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52-458: [REDACTED] Look up fairest in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Fairest may refer to: Fairest (novel) , a 2006 fantasy novel by Gail Carson Levine Fairest (comics) , a monthly Vertigo comic series by Bill Willingham Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

104-423: A classification of six demon classes , where clearly it is not all six, but just the fifth class of subterranean demons which are relevant to mining. This demon class is also equatable to Agricola's Cobali and "Getuli" (recté "Guteli") according to commentators. It has also been noted that Agricola distinguished the "mountain devil", exemplified by Rübezahl with the small-statured Bergmännlein . Although

156-563: A monograph on Berggeist ("mountain spirit") in the Grimms' Deutsche Sagen . The equivalent German appellations of the demons/spirits were made available by the subsequent gloss published 1563. Agricola here refers to the "gnome/mine spirit" is referred to by a variety of terms and phrases, such as virunuculus montanos ("montain manikin", i.e., German: bergmännlein ) or Greek/Latin cobelos / cobelus (German: kobel ) . The pertinent gloss, also quoted by Jacob Grimm, states that

208-453: A "spirit". However the elementals eat, drink and talk (like humans), distinguishing them from spirits. And according to Paracelsus's views, the so-called dwarf ( German : Zwerg, Zwerglein ) is merely monstra ( deformities ) of the earth spirit gnome. Note that Paracelsus also frequently resorts to circumlocutions like "mountain people" ( Bergleute ) or "mountain manikins" (" Bergmänlein " [ sic ] ) to denote

260-512: A German bushel or Scheffel  [ de ] . Nineteenth-century miners in Bohemia and Hungary reported hearing knocking in the mines. The mining trade there interpreted such noises as warnings from the kobolds to not go in that direction. Although the Hungarian (or Czech) term was not given by the informant, and called "kobolds" of these mines, they were stated as the equivalents of

312-696: A limited discussion on the "metallurgical or mine demon" ( dæmon metallicus ) touching on the "Corona rosacea" mine disaster (cf. § Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg ) and the framework of Psellosian demonology (cf. § Demonology ). A Latin-German gloss in later editions identify the being he called daemon metallicus as cypher for German Bergmännlein ( Das bergmenlin [ sic ], "mountain manikin", general term for earth spirit or mine spirit). Much more details were presented in Agricola's later Latin work De animatibus subterraneis (1549) (cf. § De animatibus subterraneis ), known as

364-468: A sense of heritage. He is surprised by her appearance and then tells her about how she now almost has no htun left in her hair. He assures her that while she is certainly not part ogre, he believes one of her ancestors was a gnome, explaining her strange appearance and htun hair, and also the point that she can see htun if he holds her hand. She learns that the gnomes can illuse as well, though they can't mimic different voices. After Aza has spent some time with

416-412: A type of bucket mentioned by Agricola, has been suggested by Karl Müller-Fraureuth. Peter Wothers suggests that cobalt could derive (without connection to Agricola) from cobathia for noxious smoke. The erudite Swedish Olaus Magnus in his Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (1555) also provides a chapter on "demons in the mines". Although Olaus uses the term "demon" ( daemon ) and not

468-401: Is a land of song, and Aza is an amazing singer. Besides being skilled at singing, Aza can also flawlessly mimic people and throw her voice without moving her mouth, a form of ventriloquism she calls "illusing." Still, Aza is flattered when a frequent visitor to the inn, a gnome named Zhamm, tells Aza that her hair is the most beautiful he has ever seen. While her hair looks black to humans, it

520-459: Is appended in the margin (pl. cobali , sing. cobalus ) They were thus called on account of them aping or mimicking humans. They have the penchant to laugh, while seeming to do things, without accomplishing anything. In classical Greek literature, kobalos ( κόβαλος ) refers to an "impudent rogue", or in more modern parlance, "joker" or "trickster". The chemist J. W. Mellor (1935) had suggested " mime ". These were otherwise called

572-483: Is branded as the dangerous relative of an ogre because of her figure and strong powerful voice and imprisoned, but she escapes with Ivi's guard Uju, who later tells her that he was ordered by Ivi to kill her, but could not now that she is beautiful. Uju takes Aza to the Gnome Caverns to keep her safe, fulfilling Zhamm's prophecy. In exile, Aza is welcomed by the gnomes ; Zhamm provides her with food, shelter, and

