Hinzelmann
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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[edit]
Heinzelmann's myth says that he started haunting the castle Hudemühlen in 1584 after being cast from the forest of Bohemia.[1] At first he was shy, later he was conversing and jesting openly with all inhabitants of the house, including the master.[1] He sang verses, the most repeated one said that evil luck would take his place if he was ever chased out.[1]
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 Heinzelman 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.
Pop culture[edit]
Hinzelmann is an important character in the novel American Gods by Neil Gaiman, in which he protects Lakeside, a fictional town in Wisconsin from economic trouble in return for the town's children as sacrifices. His fictional history describes him as being a god to a tribe of nomads living in the Black Forest before its invasion by the Romans.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 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[edit]
- Lilian Gask (1865-) (First published 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. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - Thomas Keightley (1828), The fairy mythology, Volume 2, W. H. Ainsworth
