of Lodoss War'' adapted into anime depicts kobolds as dog-like, based on earlier versions of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', resulting in many Japanese media depictions doing the same.

In the novel ''American Gods'', by Neil Gaiman, Hinzelmann is portrayed as an ancient kobold who helps the city of Lakeside in exchange for killing one teenager once a year.

In the novel '' The Spirit Ring'' by Lois McMaster Bujold, mining kobolds help the protagonists and display a fondness for milk. In an author's note, Bujold attributes her conception of kobolds to the Herbert Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover translation of '' De re metallica''.

See also

{{Commons category, Kobolds
* {{annotated link, The Bottle Imp
* {{annotated link, Friar Rush
* {{annotated link, Gremlin
* {{annotated link, Hödekin
* {{annotated link, Kobold (Dungeons & Dragons)
* {{annotated link, Gütel
* {{annotated link, Niß Puk
* {{annotated link, Yōsei

Explanatory notes

{{notelist

References

;Citations
{{Reflist, 2, refs=
{{cite book, last=Agricola , first=Georgius , author-link=Georgius Agricola , editor=Johannes Sigfridus , chapter=37 , title=Georgii Agricolae De Animantibus subterraneis , place=Witebergæ , publisher=Typis Meisnerianis , year=1614, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=laGePXl89xwC&pg=PA78 , pages=78–79

{{cite book, last=Agricola , first=Georgius , author-link=Georgius Agricola , chapter=Animantium nomina latina, graega, q'ue germanice reddita, quorum author in Libro de subterraneis animantibus meminit , title=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 , location=Basel , publisher=Sumptibus & Typis Emanuelis König , year=1657 , orig-year=1530 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uCClFLX0CwUC&pg=PA762 , at=p. 62, quote={{smallcaps, Dæmonum: ''Dæmon subterraneus trunculentus'': bergterufel; ''mitis'' bergmenlein/kobel/guttel

{{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Agricola, Hoovers trr., 1912, last=Agricola , first=Georgius , author-link=Georgius Agricola , others=Translated by Hoover, Herbert Clark and Lou Henry Hoover , title=Georgius Agricola De Re Metallica: Tr. from the 1st Latin Ed. of 1556 (Books I–VIII) , location=London , publisher=The Mining Magazine , year=1912 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MfFYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA217 , at=p. 217, n26; {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=TvFYAAAAYAAJ7, 2=Second Part, Books IX–XII

{{cite encyclopedia, editor1-last=Ersch, editor1-first=Johann Samuel , editor1-link=Johann Samuel Ersch , editor2-last=Gruber, editor2-first=Johann Gottfried , editor2-link=Johann Gottfried Gruber , entry=Glücksmännchen , title=Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste , volume=1 , location=Leipzig , publisher=Brockhaus , year=1860, entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQndsknDKBAC&pg=PA303 , pages=303–304

{{cite encyclopedia, editor-last=Leskien , editor-first=August , editor-link=August Leskien , entry=Kobold , title=Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste , volume=2 , location=Leipzig , publisher=Brockhaus , year=1885, entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPlBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA372 , pages=372–373

{{cite encyclopedia, editor-last= , editor-first= , editor-link= , entry=Kobold , title=Allgemeine deutsche Real-Encyclopädie für die gebildeten Stände , volume=5 , edition=5 , location=Leipzig , publisher=Brockhaus , year=1819 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNVo8Jvv8rwC&pg=PA455 , pages=455–456

{{cite book, last=Arrowsmith, first=Nancy , author-link= , title=Field Guide to the Little People: A Curious Journey Into the Hidden Realm of Elves, Faeries, Hobgoblins and Other Not-So-Mythical Creatures , location=Woodbury, Minnesota , publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide , year=2009 , orig-year=1977 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kVShTntxrowC&pg=PA126 , page=126 , isbn=9780738715490

{{cite wikisource, last=Baring-Gould , first=Sabine , author-link=Sabine Baring-Gould , chapter=Chapter IX Pixies and Brownies , title=A Book of Folklore , location=Lonodon , publisher=Collins Cleartype Press , year=1913 , wslink=A Book of Folklore , chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Book_of_Folklore/Chapter_9 , page=223

{{cite book, editor-last=Bartsch , editor-first=Karl , editor-link=Karl Bartsch , chapter=No. 85 Das Petermännchen zu Schwerin , title=
Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Meklenburg , volume=1 , location=Wien , publisher=Wilhelm Braumüller , year=1879 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1BMHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA66
, pages=66–74

{{cite journal, last=Black , first=William George , author-link=William George Black , title=Ghost miners , journal=Notes and Queries , series=8 , date=18 March 1893, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nECFbfG0znIC&pg=PA205 , pages=205–206

{{cite journal, last=Makita , first=Shigeru , author-link=:ja:牧田茂 , title=World authority on folklore: Yanagita Kunio , journal=Japan Quarterly , volume=20 , date=1973 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ABIVAAAAMAAJ&q=kobold , page=286 , quote=kobold-like boy-sprites said to dwell in old houses (''zashiki-warashi''), the beaked, shell-backed water imps known as ''kappa''..

Brewer, E. Cobham (1880), "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=fzoFAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA520, 2=Klabotermann". ''The reader's handbook of allusions, references, plots and stories''. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott.

{{cite dictionary, last=Brewer , first=Ebenezer Cobham , author-link=Ebenezer Cobham Brewer , entry=Cobalt , title=Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Giving the Derivation, Source, Or Origin of Common Phrases, Allusions, and Words that Have a Tale to Tell , edition=new, revised, corrected, and enlarged , volume=1 , location=London , publisher=Cassell , year=1898 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x2lJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA267 , page=267

{{cite book, last=Britten , first=Emma Hardinge , author-link=Emma Hardinge Britten , title=Nineteenth century miracles, or, Spirits and their work in every country of the earth : a complete historical compendium of the great movement known as "modern spiritualism" , location=New York , publisher=Published by William Britten : Lovell & Co., year=1884, url=https://archive.org/details/nineteenthcentur01brit/page/32/mode/2up , pages=32–33

{{cite dictionary, last=Brückner , first=Alexander , author-link=Alexander Brückner , entry=Skrzat , title=Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego , volume=8 Pušlisko-Stalmach , location= Kraków , publisher=Nakładem Krakowskiej Spółki Wydawniczej , year=1926 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iV8VAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA497 , page=267