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624-422: Is caught in the midst of Ivi's power-hungry plotting, the affection of the king's nephew, Crown Prince Ijori, the suspicions of the choirmaster Sir Uellu (a senior official in this land of song), and her own increasing desperation to become beautiful, a desire which grows so strong that she tries a beauty spell, but instead the spell turns her to stone. Although she recovers, she's left with a marble pinky toe. When

676-530: Is recognized to have derived from the German miners' legend about Bergmännlein or dæmon metallicus , the "metallurgical or mineralogical demon", according to Georg Agricola (1530), also called virunculus montanos (literal Latinization of Bergmännlein , = " mountain manikin ") by Agriocola in a later work (1549), and described by other names such as cobeli (sing. cobelus ; Latinization of German Kobel ). Agricola recorded that, according to

728-670: Is the lovely color htun, a dark purplish color, to gnomes. Zhamm foresees that they will meet again at some point in the future. When Aza's sister, Areida, goes to finishing school, the Duchess of Olixo, an irritable guest at the Featherbed Inn, requests that Aza accompany her to the royal wedding because her companion has fallen ill. The new queen, the beautiful Ivi, discovers Aza's unusual musical gift and manipulates her. As Ivi cannot sing well, she offers to reward Aza with land, wealth, and riches for her family, as well as elevation to

780-673: Is to regard the lore of the various männlein or specifically Bergmännlein as essentially derivatives of the Zwerge / dvergr of pagan Germanic mythologies. In the 1960s there developed a general controversy between this "mythological school" and its opponents over how to interpret so-called "miner's legends". What sparked the controversy was not over the Bergmännlein type tale per se, but over Grimms' "Three Miners of Kuttenberg ", who are trapped underground but supernaturally maintain longevity through prayer. Siegfried Kube (1960) argued

832-634: The Trullis (trolls?) as they are called especially by the Swedes, said to shapeshift into the guise of human males and females, and sometimes made to serve men. Purportedly a mountain demon incident caused 12 fatalities at a mine named Rosenkrans at Anneberg or rather Rosenkranz or Rosenkrone (Corona Rosacea ) at Annaberg-Buchholz , in the Erzgebirge ( Ore Mountains ) in Saxony . The demon took on

884-453: The virunculos montanos , literally translatable into German as Bergmännlein , or English as "mountain manikin" due to their small stature (about 2 feet). They had the appearance of old age, and dressed like miners, in laced/filleted shirt and leather apron around the loins. And although they may pelt miners with gravel/pebbles they did no real harm, unless they were first provoked. Agricola goes on to add there are similar to

936-767: The Bergeist burrowing underground which guides miners to exact spots. In the Harz area, it is a being Bergmönch or "mountain monk" who uses the so-called "mining light ( Grubenlicht or Geleucht ) to guide miners to their quarry or to their exit. The lantern he holds is apparently an ignited lump of tallow ( Unschlitt ). It is also said that the Bergmönch was originally a mine supervisor who begged God to let him continue oversight of mines after death. If ignored it will angrily appear in its giant true form, with eyes as large as cartwheels, his silver lantern measuring

988-499: The Berggeist (instead of Bergmännlein ). Grimm also uses the Berggeist apparently as a type of Zwerg , but there has been issued a caveat that the meaning of the term Berggeist according to Grimm may not necessarily coincide with the meaning used by the proletarian Greverus. Gerhard Heilfurth  [ de ] and Greverus's Bergbau und Bergmann (1967) amply discuss the Bergmännlein . The collection of tales under

1040-596: The Berggeist of the Germans. Nineteenth-century German miners also talked of the Berggeist , who appeared as small black men, scouting ahead of miners with a hammer, and with their banging sound indicating whether veins of ore, or breaks in the veins called 'faults', and the more knocks, the richer the vein lay ahead. There is also a experiential report of a German mine sprite communicating residents and visiting their house (cf. Kobold#Visitors from mines ). The gnomes of Swiss folklore are also associated with riches of

