 Goblins as illustrated by Francisco Goya |
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| Grouping | Fairy |
|---|---|
| Country | Scandinavia, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, United States |
| Habitat | Caves, woodland |
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous creature, described as a grotesquely evil or evil -like phantom. They are attributed with various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little creatures somewhat related to the brownie and gnome.
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According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, the name is probably derived from the Anglo-Norman gobelin (which was rendered, in Medieval Latin, as gobelinus, Norman goublin), which is probably a diminutive of Gobel, a name related to the word kobold (a German sprite). In addition, there also exist various other alternative spellings of the word goblin, including: Gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, gobelinus (Medieval Latin).
Hiisi, folletto, duende, tengu, Menninkäinen and kallikantzaroi are often translated into English as 'goblins'. The Erlking and Billy Blind are sometimes called goblins. 'Goblin' is often used as a general term to mean any small mischievous being.
A modern account gives a fabled origin for goblins in Britain. After spreading throughout the UK, they sneaked aboard ships and sailed to France, and from there rapidly moved all over Europe [1][2] They are said to have no homes, being wanderers, dwelling temporarily in mossy cracks in rocks and tree roots.
The orcs in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are also referred to as goblins. These works, featuring goblins of almost-human stature, generally set the tone for the depiction of goblins in modern fantasy fiction and games. Similar goblins appear as non-player characters in the paper-based role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons and the much later online games RuneScape and World of Warcraft (and are a playable faction in the WoW expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm). Despite its title, goblins are featured as the main villains in the cult film Troll 2.
However, many works continue the folkloric presentation of goblins as diminutive, as in the 1986 film Labyrinth, the "Harry Potter" books and film series, and the film Legend.
There are many (human) villains in the Spider-Man franchise whose names include "goblin", and who use a goblin motif, such as several incarnations of the Green Goblin as well as Hobgoblin and Demogoblin.
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Goblins - Life Through Their Eyes is a Dungeons & Dragons - themed webcomic written and drawn by Tarol "Thunt" Hunt. It launched on June 26, 2005, and is still running.
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