{{cite book, last=Bunce , first=John Thackray , author-link=John Thackray Bunce , title=Fairy Tales, Their Origin and Meaning: With Some Account of Dwellers in Fairyland , location=London , publisher=Macmillan , year=1878 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EltMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA138 , pages=138–142, isbn=978-0-608-32300-8

The Writers of Chantilly (2002). "Knock, Knock, Knock!", ''We Celebrate the Macabre''. Xlibris. ISBN 1401066062. p. 98

Danneil, Johann Friedrich (1839) s.v. {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=XSVbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA111 , 2=Kobbold", ''Wörterbuch der altmärkisch-plattdeutschen Mundart'' pp. 111–112

s.v. "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFP7sdVk08sC&pg=PA285 , 2=*Procubare", Diefenbach, Lorenz (1867). ''Novum glossarium latino-germanicum'' , p. 304. Citing '7V. vrat. sim.' 9

Diefenbach, Lorenz (1867) ''Novum glossarium latino-germanicum'' "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=YFP7sdVk08sC&pg=PR22 , 2=Quellen", p. xxii

Dorson, Richard Mercer (1999). "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=DiCjLRGRkS4C&pg=PA5 , 2=The Antiquary Folklorists". ''History of British Folklore, Volume I: The British Folklorists: A History''. Taylor & Francis. {{ISBN, 0-415-20476-3, p. 54.

{{cite book, last=Dowden , first=Ken , author-link=Ken Dowden , title=European Paganism , location=London , publisher=Routledge , year=2000 , url= , pages=229–230 , isbn=0-415-12034-9; reprinted in:
{{cite book, last=Dowden , first=Ken , author-link=Ken Dowden , title=European Paganism , location= , publisher=Taylor & Francis , year=2013 , orig-year=2000 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Aqtvs6IaaYC&q=kobold , pages=229–230 , isbn=9781134810215

{{cite encyclopedia, last=Dünnhaupt , first=Gerhard , author-link=Gerhard Dünnhaupt , entry=Johann Praetorius , title=Bibliographisches Handbuch der Barockliteratur: hundert Personalbibliographien deutscher Autoren des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts , volume=2 , location= , publisher=Hiersemann , year=1980 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?q=katzen , page=1424, isbn=9783777280295

{{cite journal, last=Ellett , first=Elizabeth F. , author-link=Elizabeth F. Ellet , title=Traditions and Superstitions , journal=The American Whig Review: A Whig Journal , volume=III , location=New York , publisher=George H. Colton , date=January 1846 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mn_QAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA107 , pages=107–108

{{cite encyclopedia, editor1-last=Kluge , editor1-first=Friedrich , editor1-link=Friedrich Kluge , editor2-last=Seebold , editor2-first=Elmar , editor2-link=Elmar Seebold , entry=Heinzelmännchen , title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache , edition=25 , location= , publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG , year=2012 , orig-year=1899 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6FSSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA406 , page=406 , isbn=9783110223651
{{cite encyclopedia, editor1-last=Kluge , editor1-first=Friedrich , editor1-link=Friedrich Kluge , editor2-last=Seebold , editor2-first=Elmar , editor2-link=Elmar Seebold , entry=Kobold , title=Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache , edition=25 , location= , publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG , year=2012 , orig-year=1899 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6FSSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA510 , page=510, isbn=9783110223651

{{cite book, last=Evans , first=M. A. B. , author-link=M. A. B. Evans , others=Illustrated by William A. McCullough , chapter=The Kobold and the Bishop of Hidesheim's Kitchen-boy , title=Nymphs, Nixies and Naiads: Legends of the Rhine , location=New York , publisher=G.P. Putnam's sons , year=1895 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ktAAAAAYAAJpg , page=33 , isbn=9780738715490

{{cite book, last=Francisci , first=Erasmus , author-link=Erasmus Francisci , title=Der Höllische Proteus; oder, Tausendkünstige Versteller: vermittelst Erzehlung der vielfältigen Bildverwechslungen erscheinender Gespenster, werffender und poltrender Geister, gespenstischer Vorzeichen der Todes-Fälle, wie auch andrer abentheurlicher Händel, arglistiger Possen, und seltsamer ... , location=Nürnberg , publisher=In Verlegung W.M. Endters , year=1690 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPlkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA792 , page=793 (pp. 792–798)

{{cite book, last=Fentsch , first=Eduard , author-link= , chapter=4ter Abschnitt. Volkssage und Volksglaube in Oberfranken , editor-last=Riehl , editor-first=Wilhelm Heinrich , editor-link=Wilhelm Heinrich Riehl , title=Bavaria: Landes- und volkskunde des königreichs Bayern , volume=3 , location=München , publisher=J. G. Cotta , year=1865 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgJAAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA306 , pages=305–307

{{cite book , title= The Fairies and the Christmas Child , chapter= Chapter IX: The Little White Feather , last=Gask , first=Lilian , author-link= Lilian Gask , others=Illustrated by Willy Pogány , location= London , publisher= Harrap & Co., n.d. , publication-date= 1912 , pages= 186–196 , chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/fairieschristmas00gask/page/186/mode/2up; {{URL, 1=https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/gask/child/child.html , 2=HTML version @ UPenn digital library

{{cite book, last=Goethe , first=Johann Wolfgang von , author-link=Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , editor-last=Thomas , editor-first=Calvin , editor-link=Calvin Thomas (linguist) , title=Faust, the Second Part , volume=2 , location=Boston , publisher=D.C. Heath , year=1897 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ohU_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA366 , page=366

{{cite book, last=Goethe, first=Johann Wolfgang von , author-link=Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , translator=Abraham Hayward , translator-link=Abraham Hayward , title=Faust , edition=6 , location=London , publisher=Edward Moxon , year=1855 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQj4P1FXrooC&pg=PA38 , page=38

{{cite journal, last=Grässe , first=Johann Georg Theodor , author-link=Johann Georg Theodor Grässe , title=Zur Geschichte des Puppenspiels , journal=Die Wissenschaften im neunzehnten Jahrhundert, ihr Standpunkt und die Resultate ihrer Forschungen: Eine Rundschau zur Belehrung für das gebildete Publikum , volume=1 , publisher=Romberg , year=1856, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rnUsBl0V_78C&pg=PA660 , pages=559–660