1092-457: The adopted daughter of innkeepers in Ayortha, has always hated her appearance. Her prodigious size and her odd coloring – milk-white skin, dragon tongue lips, and hair that seems to be frying-pan black – are greatly at variance with the land's standards of beauty and often make her the target of stares and rude comments. However, Aza's voice garners as much attention as her looks, for Ayortha

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1144-505: The gnomi in the German edition (1567). There was a belief in early modern Germany about beings that lurked in the mines, known as Bergmännlein (var. Bergmännlin , Bergmänngen ), equatable to what Paracelsus called "gnomes". Paracelsus's contemporary, Georgius Agricola , being a supervisor of mines, collected his well-versed knowledge of this mythical being in his monograph , De amantibus subterraneis (recté De animatibus subterraneis , 1549). The (corrected) title suggests

1196-533: The "Rosenkranz" mine localized in Saxony was already given above in § Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg . This and other near modern attestations are given in Wolfersdorf's anthology (1968) above. German lore regarding gnomes or berggeist (mine spirits) regard them as beneficial creatures, at least if they are treated respectfully, and lead miners to rich veins of ore. The silver thaler minted by Duke Henry

1248-415: The 19th century, growing in popularity during the 20th century as garden gnomes . The name of the element cobalt descends from kobelt , a 16th century German miners' term for unwanted ore ( cobalt -zinc ore, or possibly the noxious cobaltite and smaltite ), related as mischief perpetrated by the gnome Kobel (cf. § cobalt ore ). This Kobel is a synonym of Bergmännlein , technically not

1300-508: The Greek term, cadmia . This cadmia / kobelt appears to have denoted a cobalt-zinc ore, but Agricola ascribes to it corrosive dangers to the miners' feet, and it is noted that smaltite , a cobalt and nickel arsenide mixture presents corrosive properties. This ore, which defied being smelted by the metallurgy of that time, may also have been cobaltite , composed of cobalt, arsenic, and sulfur. The presence of this nuisance ore kobelt

1352-609: The Other Spirits by Paracelsus , published posthumously in Nysa in 1566. The term may be an original invention of Paracelsus, possibly deriving the term from Latin * gēnomos , itself representing a Greek * γηνόμος , approximated by " * gē-nomos ", literally "earth-dweller". This is characterized by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) as a case of "blunder", presumably referring to

1404-527: The Younger of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel which features a " wild man " (cf. right) was seen to reassert his claim of complete ownership of the local silver and forest resources of the Harz Mountains , probably depicting the supernatural that miners believed led them to the whereabouts of silver ore. Even though the wild man above surface could be a vague supernatural guide, it is pointed out that it must be

1456-449: The beings which the Germans called Guteli (singular: Gutelos ; German : Gütel , var. Güttgen ), which are amicable demons that are rarely seen, since they have business at their home taking care of livestock. A Gütel or Güttel is elsewhere explained as not necessarily a mountain spirit, but more generic, and may haunt forests and fields. The Hoovers render these as "goblins". Agricola finally adds these resemble

1508-484: The classification of "Berggeist" was already anticipated as far back as Friedrich Wrubel (1883). Later Franz Kirnbauer  [ de ] published Bergmanns-Sagen (1954), a collection of miner's legends which basically adopted Wrubel's four-part classification, except Wrubel's Part 2 was retitled as one about "Bergmännlein". In Karl Müllenhoff 's anthology (1845), legends No. 443 Das Glück der Grafen Ranzau and No. 444 Josias Ranzaus gefeites Schwert feature

1560-428: The country seems to be on the verge of revolt, Aza and Ivi's deception is publicly discovered by accident. The incident with the marble toe does not deter her desire to be beautiful, which leads Aza to drink a beauty potion created by Skulni, the mysterious, evil creature living in a magic mirror given to Ivi as a wedding gift from the fairy Lucinda. Aza becomes beautiful, but still remains self-conscious about herself. Aza

1612-559: The dwarf's Nebelkappe (known as Tarnkappe in the Nibelungenlied ) slipped from being known as a cape or cloak covering the body in earlier times, into being thought of as caps or head coverings in the post-medieval era. As an example, he cites the Bergmännlein wearing a pointed hat, according to Rollenhagen 's poem Froschmeuseler . As can be glimpsed by this example, the approach of Grimm's " Mythologische Schule "

