King Goldemar (also spelled Goldmar, Vollmar, and Volmar) is a dwarf or

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including "goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in Ge ...

from

Germanic mythology Germanic mythology consists of the body of myths native to the Germanic peoples, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, and Continental Germanic mythology. It was a key element of Germanic paganism. Origins As the Germanic langu ...

and

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. By the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Goldemar had become the king of the dwarfs in German belief.Wägner and MacDowall 40. In the fairy tale "The Friendship of the Dwarfs", the author Villamaria depicts Goldemar as a "mighty dwarf king" with a queen and a court of dwarf nobles at his service. He has long, silver hair and beard and wears a crown and a purple mantle. In one tale, he runs away with the daughter of a human king. Fragments of an epic poem by

Albrecht von Kemenaten ''Goldemar'' is a fragmentary thirteenth-century Middle High German poem by Albrecht von Kemenaten about the legendary hero Dietrich von Bern, the counterpart of the historical Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great in Germanic heroic legend. I ...

called ''Goldemar'' survive. The poem tells of Dietrich's encounter with the dwarf king. The king also features in "''Der junge König und die Schäferin''" ("The Prince and the Shepherdess") by German poet

Ludwig Uhland Johann Ludwig Uhland (26 April 1787 – 13 November 1862) was a German poet, philologist and literary historian. Biography He was born in Tübingen, Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in ...

. Goldemar's brothers,

Alberich In German heroic legend, Alberich () is a dwarf. He features most prominently in the poems ''Nibelungenlied'' and ''Ortnit''. He also features in the Old Norse collection of German legends called the Thidreksaga under the name Alfrikr. His name me ...

or Elberich and Elbegast, feature in other poems. According to a legend recorded by

Thomas Keightley Thomas Keightley (17 October 1789 – 4 November 1872) was an Irish writer known for his works on mythology and folklore, particularly ''Fairy Mythology'' (1828), later reprinted as ''The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves, and Other Little ...

in 1850, King Goldemar was a

, a type of house spirit in Germanic belief. Goldemar lived with Neveling von Hardenberg at Castle Hardenstein at the Ruhr River. Goldemar frequently interacted with mortals. He called Neveling his "brother-in-law" and often slept in the same bed with him. He skillfully played the harp, and he enjoyed gambling and throwing dice. He also exposed the misdeeds of the clergy. Goldemar brought good fortune to Neveling's household, demanding only a seat at the table, a stable for his horse, and food for himself and his animal. The spirit refused to be seen, but he would allow mortals to feel him; Keightley says that " s hands were thin like those of a frog, cold and soft to the feel." After King Goldemar had lived with Neveling for three years, a curious person strewed ashes and tares about to try to see the kobold's footprints. Goldemar cut the man to pieces, put them on the fire to roast, and put the head and legs in a pot to boil. He then took the cooked meat to his chambers and ate it with glee. The next day, Goldemar was gone. He left a note over his door saying that the house would be as unlucky as it had been lucky while he lived there. Hardenstein lay in a rich mining area during the Middle Ages, which may account for why the castle became associated with a subterranean sprite like Goldemar.Parent 67.

Notes

References

* Grimm, Jacob, James Steven Stallybrass, trans. (1883). ''Teutonic Mythology'', 4th ed., Vol. II. London: George Bell & Sons. * Keightley, Thomas (1850). ''The Fairy Mythology, Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries''. London: H. G. Bohn. * Robertson, John George (1902). ''A History of German Literature''. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. * Parent, Thomas (2000). ''Das Ruhrgebiet: Vom >goldenen< Mittelalter zur Industriekultur''. Mair Dumont Dumont. {{ISBN, 3-7701-3159-2. * Uhland, Ludwig, W. W. Skeat, trans. (1864). ''The Songs and Ballads of Uhland''. London: Williams and Norgate. * Villamaria (1877). ''Fairy Circles: Tales and Legends of Giants, Dwarfs, Fairies, Water-Sprites, and Hobgoblins''. London: Marcus Ward & Co. * Wägner, W., adapted by W. S. W. Anson (1917). ''Asgard and the Gods: The Tales and Traditions of Our Northern Ancestors Forming a Complete Manual of Norse Mythology''. London: George Routledge & Sons. Goldemar Goldemar Goldemar Goldemar German folklore