{{cite book, last=Grässe , first=Johann Georg Theodor , author-link=Johann Georg Theodor Grässe , chapter=469. Der Chimmeke in Loitz , title=Sagenbuch des preussischen Staats , volume=2 , location=Glogau , publisher=Carl Flemming , year=1867 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIyBNYBJknkC&pg=PA496 , page=496

{{harvp, Grimms, 1816. ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 71 "Kobold", pp. 90–92
{{harvp, Grimms, 1816. ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 74 "Hütchen", pp. 97–103
{{harvp, Grimms, 1816. ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 75 "Hinzelmann", pp. 103–128
{{harvp, Grimms, 1816. ''Deutsche Sagen'' No. 76 "Klopfer", p. 128

Grimms; Hildebrand, Rudolf (1868). ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'', Band 5, s.v. "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERSZv4n2zpEC&pg=PA1537 , 2=Kobalt"
Grimms; Hildebrand, Rudolf (1868). ''Deutsches Wörterbuch'', Band 5, s.v. "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERSZv4n2zpEC&pg=PA1547 , 2=Kobold"

{{cite book, last=Haas , first=Alfred , author-link=:de:Alfred Haas (Volkskundler) , title=Aus pommerschen Hexenprozessakten: ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des pommerschen Volksglaubens
, location=Stetten , publisher=F. Hessenland , year=1896 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f7JNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA13 , page=13

{{cite book, last=Haupt , first=Karl , author-link=:de:Karl Haupt (Volkskundler) , chapter=60. Der Feuermann. , title=Sagenbuch der Lausitz: ¬Das Geisterreich , volume=1 , location=Leipzig , publisher=Wilhelm Engelmann , year=1862 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2EAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA60 , page=60

Burren (1931). "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=89G1DwAAQBAJ&pg=RA3-PA181 , 2=Gütel, Gütchen, Jüdel, Jütel, usw. (Dämonenname)". ''HdA'', 3: 1233–1236-->

Marzell, Heinrich (1927). "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwsNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA311 , 2=Alraun". ''HdA'', 1: 312–324-->
Jacoby, Adolf (1927). "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwsNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1479 , 2=Boppelgebet". ''HdA'', 1: 1479–1480

Ranke, Kurt (1927).{{anchor, CITEREFRanke1927 "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwsNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1763 , 2=Alp (Alptraum)". ''HdA'', 1: 1763–1764
{{cite dictionary, ref={{SfnRef, Ranke, 1936 , last=Ranke , first=Kurt , author-link=Kurt Ranke , entry=Schrat, Schrättel (Schraz, Schrätzel) , editor1-last=Bächtold-Stäubli , editor1-first=Hanns , editor1-link=:de:Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli , editor2-last=Hoffmann-Krayer , editor2-first=Eduard , editor2-link=Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer , title=Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens , volume=Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur , location=Berlin , publisher=Walter de Gruyter , date=1987 , orig-date=1936 , url=https://archive.org/details/handworterbuch-des-deutschen-aberglaubens-vollstandig-band-01-bis-10-berlin-1987/page/n3053/mode/2up , pages=1285–1286 , isbn=3-11-011194-2

{{cite dictionary, ref={{SfnRef, Weiser-Aall, 1933 , last=Weiser-Aall, first=Lily , author-link=Lily Weiser-Aall, entry=Kobold , editor1-last=Bächtold-Stäubli , editor1-first=Hanns , editor1-link=:de:Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli , editor2-last=Hoffmann-Krayer , editor2-first=Eduard , editor2-link=Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer , title=Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens , volume=Band 5 Knoblauch-Matthias , location=Berlin , publisher=Walter de Gruyter , date=1987 , orig-date=1933 , url=https://archive.org/details/handworterbuch-des-deutschen-aberglaubens-vollstandig-band-01-bis-10-berlin-1987/page/n1827/mode/2up , pages=31–33, isbn=3-11-011194-2

Hardwick, Charles (1980 872. ''Traditions, Superstitions, and Folk-lore''. Lancanshire: Ayer Publishing. {{ISBN, 0-405-13333-2.

{{cite book, last=Hawhee , first=Debra , author-link= , title=Rhetoric in Tooth and Claw: Animals, Language, Sensation , location= , publisher=University of Chicago Press , year=2020 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AL4lEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 , page=60 , isbn=9780226706771

{{cite book, editor-last=Heyl , editor-first=Johann Adolf , editor-link= , chapter=38. Der Kobold auf dem Stierlhof , title=Volkssagen, Bräuche und Meinungen aus Tirol , location=Brixen , publisher=Kath.-polit. Pressverein , year=1897 , pages=227–228

{{cite book, last=Hilgers , first=Heribert A. , author-link=:de:Heribert A. Hilgers , chapter=Die Herkunft der Kölner Heinzelmännchen , editor-last=Schäfke , editor-first=Werner , editor-link=:de:Werner Schäfke , title=Heinzelmännchen: Beiträge zu einer Kölner Sage , location= , publisher=Kölnisches Stadtmuseum , year=2001a , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZUSAQAAIAAJ&q=Weyden , page=49 , isbn=9780738715490
{{cite book, last=Hilgers , first=Heribert A. , author-link=:de:Heribert A. Hilgers , author-mask=2 , chapter=Kopischs „Heinzelmännchen“ auf Kölsch , editor-last=Schäfke , editor-first=Werner , editor-link=:de:Werner Schäfke , title=Heinzelmännchen: Beiträge zu einer Kölner Sage , location= , publisher=Kölnisches Stadtmuseum , year=2001b , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZUSAQAAIAAJ&q=Restauration , page=119 , isbn=9780738715490

{{cite book, last=Horton , first=Michael , author-link=Michael Horton (theologian) , chapter=Chapter 3. Shaman to Sage § Assimilation to an Erstwhile Minor Shamanic Deity , title=Shaman and Sage: The Roots of "Spiritual but Not Religious" in Antiquity , location= , publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing , year=2024 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TG7QEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT129 , pages= , isbn= 9781467467902

{{cite journal, last=Johansons , first=Andrejs , author-link=:lv:Andrejs Johansons , title=Der Kesselhaken im Volksglauben der Letten , journal=Zeitschrift für Ethnologie , volume=87 , year=1962 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BW0rAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Stätte%22, page=74