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1664-590: The family that raised her and truly loved her. Gnome This is an accepted version of this page A gnome ( / n oʊ m / ) is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy , introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depicted as small humanoids who live underground. Gnome characteristics are reinterpreted to suit various storytellers and artists. Paracelsus's gnome

1716-484: The gloss reveals that the "metallurgical demon" ( daemon metallicus ) or Bergmännlein is somehow responsible for leaving a rich vein of ore ( fundige zech ), specifically a rich vein of silver. According to Agricola in De animatibus subterraneis (1549), these mountain-cave demons were called by the same name, cobalos , in both Greek (i.e. kobalos ) and German (i.e. kobel var. kobal ). The Latin form

1768-404: The gnomes, Ivi appears, disguised as a gnome, and tricks Aza into eating a poisoned apple. Her spirit is taken back to the enchanted mirror, where she discovers that Ivi's actions have been manipulated by Skulni so that he can take a vacation when Ivi is killed since then Ivi's spirit would take Skulni's place, and her spirit would be trapped in the mirror until Skulni returns. Aza manages to destroy

1820-521: The guise of the horse, and killed the twelve men with its breath, according to Agricola. Agricola has a passage in Bermanus which is quoted by a modern scholar as relevant to the study of his contemporary Paracelsus. The passage contains the line basically repeated by Olaus, as "there exist in ore-bearing regions six kinds of demon more malicious than the rest". This is probably misstated or misleading, since Bermanus cites Psellus , who devised

1872-534: The legends of that profession, these mining spirits acted as miming and laughing pranksters who sometimes threw pebbles at miners, but could also reward them by depositing a rich vein of silver ore. Paracelsus also called his gnomes occasionally by these names ( Bergmännlein , etc.) in the German publications of his work (1567). Paracelsus claimed gnomes measured 2 spans (18 inches) in height, whereas Agricola had them to be 3 dodrans (3 spans, 27 inches) tall. Lawn ornaments crafted as gnomes were introduced during

1924-487: The measurement of what he calls the Bergmännrigen at "drey viertel einer Ellen lang", perhaps shy of one and a half feet. The mention of kobolde here as a name for the underground spirit is an unresolved contradiction to Praetorius dedicating a wholly separate chapter on the kobold as house sprite with a separate frontispiece art labeled "8. Haußmänner/Kobolde/Gütgen" for the house spirits. The anecdote of

1976-555: The mines. They are said to have caused the landslide that destroyed the Swiss village of Plurs in 1618 - the villagers had become wealthy from a local gold mine created by the gnomes, who poured liquid gold down into a vein for the benefit of humans, and were corrupted by this newfound prosperity, which greatly offended the gnomes. Grimm discusses the Bergmänlein somewhat under the subsection of Dwarfs ( Zwerge ), arguing that

2028-551: The mirror and warn Ivi about Skulni's evil plans through the mirror; the mirror's destruction also removes Aza and Ivi's magically obtained beauty. Aza awakens back in Gnome Caverns with a newfound respect for herself. To her surprise, Ijori is also there, and he apologizes for not defending and believing her. Aza marries Ijori, King Oscaro finally recovers, and Ivi turns from her evil ways. The King decides to abdicate in favor of his nephew, since he still loves Ivi but does not trust her with having access to power, and retires with Ivi to

2080-515: The more ferocious of the "underground demons" ( daemon subterraneus ) were called in German Berg-Teufel or "mountain-devil", while the milder ones were called Bergmännlein, Kobel, Güttel . And the daemon metallicus "mine demon" aka Bergmännlein ( bergmenlein [ sic ]) is somehow responsible for depositing rich veins of ore (" fundige zech )" (specifically rich silver ore). A different entry in

2132-553: The noxious ore which Agricola called cadmia is clarified as that which German miners called cobelt (also kobelt , cobalt ), and a demon the Germans called kobel was held responsible for the mischief of its existence, according to the preacher. The kobel demon was also blamed for the " hipomane " [ sic ] or horse's poison (cf. hippomanes , § Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg ). Agricola, in his earlier Latin work Bermanus, sive, de re metallica (first printed 1530, reprinted 1546, etc.), did delve into

