Krasnoludek or krasnal is the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

name for a mythological type of gnome or

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

, common in many Polish and translated folk tales (for example,

Brothers Grimm The Brothers Grimm ( or ), Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859), were a brother duo of German academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers, and authors who together collected and published folklore. They are among the ...

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

'' is translated into the

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In a ...

as ''Królewna Śnieżka i siedmiu krasnoludków''). They resemble small humans and wear pointy red hats. Due to the popularization of

fantasy literature Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds. Fa ...

, they are now differentiated from both gnomes (Polish: ''gnom'') and

s (Polish: ''krasnolud''), both of which are used in fantasy literature context, while the word ''krasnoludek'' still remains mostly the domain of older folk tales. The word ''krasnal ogrodowy'' is also used to describe garden gnomes. The mythological dwarf is of Germanic origin and appeared in Polish folktales in the 16th or 17th century. The word ''krasnoludek'' comes from the old

''krasny, kraśny'' ("red, colorful," "nice-looking," or "good") and

''ludek'' (small person or human-like creature). Waldemar Fydrych

References

Gnomes Dwarves (folklore) {{Europe-myth-stub

See also

References