{{cite journal, last=Johansson, first=Karl Ferdinand , author-link= , title=Sanskritische Etymologien , journal=Indogermanische Forschungen , volume=2 , date=1893 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=58BDAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA50 , page=50

{{cite dictionary, last=Jungmann , first=Josef , author-link=Josef Jungmann , entry=SKŘET , title=Slownjk česko-německý , volume=4 S–U , location=Prague , publisher=Knjžecj arcibiskupská tiskárna, Josefa wdowa Fetterlowá , date=1838 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ht6Y2QgJSK0C&pg=PA119 , pages=119

{{cite book, last=Kantzow , first=Thomas , author-link=Thomas Kantzow , editor-last=Kosegarten, editor-first=Johann Gottfried Ludwig , editor-link=Johann Gottfried Ludwig Kosegarten , title=Pomerania, oder Ursprunck, Altheit und Geschicht der Völcker und Lande Pomern, Cassuben c., location=Greifswald , publisher=in Commission bey Ernst Mauritius , year=1816 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rmcIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA333 , page=333

{{cite book, last=Keightley , first=Thomas , author-link=Thomas Keightley , chapter=Heinzelmännchen , title=The Fairy Mythology , volume=2 , location=London , publisher=William Harrison Ainsworth , year=1828 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IctcAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA29 , pages=29–31

{{cite book, last1=Kirby , first1=David , author1-link=David Kirby (historian) , last2=Hinkkanen , first2=Merja-Liisa , author2-link= , title=The Baltic and the North Seas , location=London , publisher=Routledge , year=2013 , orig-year=2000 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bm9c02nBqOcC&pg=PA48 , pages= , isbn= 9781136169540

{{cite book, last=Köhler , first=Joseph August Ernst , author-link=:de:Ernst Köhler (Volkskundler) , chapter=XIII. Sagen §50. Das Heugütel , title=Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande: Mit Berücks. d. Orlagau's u. d. Pleißnerlandes. Ein Beitr. z. Kulturgeschichte d. Voigtländer , location=Leipzig , publisher=Fleischer , year=1867, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW4AAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA476 , page=476

{{cite journal, last=Kretschmer , first=Paul , author-link=Paul Kretschmer , title=Weiteres zur Urgeschichte der Inder , journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung auf dem Gebiete der indogermanischen Sprachen , volume=55 , date=1928 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYpVkrS47n8C&pg=PA87 , at=p. 89 and p. 87, n2

{{cite journal, last=Kriechbaum , first=Eduard , author-link= , title=Das Donnerloch , journal=Heimatgaue: Zeitschrift für oberösterreichische Geschichte, Landes- und Voklskunde , volume=1 , date=1920 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sKq4soCFjiQC&pg=PA189, pages=188–189

{{cite journal, last=Künzig , first=Johannes , author-link=:de:Johannes Künzig , title=Ghost miners , journal=Badische Heimat , volume=17 , date=1930 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ELsrAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA112 , pages=112ff

{{harvp, Kuhn, Schwartz, 1848 "C. Gerbräuche und Aberglauben", "XVI. "Der klabautermann sitzt.." No. 222, p. 423

{{void, {{cite encyclopedia, last= , first= , author-link= , entry=Fairy of the Mine , title= The London Encyclopædia, or Universal Dictionary of Science, Art, Literature, and Practical Mechanics, Comprising a Popular View of the Present State of Knowledge , volume=IX , location=London , publisher=Thomas Tegg , year=1829, entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YUEKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA23 , pages=23–24

{{cite dictionary, last=Lecouteux , first=Claude , author-link=Claude Lecouteux , entry=BERGMÄNNCHEN (''Bergmännlein, Bergmönch, Knappenmanndl, Kobel, Gütel; gruvrå'' in Sweden) , title=Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic , publisher=Simon and Schuster , date=2016 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT58 , pages= , isbn=9781620554814
{{cite dictionary, last=Lecouteux , first=Claude , author-link=Claude Lecouteux , entry=Dwarf names, title=Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic , publisher=Simon and Schuster , date=2016 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmAoDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT48 , pages= , isbn=9781620554814

{{cite book, author=Library of the Surgeon General's Office , author-link=Library of the Surgeon General's Office , chapter=Agricola , title=Index-catalogue of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office, United States Army (Army Medical Library) , edition=4 , location= , publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office , year=1941 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qZ8UmGlwOYwC&pg=RA2-PA24 , pages=24–28

{{cite book, last=Lockwood , first=William Burley , author-link=William Burley Lockwood , title=German Today: The Advanced Learner's Guide , location= , publisher=Clarendon Press , year=1987 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gN8rAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Schalk%22+joker, pages=29, 32 , isbn= 9780198158042

{{cite encyclopedia, last=Lurker , first=Manfred , author-link= , entry=Fairy of the Mine , title=The Routledge Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses, Devils and Demons , edition=3 , location=London , publisher=Routledge , year=2004 , entry-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vtj0wSsw1JcC&pg=PA103 , page=103 , isbn=0-415-34018-7

{{cite book, last=Luther , first=Martin , author-link=Martin Luther , chapter=Von einem Teufels-Heintzlein , title=Tischreden Oder Colloqvia Doct. Mart. Luthers , location=Eisleben , publisher=Gaubisch , year=1566 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6LLjw0c9ckC&pg=PA619 , page=619

{{cite book, last=Luther , first=Martin , author-link=Martin Luther , editor-last=Förstemann , editor-first=Karl Eduard , editor-link=:de:Karl Eduard Förstemann , chapter=135. Von einem Teufels-Heinzlein , title=D. Martin Luther's Tischreden: oder, Colloquia , location=Leipzig , publisher=Gebauer'sche buchhandlung (E. Schimmel) , year=1846 , orig-year=1566 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9oITSdCVNW0C&pg=PA93 , page=93 , series=D. Martin Luther's Sämmtliche schriften 13

{{harvp, Meiche, 1903 "389. Noch mehr von Heugütel", pp. 292–293

{{cite book, last=Meiger , first=Samuel , author-link=:de:Samuel Meiger, chapter=III. Bok, II. Capittel: Van den laribus dometicis edder husknechtkens, de men ok ''Wolterken'' under ''Chimken'' an etliken örden nömet , title=Den Panurgia Lamiarum, Sagarum, Strigum, ac Veneficarum totius cohortis Magicæ Cacodaemonia. , volume=3 , location=Hamburg , publisher= , year=1587 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dKLwVT40D8EC&q=Chimken&pg=PP391 , at=III.ii