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2184-525: The omission of the ē to arrive at gnomus . However, this conjectural derivation is not substantiated by any known prior attestation in literature, and one commentator suggests the truth will never be known, short of a discovery of correspondence from the author. Paracelsus uses Gnomi as a synonym of Pygmæi and classifies them as earth elementals . He describes them as two spans tall. They are able to move through solid earth, as easily as humans move through air, and hence described as being like

2236-475: The ore is characterized as a "gnome or a goblin" by science writer Philip Ball . However, 20th century dictionaries had suggested derivation from kobold , for example, Webster's in 1911 which didn't distinguish kobel from kobold and lumped them together, and the OED which conjectured that the ore kobolt and the spirit kobolt/kobold was the same word. An alternative etymology deriving kobolt ore from Kübel ,

2288-586: The popular notion was that Rübezahl was indeed lord of the gnomes, as told in folktales around the Risengibirge ( Giant Mountains ) region in Silesia, published by 18th century folktale collector Musäus . Agricola explaining that the "mine demon" dæmon metallicus or " Bergmenlin " somehow deposited "rich mines" was mentioned above. Agricola knew of certain noxious unwanted ores the Germans miners called kobelt , though he generally referred to it by

2340-423: The rank of lady-in-waiting in exchange for Aza illusing a marvelous singing voice for her when she needs to sing; when Aza tries to refuse, Ivi threatens to imprison her and close her family's inn. Soon after Aza reluctantly accepts Ivi's offer, the castle is thrown into turmoil when King Oscaro is terribly wounded during a sporting event with centaurs because the king threw himself in front of Ivi to save her. Aza

2392-456: The same as kobold , but there is confusion or conflation between them. The terms Bergmännlein / Bergmännchen or Berggeist  [ de ] are often used in German publications as the generic, overall term for the mine spirits told in "miners' legends" ( Bergmannssage ). The word comes from Renaissance Latin gnomus, gnomos , (pl. gnomi ) which first appears in A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on

2444-416: The southern castle. Aza becomes queen of Ayortha, alongside her husband, now King Ijori. She bears three children, all of whom greatly resemble their father but have htun hair and can illuse just like their mother. Though she does not learn who her biological parents were, Zhamm manages to find out that they are distant relatives through a mutual great-great-great grandmother. Aza lives happily ever after along

2496-700: The subject to be "subterranean animate beings". It was regarded as a treatise on the "Mountain spirit" ( Berggeist by the Brothers Grimm , in Deutsche Sagen . Agricola is the earliest and probably most reliable source on Berggeist  [ de ] , then known as Bergmännlein , etc. Agricola's contemporary Johannes Mathesius , a Lutheran reformist theologian , in Sarepta Oder Bergpostill (1562) uses these various mine-lore terminology in his German sermon, so that

2548-470: The tale was based on ancient mythology, i.e., pagan alpine worship. This was countered by Wolfgang Brückner  [ de ] (1961) who regarded the tale as inspired by medieval Catholic notion of the purgatory . Whereas Ina-Maria Greverus (1962), presented yet a different view, that it was not based on organized church doctrine, but a world-view and faith in the miner's unique microcosm. Greverus at least in her 1962 piece, centered her argument on

2600-453: The title Fairest . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fairest&oldid=1036844431 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Fairest (novel) Aza,

2652-608: The uninvented coinage "gnome", the accompanying woodcut he provided (cf. Fig. right) has been represented as "gnome" in modern reference sources. Johannes Praetorius in Anthropodemus Plutonicus (1666) devotes a chapter of considerable length to the beings he calls Bergmännrigen or Erdleute "earth people", and follows Agricola to a large extent. Thus he considers earth spirits to be of two types, one more evil and sinister looking. The other, more benevolent and known as bergmännlein or kobolde . He gives

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2704-466: Was blamed on the similar-sounding kobel mine spirits, as Mathesius noted in his preaching. The inferred etymology of kobelt deriving from kobel , which Mathesius does not quite elocute, was explicitly articulated by Johannes Beckmann in Beiträge zur Geschichte der Erfindungen (tr. English as The History of Inventions, discoveries and origins , 1797). The kobel spirit possibly the namesake of

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