Chapter 17

In the Netherlands too we find at an early time the form koubout (pl. coubouten, Horae Belg. 1, 119); now kabout, and in Belgium kabot, kabotermanneken. (126) The Scandinavian languages have not the word.

It is a foreign word sprung no doubt from the Gr. kobaloj (rogue), Lat. cobalus, (127) with a t added, as our language is partial to forms in -olt for monstrous and ghostly beings. From cobalus, in Mid. Lat. already gobelinus, the Fr. has formed its gobelin, whence the Engl. goblin, strengthened into hobgoblin. Hanka's O. Boh. glosses render 79b gitulius (getulius, gaetulius) by kobolt, and directly after, aplinus (l. alpinus, i.e. alphinus, the 'fool' or queen in chess) by tatrman: here are kobolt and tartman together, just as we saw them staring at each other in the Renner; hence also the Cod. pal. 341, 126c speaks of 'einen taterman mâlen,' painting a t., and the Wahtelmære 140 of guiding him with strings, 'rihtet zuo mit den snüeren die tatermanne' (supra, p. 410 g.). To explain this taterman by the Engl. tatter has some plausibility, but then our HG. ought to have had zaterman (conf. OHG. zata, zatar, Graff 5, 632-2, with AS. tættera, panniculus). The glossist above may have meant by gaetulius an African savage, by alpinus a Tartar (MHG. tater, tateler), or still better, a fool; (128) the word taterman occurs in other O. Boh. documents besides, and signifies doll and idol (Jungmann 3, 554b); foreign to all other Slavic dialects, it seems borrowed from German. (129) Its proper meaning can only be revealed by a fuller insight into the history of puppet-shows. Perhaps the Hung. tatos (juggler) has a claim to consideration. (130).

Several MSS. however and the first printed editions of the Renner have not taterman at all, but katerman (Cod. francof. 164b reads verse 10843 kobülde unde katirman), which is not altogether to be rejected, and at lowest offers a correct secondary sense. Katerman, derived from kater (tom-cat), may be compared with heinzelman, hinzelman, hinzemännchen, the name of a home-sprite, (131) with Hinze the cat in Reineke, and the wood-sprite Katzenveit (p. 480). The puss-in-the-boots of the fairy-tale plays exactly the part of a good-natured helpful kobold; another one is called stiefel (boot, Deut. sag. no. 77), because he wears a large boot: by the boot, I suppose, are indicated the gefeite schuhe (fairy shoes) of older legend, with which one could travel faster on the ground, and perhaps through the air; such are the league-boots of fairy-tales and the winged shoes of Hermes. The name of Heinze is borne by a mountain-sprite in the Froschmeuseler. Heinze is a dimin. of Heinrich, just as in Lower Germany another noisy ghost is called Chimke, dimin. of Joachim (conf. 'dat gimken,' Brem. wb. 5, 379): the story of Chimmeken (of about 1327) is to be found in Kantzow's Pomerania 1, 333. The similar and equally Low-German name Wolterken seems to have a wider circulation. Samuel Meiger in his Panurgia lamiarum (Hamb. 1587. 4), bok 3 cap. 2, treats 'van den laribus domesticis edder husknechtkens, de men ok Wolterken unde Chimken an etliken örden nömet.' These Wolterkens are also mentioned by Arnkiel (Cimbr. heidenth. 1, 49); in the Netherlands they are called Wouters, Wouterken, and Tuinman 2, 201 has a proverb ' 't is een wilde Wouter,' though incorrectly he refers it to wout (silva). Wouter, Wolter is nothing but the human proper name Walter bestowed on a home-sprite. It is quite a piece with the familiar intercourse between these spirits and mankind, that, beside the usual appellatives, certain proper names should be given them, the diminutives of Henry, Joachim, Walter. Not otherwise do I understand the Robin and Nissen in the wonted names for the English and Danish goblins Robin goodfellow and Nissen god dreng. Robin is a French-English form of the name Robert, OHG. Hruodperaht, MHG. Ruotperht, our Ruprecht, Rupert, Ruppert; and Robin Fellow is the same home-sprite whom we in Germany call knect Ruprecht, and exhibit to children at Christmas, but who in the comedies of the 16-17th centuries becomes a mere Rüpel or Rüppel, i.e. a merry fool in general. (132) In England, Robin Goodfellow seems to get mixed up with Robin Hood the archer, as Hood himself reminds us of Hôdeken (p. 463); and I think this derivation from a being of the goblin kind, and universally known to the people, is preferable to the attempted historical ones from Rubertus a Saxon mass-priest, or the English Robertus knight, one of the slayers of Thomas Becket. Nisse, Nissen, current in Denmark and Norway, must be explained from Niels, Nielsen, i.e. Nicolaus, Niclas, (133) not from our HG. common noun 'nix' the watersprite, which is in Danish nök, nok (p. 488), and has no connexion with Nisse; and the Swed. form is also Nilson. I find a confirmation of this in our habit of assigning to Niclaus, Claus or Clobes the selfsame part that in some districts is played by Ruprecht. To this latter I am inclined to refer even the words of so early a writer as Ofterdingen, MS. 2, 2b: 'Rupreht mîn knecht muoz iuwer hâr gelîch den tôren schern,' R. my man must shear your hair like that of fools. A home-sprite Rüdy (for Rudolf) in Mone's Anz. 3, 365.