{{cite book, last=Meyers , first=Fritz , author-link=:de:Fritz Meyers , title=Riesen und Zwerge am Niederrhein: ihre Spuren in Sage, Märchen, Geschichte und Kunst , location=Duisburg , publisher=Mercator-Verlag , date=1980, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JUTaAAAAMAAJ&q=striegeln , page=9 , isbn=978-3-874-63083-2

{{cite book, last=Moore , first=Edward , author-link= , editor-last=Heywood , editor-first=Thomas , editor-link=Thomas Heywood (antiquarian) , chapter=Castle Street , title=The Moore Rental , location=Manchester , publisher=Charles Simms and Co., date=1847 , url=https://archive.org/details/moorerental01moorgoog , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dWFVAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA60 , page=60, isbn=978-0-384-39965-5

{{cite journal, last=Müllenhoff , first=Karl , author-link=Karl Müllenhoff , title=Der Mythus von Beóvulf , journal=Zeitschrift für deutsches Alterthum , volume=7 , date=1849 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6UNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA426 , pages=425–426

{{cite book, last=Müllenhoff , first=Karl , author-link=Karl Müllenhoff , chapter=59 Karl Müllenhoff 1849 , editor1-last=Shippey , editor1-first=T. A. , editor1-link=T. A. Shippey , editor2-last=Haarder , editor2-first=Andreas , editor2-link= , title=Beowulf: The Critical Heritage , publisher=Routledge , date=2005, orig-date=1998 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tmmIAgAAQBAJ&pg=RA6-PA49 , page=49 , isbn=9781134970933

{{cite book, last=Müller-Fraureuth , first=Karl , author-link=, chapter=Kap. 14 , title=Sächsische Volkswörter: Beiträge zur mundartlichen Volkskunde , location=Dresden , publisher=Wilhelm Baensch , year=1906 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFdsAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA26 , pages=25–26, isbn=978-3-95770-329-3

''NdZfVk''. 4. 3, i.e., {{cite journal, last=Weiser-Aall , first=Lily , author-link=Lily Weiser-Aall , title=Germanische Hausgeister und Kobolde , journal=Niederdeutsche Zeitschrift für Volkskunde , volume=4 , number= , date=1926 , url=

{{cite book, author=Notker , author-link=Notker the Stammerer , editor-last=Fleischer , editor-first=Ida Bertha Paulina , editor-link=:de:Ida Bertha Paulina Fleischer , title=Die Wortbildung bei Notker und in den verwandten Werken: eine Untersuchung der Sprache Notkers mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die Neubildungen ... , location=Göttingen , publisher=Druck der Dieterich'schen Univ.-Buchdruckerei (W. Fr. Kaestner) , year=1901 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_qM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA20 , page=20

{{cite book, last=Müller-Olesen , first=Max F. R. , author-link= , chapter=Ambiguous Gods: Mythology, Immigration, and Assimilation in Neil Gaiman's ''American Gods'' (2001) and 'The Monarch of the Glen' (2004) , editor-last=Bright , editor-first=Amy , editor-link= , title="Curious, if True": The Fantastic in Literature , location= , publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing , year=2012 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dakwBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA136 , at=p. 136 and note15 , isbn=9781443843430

{{cite journal, last=Polívka , first=Georg , author-link=Jiří Polívka (linguist) , others= Johannes Bolte , title=Die Entstehung eines dienstbaren Kobolds aus einme Ei , journal=Zeitschrift für Volkskunde , volume=18 , date=1928 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GYKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA42 , pages=41–56

Prateorius on ''Poltergeister'' (hobgoblins) haunting the house, quoted in English by {{harvp, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, pp=139–141, translated from (1666) ''Anthropodemus Plutonicus'', Band 1, "{{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzJmAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA363&q=Poltergeistern , 2=VIII. von Hausmännern", p. 363–364

Rädlein, Johann (1711) s.v. {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7tRAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA501 , 2=Loup-garou", ''Europäischer Sprach-Schatz'' 2: 501

{{cite book, editor-last=Reichold , editor-first=Andreas , editor-link= , others=Scherenschnitte (papercutting) von Hans Schaefer-Osseck , chapter=Das Schrezelein in Hartungs , title=Nordoberfränkische Sagen , edition=2 , location=Lichtenfels, Bavaria , publisher=H. O. Schulze , date=1926 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i6LYAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA26 , page=26

{{cite book, last=Ritson , first=Joseph , author-link=Joseph Ritson , chapter=Tale V. Hutgin , title=Fairy Tales, location=London , publisher=Payne & Foss , year=1831 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gg5fAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA72 , pages=72–75

{{cite book, last=Rochholz , first=Ernst Ludvig , author-link=:de:Ernst Ludvig Rochholz , chapter=8.3) Irrlich unter Dach , title=Naturmythen: neue Schweizersagen , location=Leipzig , publisher=B. G. Teubner , year=1862 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OD8PAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA178 , page=178

{{cite book, editor-last=Runeberg, editor-first=Arne , editor-link=Arne Runeberg , title=Witches, demons, and fertility magic; analysis of their significance and mutual relations in West-European folk religion , series=Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum XIV.4 , location=Helsinki , publisher= Suomen Tiedeseura , date=1947 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UulFAQAAIAAJ&q=kobold , page=144 , quote=Closely akin with the tomte is the Swedish ''goanisse'' and the Scanian ''vättar'' which carry things to their favourites from other people's farms. The Danish ''Nisse'' show also the same trait. Sometimes these beings do not live in the house but outside of it and become wood-and field-spirits. A relative of the Swedish tomte is the ''Kobold'' of the German folklore.

