A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on the story and country of origin, ranging from mischievous household spirits to malicious, bestial thieves.[1][2] They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, such as the ability to shapeshift.[2]
 Goblin illustration by John D. Batten from "English Fairy Tales" (19th century) | |
| Grouping | Diminutive spirit |
|---|---|
| Similar entities | Fairies, demons, brownies, dwarfs, duendes, gnomes, imps, and kobolds. |
Similar creatures include brownies, dwarves, duendes, gnomes, imps, leprechauns, and kobolds, but it is also commonly used as a blanket term for all small, fay creatures.[2] The term is sometimes expanded to include goblin-like creatures of other cultures, such as the pukwudgie, dokkaebi, or ifrit.[2]
Etymology
Alternative spellings include gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, goblino, and gobbelin. The term "goblette" has been used to refer to female goblins.[3][4]
The word goblin is first recorded in the 14th century and is probably from unattested Anglo-Norman *gobelin,[5] similar to Old French gobelin, already attested around 1195 in Ambroise of Normandy's Guerre sainte, and to Medieval Latin gobelinus in Orderic Vitalis before 1141,[6][7] which was the name of a devil or daemon haunting the country around Évreux, Normandy. It may be related both to German kobold and to Medieval Latin cabalus - or *gobalus, itself from Greek κόβαλος (kobalos), "rogue", "knave", "imp", "goblin".[6] German Kobold contains the Germanic root kov- (Middle German Kobe "refuge, cavity", "hollow in a rock", Dial. English cove "hollow in a rock", English "sheltered recess on a coast", Old Norse kofi "hut, shed" ) which means originally a "hollow in the earth".[8][9] The word is probably related to Dial. Norman gobe "hollow in a cliff", with simple suffix -lin or double suffixation -el-in (cf. Norman surnames Beuzelin,[10] Gosselin,[11] Étancelin,[12] etc.)[13]
Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the French proper name Gobel, more often Gobeau,[5][14] diminutive forms Gobelet, Goblin, Goblot, but their signification is probably "somebody who sells tumblers or beakers or cups".[15] Moreover, these proper names are not from Normandy, where the word gobelin, gobelinus first appears in the old documents.
The Welsh coblyn, a type of knocker, derives from the Old French gobelin via the English goblin.[16]
In folklore
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European folklore
- Goblins are common in English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish folklore, serving as a blanket term for all sorts of evil or mischievous spirits.
- In France, the goblins are associated mainly with the region of Normandy. The word "gobelin" is mentioned for the first time in the 12th century, in the texts of Orderic Vital. It is described as a wicked creature or a malicious spirit that lived in the region of Évreux. In the stories of Brittany, there are creatures that resemble goblins, such as korrigans, small beings associated with raised stones and ancient tombs. They like to search for hidden treasures and make jokes to humans. Korrigans and Norman goblins are spirits of nature that can be kind or bad depending on the story.
- A redcap is a type of goblin who dyes its hat in human blood in Anglo-Scottish border folklore. He is a malevolent goblin, known for his cruelty and blood lust. The Redcap, unlike other often mischievous or ambivalent fairy creatures, is fundamentally scary and frightening in the stories it tells.
- Hobgoblins are friendly trickster goblins from English, Scottish, and Pilgrim folklore and literature.[2] They are the opposite of the redcap, they are more benevolent goblins and pranksters, frequently mentioned in English tales. Authors such as William Shakespeare (Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) popularized hobgoblins, which are domestic spirits who provide help to humans in exchange for food or other offerings.
- The King of the Alders, or Erlking (German: Erlkönig), is a mythical character in Germanic folklore. The Erlking is presented as a malicious supernatural creature that attracts, seduces or frightens children before destroying them. Kobolds are in Germany similar to goblins, often related to mines and houses. Unlike their French and British counterparts, kobolds are sometimes considered as caring domestic helpers, but they can become angry if offended. Their name is etymologically associated with kobalt, which is also a mineral (cobalt), highlighting their connection to mining activities.
- The trasgu is a Northern Spanish and Northern Portuguese mythological creature of Celtic and Roman origin. To be more precise, the goblins appear in folklore of northern Spain (Asturias and Galicia) and northern Portugal as the Trasgos or Trasgus. These evil spirits tend to enter homes, move objects or cause disorder. There is an interesting feature of the Trasgus: they tend to do household chores if left unfinished by others. However, they can also cause problems if they feel insulted or neglected.
Goblin-like creatures in other cultures
- A pukwudgie is a type of goblin from Wamponoag folklore.
- The muki is a pale goblin who lives in caves in the Andes in Quechuan folklore.