Another set of names is taken from the noises which these spirits keep up in houses: you hear them jumping softly, knocking at walls, racketing and tumbling on stairs and in lofts. Span. trasgo (goblin), and trasguear (to racket); Fr. soterai, sotret (jumper), Mém. de l'acad. celt. 4, 91; ekerken (eichhörnchen, squirrel), Deut. sag. no. 78; poltergeist, rumpelgeist, rumpelstilz in the Kindermärchen no. 55, rumpelstilt in Fischart; (134) one particular goblin is called klopfer, knocker (Deut. sag. no. 76), and it may be in this connexion that hämmerlein, hemerlein (supra, p. 182) has come to be applied to home-sprites of diabolic nature. Nethl. bullman, bullerman, bullerkater, from bullen, bullern, to be boisterous. Flem. boldergeest, and hence 'bi holder te bolder,' our 'holter die polter,' helter-skelter. A pophart, identical with rumpelstilt in Fischart, is tob e derived from popeln, popern, to keep bobbing or thumping softly and rapidly; (135) a house-goblin in Swabia was called the poppele; in other parts popel, pöpel, pöpelmann, popanz, usually with the side-meaning of a muffled ghost that frightens children, and seldom used of playful good-humoured goblins. At the same time pöpel is that which muffles (puppet) itself: about Henneberg, says Reinwald 2, 78, a dark cloud is so called; it contains the notion of mask and tarnkappe (p. 333). In connexion with Holda, a Hollepöpel, Hollepeter is spoken of.

The same shifting of form appears in the words mumhart (already in Cæsarius heisterb. 7, 46: 'mummart momordit me'), mummel, mummelmann, mummanz, (136) which express the very same notion, ' mummen, mummlm' signifying to mumble, to utter a name of the watersprite (p. 490)? In that case, vermummen (to disguise), mummerei (mumming, larva) would seem to mean acting like the spectre, instead of the spectre having taken his name from mumming (see Suppl.).