{{cite book, last=Saintine , first=Xavier-Boniface , author-link=X. B. Saintine , chapter=XII. § Un Kobold au service d'une cuisinière , others=Illustrated by Gustave Doré , title=La Mythologie du Rhin , location=Paris , publisher=Librairie de L. Hachette et Cie , year=1862 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkIKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA287 , pages=287–289; {{cite book, last=Saintine , first=Xavier-Boniface , author-link=X. B. Saintine , author-mask=2 , others=Translated by Maximilian Schele de Vere; Illustrated by Gustave Doré , chapter=XII. §A Kobold in the Cook's Employ , title=La Mythologie du Rhin , location=Akron, Ohio , publisher=Saalfield Publishing Company , year=1903 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLA_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA317 , pages=315–317

{{cite book, last1=Schäfer , first1=Florian , author1-link=:de:Florian Schäfer (Sagenforscher) , last2=Pisarek , first2=Janin , author2-link=:de:Janin Pisarek , last3=Gritsch , first3=Hannah , author3-link= , chapter=2. Die Geister des Hauses. § Der Kobold , title=Hausgeister!: Fast vergessene Gestalten der deutschsprachigen Märchen- und Sagenwelt , location=Köln , publisher=Böhlau Verlag , date=2020 , chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wJjkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA34 , page=34 , isbn=9783412520304

{{cite book, last=Schelwig , first=Samuel , author-link=:de:Samuel Schelwig , chapter=XVI. Frage. Wofür die Spiritus Failiares, das ist die Dienst-Geister welche sich von den Menschen zu allerhand Verrichtung bestellen und gebrauchen lassen, tc., title=Cynosura Conscientiae, Oder Leit-Stern Des Gewissens, Das ist: Deutliche und Schrifftmäßige Erörterung vieler, tc., location=Frankfurt , publisher=Plener , year=1692 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X6eHXAtmGowC&pg=PA394 , at=p. 394, note *, cont. to p. 396

{{cite book, last=Schmidt , first=Johann Georg , author-link=:de:Johann Georg Schmidt (Apotheker) , chapter=Das XIV. Capitel , title=Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie , edition=5 , location=Chemnitz　, publisher=Stößel , date=1759 , orig-date=1705 , pages=725–726

{{cite encyclopedia, last=Schrader , first=Otto , author-link=Otto Schrader (philologist) , entry=Aryan Religion , title=Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics , volume=2 , location=New York , publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons , year=1906 , entry-url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopaediaofr002hast/page/24/mode/2up?q=hearth , page=24; {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=oEATAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA24 , 2=(1910) edition

{{cite journal, last=Scott , first=Charles P. G. , author-link= , title=The Devil and His Imps: An Etymological Inquisition , journal=Transactions of the American Philological Association , volume=26 , date=1895 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KEgbAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA144 , page=144, jstor=2935696 , doi=10.2307/2935696, url-access=subscription

{{cite book, last=Shakespeare , first=William , author-link=William Shakespeare , editor-last=Boswell , editor-first=James , editor-link= , others=Illustrated by Edmond Malone , title=Richard III. Henry VIII , publisher=R. C. and J. Rivington , date=1821 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwMzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA486 , page=485 , series=The Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare 19

{{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Simrock, 1855 , last=Simrock, first=Karl Joseph , author-link=Karl Joseph Simrock , title=Handbuch der deutschen Mythologie: mit Einschluss der nordischen , edition=6 , location= , publisher=A. Marcus , year=1887 , orig-year=1855 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kKYqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA451 , page=451, isbn=978-0-524-02323-5

Stieler, Kaspar von (1705) s.v. {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=iI0ingbONhQC&pg=PA1060 , 2=Spiritus familiaris", ''Des Spatens Teutsche Sekretariat-Kunst'' 2:1060 : "ein Geist in eineme Ringe, Gäcklein oder Haaren"

{{cite book, last=Strackerjan , first=Ludwig , author-link=:de:Ludwig Strackerjan , chapter=256. Alrunen sind Geister.. , title=Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg , volume=1 , location=Oldenburg , publisher=Gerhard Stalling , year=1867 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0UMQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA396 , pages=396–397

{{cite journal, last=Taylor , first=Archer , author-link=Archer Taylor , title=Schrätel und Wasserbär , journal=Modern Philology , volume=17 , number=6 , date=October 1919 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9I1JAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA305 , pages=305–306, doi=10.1086/387273 , url-access=subscription

{{cite book, last=Tordoff, first=Robert , author-link= , title=Aristophanes: Cavalry , location=Leipzig , publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing , year=2023 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5FHeEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA46 , pages=46–47 , isbn=9781350065703

{{cite book, last=Trochus , first=Balthasar , author-link=, section=Sequuntur multorum deorum nomina.. , title=Vocabulorum rerum promptuariu , location=Leipzig , publisher=Lottherus , year=1517 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjNoAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP9 , page=A5

{{cite book, last=Tsunoda , first=Yoshiharu , author-link= , title=Nihon to seiyō no yōkai kurabe: yōkai densetsu hyakuwa shū , script-title=ja:日本と西洋の妖怪比べ: 妖怪伝説百話集 , publisher=Miki Shobo , date=2007 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i8OUxDoN4BMC&pg=PA22 , pages=21–22, isbn=9784902615234

{{cite book, editor-last=Vernaleken , editor-first=Theodor , editor-link=:de:Theodor Vernaleken , chapter=60. lräunchen(informant: Chr. Tester in Chur) , title=Mythen und bräuche des volkes in Oesterreich: als beitrag zur deutschen mythologie, volksdichtung und sittenkunde , place=Wien , publisher=W. Braumüller , date=1859, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dZUKAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA260 , page=260

Wexler, Paul (2002). ''Trends in Linguistics: {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=1eMf3b-OTT0C&pg=PA289 , 2=Two-tiered Relexification in Yiddish: Jews, Sorbs, Khazars, and the Kiev-Polessian Dialect''. Walter de Gruyter. {{ISBN, 3-11-017258-5. p. 289.

