Hinzelmann
Hinzelmann or Heinzelmann[citation needed] (sometimes called Luring) was a kobold in the mythology of northern Germany. He was described as a household spirit of ambivalent nature, similar to Puck (Robin Goodfellow).[1] Like Puck, he would provide good luck and perform household tasks, but would become malicious if not appeased.[1]
Descriptions in mythology
Heinzelmann's myth says that he started haunting the castle
Heinzelmann usually took the form of a congenial child in red velvet.[2] In one tale he showed his true form to a maid, who fainted; it was that of a small child, around four years of age, stabbed and slashed with two swords.[2]
Some local lore dating back generations puts the Heinzelmann in the role of elves, leaving trinkets or candies in the shoes of well-behaved children, when said shoes are left by the door in the days leading up to Christmas.
Popular culture
Hinzelmann appears in the
Hinzelmann is the primary antagonist of the short piece "A Late Symmer Night's Battle" by Laura Frankos, printed in Turn the Other Chick (ed. Esther Friesner, Baen Books, 2004). He leads an army of kobolds to invade the English fairy kingdom of Oberon and Titania, sometime after the events of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Boys (it's a pseudonym) (1852), The boys' own story-book, by the best authors, pp. 88–90
- ^ a b Ludwig Bechstein, Deutsches Sagenbuch, Leipzig, 1853
External links
- Lilian Gask (1865-) (1912). "Chapter IX: The Little White Feather."". The Fairies and the Christmas Child (Willy Pogány (1882-1955) ed.). London: Harrap & Co., n.d. pp. 175–196.
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - Thomas Keightley (1828), The fairy mythology, Volume 2, W. H. Ainsworth