The word butze as far back as the 12th-13th century had the same meaning as mummart and poppart: a place called Puziprunnun, Puciprunnen, MB. 6, 60. 62. 9, 420 (12^th century), unless puzi = puteus be meant, might take its name from a well, haunted by such a home-sprite. 'Ein ungehiurer (uncanny) butze,' Martina 116c 224ª; 'si sehent mich nicht mêr an in butzen wîs,' they look at me no more in butze wise, Walth. 28, 37; 'in butzenwise gehn,' Oberlin sub. v.; 'den butzen vorht er kleine, als man dô seit von kinden,' he little fears the b., as we say of children, Albr. Tit. x. 144 (Hahn 1275); butzengriul, -horror, Walth. 140, 2. MsH. 3, 451ª°; 'geloub ich daz, sô bîz mich butze,' b. bite me if I believe it, Hätzlerin 287ª, which agrees with 'mummart momordit me' above; 'ein kinderbutze,' Ls. 1, 617; 'forht ich solchen bützel,' Ls. 1, 380, where a wihtel is spoken of. So, to frighten with the butze, to tear off the butze (mask); butzen antlüt (face) and butzen kleider (clothes) = larva in Kaisersperg (Oberlin 209); winterbutz in Brant's Narrenschiff 129 (winterbutte in the Plattdeutsch translation 140b). I do not understand the butzenhänsel in Weisth. 1, 691. All over Germany almost, we hear to this day: 'der butz kommt,' (137) or 'der butzemann, butzelmann,' and in Elsass butzmummel, the same as butz or mummel alone. buz, Jäger's Ulm, p. p. 522. butzenmann, Fischart's Bienkorb 194ª. butz, Garg. 231ª. butzemann, Simpl. 2, 248. In Bavaria, fasnachtbutz, Shrovetide b., buzmann, buzibercht, b. coupled with the Bercht or Berchta of our pp. 272-9; butzwinkel, lurking-place, butzlfinster, pitch-dark, when the apparition is most to be dreaded; 'the putz would take us over hill and dale,' Schm. 1, 229. 230; the butz who leads travellers astray (Muchar's Gastein, p. 145). In Swabia butzenmaukler (from maucheln, to be sly), butzenbrecht, butzenraule, butzenrolle, rollputz, butzenbell (because his rattle rolls and his bell tinkles), Schmid 111. About Hanau I have heard the interjection, katza-butza-rola! the 'katze-butze' bringing up the connexion between cat and goblin (p. 503) in a new form. In Switzerland bootzi, bozi, St. 1, 204. Here several meanings branch out of one another: first we have a monstrous butz that drags children away, then a tiny bützel, and thence both bützel and butz-igel (-urchin) used contemptuously of little deformed creatures. In like manner but in Low Germ. stands for a squat podgy child; butten, verbutten is to get stunted or deformed, while the bugbear is called butte, butke, budde, buddeke: 'dat di de butke nig bit,' (that thee the bogie bite not!) is said satirically to children who are afraid of the dark, Brem. wb. 1, 173-5; and here certainly is the place for the watersprite butt or buttje in the kindermärchen no. 19, the name having merely been transferred to a blunt-headed fish, the rhombus or passer marinus. (138) There is also probably a buttemann, buttmann, but more commonly in the contracted form bu-man (Br. wb. 1, 153). Nethl. bytebauw, for buttebauw, which I identify with Low Germ. bu-ba (Br. wb. 1, 152). The Dan. bussemand, bussegroll, bussetrold (Molbech, p. 60) seems to be formed on the German (see Suppl.).---The origin of this butze, butte is hard to ascertain: I would assume a lost Goth. biuta (tundo, pulso), báut, butum, OHG. piuzu, pôz, puzum, whence OHG: anapôz, our amboss, anvil, MHG. bôzen (pulsare), and gebiuze, thumping, clatter [Engl. to butt?], conf. Lachmann on Nib. 1823, 2. Fragm. 40, 186; butze would be a thumping rapping sprite, perfectly agreeing with mumhart and pophart, (139) and we may yet hear of a bôzhart or buzhart. But, like butzenhänsel, there is also a hanselmann used for spiritus familiaris (Phil. v. Sittew. 5, 328, ed. Lugd.), and the similar hampelmann for goblin, puppet and mannequin (= männeke, mannikin). Bavar. hämpel, haimpel, both devil and simpleton (Schm. 2, 197), Austr. henparl (Höfer 2, 46).