{{cite wikisource, last=Weyden, first=Ernst , author-link=Ernst Weyden, chapter=Heinzelmännchen , title=Cöln's Vorzeit. Geschichten, Legenden und Sagen Cöln's, nebst einer Auswahl cölnischer Volkslieder , location=Cöln am Rhein , publisher=Pet. Schmitz , year=1826 , wslink=Die Heinzelmännchen (Cöln’s Vorzeit) , wslanguage=de , url= , pages=200–202

{{void, {{cite book, last=Wothers , first=Peter , author-link=Peter Wothers , title=Antimony, Gold, and Jupiter's Wolf: How the elements were named, location= , publisher=Oxford University Press , year=2019 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PFS_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49 , pages=48–49 , isbn=9780192569905

{{cite book, editor-last=Zapf, editor-first=Ludwig , editor-link= , title=Der Sagenkreis des Fichtelgebirges , location=Hof , publisher=Franz Büching , date=1874 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TAYhFW-gcb4C&pg=PA38 , pages=38–39

{{cite journal, last1=Jahn, first1=Ulrich , author1-link=:de:Ulrich Jahn , last2=Meyer-Cohn , first2=Alexander , author2-link=:de:Alexander Meyer-Cohn , title=Jamund bei Coslin , journal=Zeitschrift für Volkskunde , volume=1 , date=1891, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YvxLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA79 , pages=78–79

;Bibliography
{{refbegin, 33em
* {{cite thesis, type=Ph. D., last=Aschner , first=Siegfried , author-link= , title=Die deutschen Sagen der Brüder Grimm , location=Westport, CT , publisher= Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin , year=1909 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp4-AAAAYAAJ , pages=
* {{cite book, last=Ashliman , first=D. L. , author-link=D. L. Ashliman , chapter=Kobold , title=Fairy Lore: A Handbook , location=Westport, CT , publisher=Greenwood Press , year=2006 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nHzDEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91 , pages=91–92 , isbn=0-313-33349-1
* {{cite book, last=Berger , first=Katarina , author-link= , chapter=X.Hausgeister. Kobold, Puk, Drak, Klabautermann, title=Erzählungen und Erzählstoff in Pommern 1840-1938 , location=München , publisher=Waxmann Verlag , year=2001 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tLPeniEA1m4C&pg=PA163 , pages=163ff , isbn=9783830958697
* {{cite dictionary, ref=none, editor1-last=Bächtold-Stäubli , editor1-first=Hanns , editor1-link=:de:Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli , editor2-last=Hoffmann-Krayer , editor2-first=Eduard , editor2-link=Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer , title=Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens , volume= , location=Berlin , publisher=Walter de Gruyter , date=1936 , url= , pages= (Reprint 1987)
* {{cite book, last=Feldmann , first=((Marcquart, Pfarrer)), author-link=, chapter= , title=Der vielförmige Hintzelmann oder umbständliche und merckwürdige Erzehlung von einem Geist, so sich auf dem Hause Hudemühlen, und hernach zu Estrup im Lande Lüneburg unter vielfältigen Gestalten.. , location=Leipzig , publisher= .n., year=1704, url=http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?PPN672184966 , pages=
** {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=zK00AAAAMAAJ , 2=Facsimile edition. Göttingen: Verlag Otto Schwartz & Co. 1965
* {{cite book, last=Glasenapp , first=Carl Friedrich , author-link=:de:Carl Friedrich Glasenapp , others=Illustrated by Franz Stassen , chapter=III. Der Kobold , title=Siegfried Wagner und seine Kunst: gesammelte Aufsätze über das dramatische Schaffen Siegfried Wagners vom "Bärenhäuter" bis zum "Banadietrich", location=Leipzig , publisher=Breitkopf & Härtel , year=1911, chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hqE5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA131 , pages=131–202
* {{cite book, last=Golther , first=Wolfgang , author-link=Wolfgang Golther , chapter=Kobolde , title=Handbuch der germanischen Mythologie , edition=3rd. Rev. , location=Stuttgart , publisher=Magnus-Verlag , year=1908 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bPoyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA141 , pages=141–145, isbn=978-3-88400-111-0
* {{cite book, editor=Grimms , editor-link=Brothers Grimm , chapter=71. Der Kobold , title=Deutsche Sagen , volume=1 , location=Berlin , publisher=Nicolai , year=1816 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRcFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA90 , pages=90–92
* {{cite book, last=Grimm , first=Jacob , author-link=Jacob Grimm , chapter=XVII. Wichte und Elbe , title=Deutsche Mythologie , edition=4 , volume=1 , location=Göttingen , publisher=W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen , year=1875 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85GLFD-dUEoC&pg=PA413 , pages=363–428
** {{cite book, last=Grimm , first=Jacob , author-link=Jacob Grimm , chapter=(Anmerkung von) XVII. Wichte und Elbe , title=Deutsche Mythologie , edition=4 , volume=3 , location=Göttingen , publisher=W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen , year=1878 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VD7aAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA122 , pages=122–149
** {{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Grimm, Stallybrass tr., 1883, last=Grimm , first=Jacob , author-link=Jacob Grimm , others=Translated by James Steven Stallybrass , chapter=XVII. Wights and Elves §Elves, Dwarves , title=Teutonic Mythology , volume=2 , publisher=W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen , year=1883 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ektAAAAIAAJ , pages=439–517
** {{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Grimm, Stallybrass tr., 1888 , last=Grimm , first=Jacob , author-link=Jacob Grimm , author-mask=2 , others=Translated by James Steven Stallybrass , chapter=(Notes to) XVII. Wights and Elves §Elves, Dwarves , title=Teutonic Mythology , volume=4 , publisher=W. Swan Sonnenschein & Allen , year=1888 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uy1LAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1426 , pages=1407–1436
* {{cite book, last=Haas , first=Alfred , author-link=:de:Alfred Haas (Volkskundler) , title=Schnurren, schwänke und erzählungen von der insel Rügen , location=Greifswald , publisher=Julius Abel , year=1899 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QDEWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA76 , page=
* {{cite book, last=Haas , first=Alfred , author-link=:de:Alfred Haas (Volkskundler) , title=Pommersche Sagen , location=Berlin , publisher=Hermann Eichblatt , year=1912 , url=http://bibliotekacyfrowa.eu/dlibra/show-content/publication/41959/edition/35167/ , page=
* {{cite book, ref={{SfnRef, Heine, Mustard tr., 1985, last=Heinrich, first=Heine , author-link= Heinrich Heine , others=Translated by Helen Mustard , chapter=Concerning the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany , title=The Romantic School and Other Essays , location= New York , publisher=Continuum , year=1985 , orig-year=1835 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=daVZAQwYDAYC&pg=PA140 , pages=128–244 , isbn=0-8264-0291-7
* {{cite book, last=Jahn , first=Ulrich , author-link=:de:Ulrich Jahn , title=Volkssagen aus Pommern und Rügen , location=Stettin , publisher=H. Dannenberg , year=1886 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ku5XaLu1xvwC , page=
* {{cite book, last=Keightley , first=Thomas , author-link=Thomas Keightley , title=The Fairy Mythology, Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries , location=London , publisher=H. G. Bohn , year=1850 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3cByu3_ZtaAC , page=
* {{cite journal, last=Kiesewetter , first=Carl , author-link=:de:Carl Kiesewetter , title=Der vielförmige Hintzelmann , journal=Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie , volume=17 , date=1890 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PG7ew5WkcfoC&pg=PA9 , at=Part I, pp. 9–14; Part II, pp. 64–70; Part III, pp. 115–122
*{{cite journal, last=Kittredge , first=George Lyman , author-link=George Lyman Kittredge , title=The Friar's Lantern and Friar Rush , journal=Publications of the Modern Language Association , volume=15 , date=1900 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NRQwEVJqU8C&pg=PA415 , pages=415–441
* {{cite book, last1=Kuhn , first1=Adalbert , author1-link=Adalbert Kuhn , last2=Schwartz , first2=Wilhelm , author2-link=:de:Wilhelm Schwartz (Philologe) , title=Nordeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche: aus Meklenburg, Pommern, der Mark, Sachsen, Thürigen, Braunschweig, Hannover, Oldenburg und Westfalen , location=Leipzig , publisher=F. A. Brockhaus , year=1848 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TgoLAAAAQAAJ , pages=
* {{cite book, last=Lüthi , first=Max , author-link=Max Lüthi , others=Translated by John D. Niles , chapter=1. One-Dimensionality , title=The European Folktale: Form and Nature , location=Indianapolis , publisher=Indiana University Press , year=1986 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=znaLPAeek88C&pg=PA4 , pages=4–5 , isbn=0-253-20393-7
* {{cite book, last=MacLaren , first=Archibald , author-link=Archibald MacLaren , chapter=The Kobold , title=The Fairy Family: A Series of Ballads & Metrical Tales Illustrating the Fairy Mythology of Europe , location=London , publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts　, year=1857 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7jd6Kt7FzCQC&pg=PA223 , pages=223–233
* {{cite book, last=Meiche , first=Alfred , author-link=:de:Alfred Meiche , chapter=378. Das Heugütel bei den Vogtländern -- 380. Noch mehr vom Heugütel , title=Sagenbuch des Königreichs Sachsen , location=Leipzig , publisher=G. Schönfeld , year=1903 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kbcUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA291 , pages=291–293
* {{cite book, last=Müllenhoff , first=Karl , author-link=Karl Müllenhoff , title=Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der Herzogthümer Schleswig Holstein und Lauenburg , location=, publisher=Schwerssche Buchhandlung , year=1845 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=138BAAAAQAAJ , pages=
** ——(1899). {{URL, 1=https://books.google.com/books?id=znaLPAeek88C&pg=PA4 , 2=Reprint. Siegen: Westdeutschen Verlagsanstalt
* {{cite book, last=Praetorius , first=Johannes , author-link=Johannes Praetorius (writer) , others=Illustrated by Thomas Cross (fl. 1632-1682) , chapter=VIII. Von Haußmännern, Laribus, Penatibus, Geniis, Kobolden, Stepgen, Ungethümen, Larven, Haussgötzen, Gütgen , title=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 , volume=1 , location=Magdeburg , publisher=In Verlegung Johann Lüderwalds , year=1666 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OzJmAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA1-PA359 , pages=359–379}
digitalization
:Münchener DigitalisierungsZentrum
another digicopy
:Martin-Lutherr-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
** {{cite book, last=Praetorius , first=Johannes , author-link=Johannes Praetorius (writer) , others=Illustrated by Thomas Cross (fl. 1632-1682), chapter= , title=Anthropodemvs Plvtonicus, Das ist Eine Neue Weltbeschreibung Von Allerley Wunderbahren Menschen, Als da seyn... , volume=1 , location=Magdeburg , publisher=In Verlegung Johann Lüderwalds , year=1668 , orig-year=1666 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qC9O0VIg_pwC&pg=PP8 , pages=
* {{cite book, last=Ranke , first=Friedrich , author-link=Friedrich Ranke , chapter=6. Der Kobold , title=Die deutschen Vokssagen , editor1-last=von der Leyen , editor1-first=Friedrich , editor1-link=Friedrich von der Leyen , editor2-last=Ranke , editor2-first=Friedrich , editor2-link=Friedrich Ranke, editor3-last=Müller , editor3-first=Karl Alexander von , editor3-link=Karl Alexander von Müller , series=Deutsches Sagenbuch 4 , location=München , publisher=C.H. Beck , year=1910 , chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y8JLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA163 , pages=149–166

