goblin

A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous 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. They often have magical abilities similar to a fairy or demon, such as the ability to shapeshift.

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. The term is sometimes expanded to include goblin-like creatures of other cultures, such as the pukwudgie, dokkaebi or ifrit.

Etymology

Alternative spellings include ''gobblin'', ''gobeline'', ''gobling'', ''goblyn'', ''goblino'', and ''gobbelin''. The term "goblette" has been used to refer to female goblins.

The word ''goblin'' is first recorded in the 14th century and is probably from unattested Anglo-Norman ''*gobelin'', 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,CNRTL etymology of ''gobelin'' (online French)
/ref> 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". 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". 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'', ''Gosselin'', ''Étancelin'', etc.)

Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the French proper name ''Gobel'', more often ''Gobeau'', diminutive forms ''Gobelet, Goblin, Goblot'', but their signification is probably "somebody who sells tumblers or beakers or cups". 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''.

In folklore

European folklore

* Goblins are common in English, Scottish, and Irish folklore, serving as a blanket term for all sorts of evil or mischievous spirits.
* A redcap is a type of goblin who dyes its hat in human blood in Anglo-Scottish border folklore.
* Hobgoblins are friendly trickster goblins from English, Scottish, and Pilgrim folklore and literature.
* The Erlking is a malevolent goblin from German legend.
* The Trasgu is a Northern Spanish and Northern Portuguese mythological creature of Celtic and Roman origin.

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.

Many Asian mythical creatures have been likened to, or translated as, goblins. Some examples for these:
* ''The Goblin of Adachigahara'' (Japanese fairy tale)
* ''The Goblin Rat'', from ''The Boy Who Drew Cats'' (Japanese fairy tale).
* ''Twenty-Two Goblins'' (Indian fairy tale)
* 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.
*In South Africa Tokoloshe/Tikoloshe is a dwarf-like creatures similar to a goblin. The tokoloshe (or tikoloshe or tikoloshi) in South African mythology is a humanoid creature about 1 m tall, with a large head, big eyes and a slender torso. It is (allegedly) mostly nocturnal and friendly to children but can be harmful to adults if under the influence of evil witches. Tokoloshe movies are quite common in South Africa such as ''The Tokoloshe (2018)'', '' Tokoloshe: An African Curse (2020)''
* In Bangladesh, Santal people believe in gudrobonga which is very similar to goblins.

Other Goblins had been identified with creatures from another culture:
* Goblins have at times been conflated with the jinn, specifically ifrit and ghilan, of Islamic culture.

In fiction

Collected folk stories

*"The Goblin Pony", from ''The Grey Fairy Book'' (French fairy tale).
*The Benevolent Goblin, from ''Gesta Romanorum'' (England).
* "The Goblins at the Bath House" (Estonia), from ''A Book of Ghosts and Goblins'' (1969).
* "The Goblins Turned to Stone" (Dutch fairy tale).
* King Gobb (Moldovan Gypsy folktale).
* 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 alongside sprites and gnomes live among trolls.
* Goblins are Featured in the French fairy tale called ''The Golden Branch''.
* ''Chinese Ghouls and Goblins'' (England 1928)
* 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.

Goblinoids are a category of humanoid legendary creatures related to the goblin. The term was popularized in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game, 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. Depictions of goblins in Harry Potter, however, have often been criticized as anti-Semitic.

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.

In the Manga/Anime Goblin Slayer, goblins are a male only race of average intelligence who abduct female humanoids to procreate and the main antagonists in the series.

In the game 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 dankly places such as caves and sewers.

In early English translations, ''The Smurfs'' were called goblins.

Goblin-related place names

* 'The Gap of Goeblin', a hole and tunnel in Mortain, France.

Hobroyd
(which means 'goblin clearing'), High Peak, Derbyshire, UK.
* Goblin Combe, in north Somerset, UK
* Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, US
* Goblin Crescent, Bryndwr, Christchurch, New Zealand
* 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.''Glasgow Street Names'', Carol Foreman, Birlinn, 2007, page 58.
* 541132 Leleākūhonua (then known as ) is a minor planet in the outer solar system nicknamed "The Goblin"

See also

* Fairy
* Orc
* Goblin (Dungeons and Dragons)
* Dwarf (folklore)
* Kobold
* Bugbear
* Gnome
* Lutin
* Púca
* Troll
* Goblin mode

References

Further reading

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