- In South Korea, goblins, known as dokkaebi (도깨비), are important creatures in folklore, where they reward good people and punish the evil, playing tricks on them.[2]
- In Bangladesh, Santal people believe in gudrobonga which is very similar to goblins.
- In South India, Kuttichathan is a type of mischievous/evil goblin mainly found in Kerala folklore.
- In South African mythology, the tokoloshe (or tikoloshe or tikoloshi) is a dwarf-like creatures similar to a goblin.
- Goblins have at times been conflated with the jinn, specifically ifrit and ghilan, of Islamic culture.[17]
In fiction
Fairy tales and folk stories
- The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald
- "The Goblin Pony", from The Grey Fairy Book (French fairy tale)
- "The Benevolent Goblin", from Gesta Romanorum (England)[18]
- "The Goblins at the Bath House" (Estonia), from A Book of Ghosts and Goblins (1969)
- "The Goblins Turned to Stone" (Dutch fairy tale)[19]
- King Gobb (Moldovan Gypsy folktale)[citation needed]
- Goblins are featured in the Danish fairy tales The Elf Mound, The Goblin and the Grocer, and The Goblin and the Woman.
- Goblins are featured in the Norwegian folktale The Christmas Visitors at Kvame.
- Goblins are featured in the Swedish fairy tales The Four Big Trolls and Little Peter Pastureman and Dag and Daga and the Flying Troll of Sky Mountain where they live among trolls alongside sprites and gnomes.
- Goblins are featured in the French fairy tale called The Golden Branch.
- Chinese Ghouls and Goblins (England 1928)
- "The Goblin of Adachigahara" (Japanese fairy tale)[20]
- The Boy Who Drew Cats (Japanese fairy tale)
- Twenty-Two Goblins (Indian fairy tale)[21]
- The Korean nursery song 'Mountain Goblin(산도깨비)' tells of meeting a dokkaebi and running away to live.
Modern fiction
In J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit the evil creatures living in the Misty Mountains are referred to as goblins. In The Lord of the Rings, the same creatures are primarily referred to as orcs where the goblin name was used for the lesser orcs.
Goblinoids are a category of humanoid legendary creatures related to the goblin. The term was popularized in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game,[22] in which goblins and related creatures are a staple of random encounters. Goblinoids are typically barbaric foes of the various human and "demi-human" races. Even though goblinoids in modern fantasy fiction are derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's orcs, the main types of goblinoids in Dungeons & Dragons are goblins, bugbears and hobgoblins; these creatures are also figures of mythology, next to ordinary goblins.
In the Harry Potter book series and the shared universe in which its film adaptations are set, goblins are depicted as strange, but civilised, humanoids who often serve as bankers or craftsmen.
In Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, goblins are initially a despised and shunned subterranean race; however, in later books, goblins are eventually integrated with the other races, and their mechanical and engineering talents come to be valued.
The Green Goblin is a well-known supervillain, one of the archenemies of Spider-Man, who has various abilities including enhanced stamina, durability, agility, reflexes and superhuman strength due to ingesting a substance known as the "Goblin Formula". He has appeared in various Spider-Man related media, such as comics, television series, video games, and films, including Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) as Norman Osborn, and Spider-Man 3 (2007) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) as Harry Osborn. There have been other goblin-related characters like Hobgoblin, Grey Goblin, and Menace.
In the video game series Elder Scrolls, goblins are a hostile beast race said to originate from Summerset Isle, can range in size from being smaller than a Wood Elf to being larger than a Nord and love living in dank places such as caves and sewers.
In early English translations, The Smurfs were called goblins.[23]
The McDonald's Fry Guys were called Gobblins in earlier McDonaldland advertisements.
The Goosebumps franchise had a Goosebumps House of Shivers book called Goblin Monday which featured the goblins. They are depicted as short creatures with green fur, horns, pointy ears and cat-like eyes who assume human form to trick humans. In addition, the goblins can't deal with nutmeg as it is their only weakness.
Goblin-related place names
- 'The Gap of Goeblin', a hole and tunnel in Mortain, France.[24]
- Hobroyd (which means 'goblin clearing'), High Peak, Derbyshire, UK.[25]
- Goblin Combe, in north Somerset, UK
- Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, US
- Yester Castle (also known as "Goblin Hall") East Lothian, Scotland
- Goblin Bay, Beausoleil Island, Ontario, Canada
- Cowcaddens and Cowlairs, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Cow' is an old Scots word for Goblin, while 'cad' means 'nasty'. 'Dens' and 'lairs' refers to goblin homes.[26]
- 541132 Leleākūhonua (then known as 2015 TG387) is an object in the outer solar system nicknamed "The Goblin"
See also
References
Bibliography
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