@Projeckt Gutenberg
*{{cite book, last=Rand , first=Harry , author-link= , title=Rumpelstiltskin's Secret: What Women Didn't Tell the Grimms, location= , publisher=Routledge , year=2019 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NorCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 , pages= , isbn=9781351204149
* Rose, Carol (1996). ''Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins: An Encyclopedia''. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. {{ISBN, 0-393-31792-7.
* {{cite book, last=Sommer , first=Emil , author-link=:de:Emil Friedrich Julius Sommer , title=Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Sachsen und Thüringen , volume=1, location=Halle , publisher=Anton , year=1846 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3AtOAAAAcAAJ , pages=
* {{cite book, last=Thorpe , first=Benjamin , author-link=Benjamin Thorpe , title=Northern Mythology, Comparing the Principal Popular Traditions and Superstitions of Scandinavia, North Germany, and the Netherlands , volume=III , location=London , publisher=Edward Lumley , year=1852 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SjMMAAAAIAAJ , pages=
* {{cite book, last=Wyl , first=Karl de , author-link= , title=Rübezahl-Forschungen: Die Schriften des M. Johannes Prätorius , series=Wort und Brauch 5 , location=Breslau , publisher=M. & H. Marcus , year=1909, url= https://books.google.com/books?id=V6TalJ4xceMC&pg=PA76 , pages=

{{refend
{{German folklore
{{Fairies
{{Fantasy fiction

{{Authority control

Fairies

Tutelary deities
Goblins
Pixies
Legendary gnomes
Elves
Mining spirits
German legendary creatures
Household deities
Sprites (folklore)