ENDNOTES:

126. Schayes sur les usages et traditions des Belges. Louvain 1834, p. 230. Back

127. Lobeck's Aglaoph. 1308-1328. Back

128. Thee is in the kobold's character an unmistakable similarity to the witty court-fool; hence I feel it significant, that one described in Schweinichen 1, 260-2 expressly carries a bawble. The Engl. hobgoblin means the same as clowngoblin (Nares sub v. hob). Back

129. Hanusch (Slav. myth. 299) takes the taterman (he says, hasterman also occurs) for a water sprite. Back

130. 'In Tyrol tatterman = scarecrow, coward, kobold, from tattern, zittern, to quake, skedaddle; Frommann 2, 327. Leoprechting p. 177 says, tattern to frighten; at Gratz in Styria, the night before solstice, Tattermann, a bugbear is carried round and set on fire in memory of extirpated heathenism.'---Extr. from Suppl. Back

131. Deut. sag. no. 75; the story is 100 years later than the composition of the Reineke. Hinzelmann leaves a dint in the bed, as if a cat had lain in it. Luther's Table-talk (ed. 1571, p. 441ª) had previously related the like concerning a spirit Heinzlin. Back

132. Ayrer's Fastnachtspiele 73d confirms the fact of Rupel being a dimin. of Ruprecht. Some dialects use Rüpel, Riepel as a name for the tom-cat again; in witch-trials a little young devil is named Rubel. Acc. to the Leipzig Avanturier 1, 22-3, knecht Ruprecht appears in shaggy clothes, sack on back and rod in hand.---[If Hob in hobgoblin stands for Robert, it is another instance of the friendly or at least conciliatory feeling that prompted the giving of such names. In Mids. N. Dream ii. 1, the same spirit that has just been called Robin Goodfellow, is thus addressed: Those that Hob-goblin call you, and sweet Puck, You do their work, and they shall have good luck. Of course Hob as a man's name is Robert, as Hodge is Roger.---Trans.] Back

133. Not only Nielsen, but Nissen is a family name in Denmark, and can only mean the same, by no means nix or goblin. [I suppose Niels is rather Nigellus, Nigel, which breaks down the connexion with Nicolas or Claus; still the two can stand independently.---Trans.] Back

134. Is stilt, stilz the old stalt in compounds? Gramm. 2, 527. What the fairytale says of Rumpelstilt, and how his name has to be guessed, other stories tell of Eisenhütel or Hopfenhütel (who wear an iron hat or one wreathed with hop-leaves), Kletke's Alman. v. volksm. 67; or of the dwarf Holzrührlein, Bonneführlein, Harrys 1, 18 [of Knirfiker, Gebhart, Tepentiren, Müllenh. 306-8, of Titteli Ture, Sv. folkv. 1, 171.---Suppl.]; and we shall meet with the like in giant-stories. Back

135. Stald. 1, 204. Schm. 1, 293. 323. Back

136. For mum hans (muffle-jack), as popanz is for pop-hans (bob-jack), and as there were likewise blindhans, grobhans, karsthans, scharrhans, etc. Back

137. In Normandy: 'hush, the gobelin will eat you up.' Back

138. Homesprite and water-sprite meet in this soothsaying wish-granting fish. The story of the butt has a parallel in the OFr. tale of an elvish spirit and enchanter Merlin, who keeps fulfilling the growing desires of the charcoal burner, till they pass all bounds, then plunges him back into his original poverty (Méon, nouv. rec. 2, 242-252. Jubinal 1, 128-135. Back

139. As the monstrous includes the repulsive and unclean, it is not surprising that both butze and popel signify mucus, filth (Oberlin 210. Schm. 1, 291). The same with Swiss böög, St. 1, 203. Back