Editing Gnome (section)

==Folklore examples==
[[File:Lichttaler 1587, CNG.jpg|thumb|Silver Thaler coin. Goslar mint. Dated 1587]]
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The anecdote of the "Rosenkranz" mine localized in Saxony was already given above in {{section link||Rosenkranz mine, Annaberg}}. This and other near modern attestations are given in Wolfersdorf's anthology (1968) above.{{sfnp|Wolfersdorf|1968}}

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.{{Refn|Scott actually says these are "kobolds" which are types of gnomes.<ref name="Scott1845"/>}}

===Bergmönch of Harz and mine light===
The silver [[thaler]] minted by Duke [[Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Henry 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|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 the ''Bergeist'' burrowing underground which guides miners to exact spots. In the Harz area, it is a being {{lang|de|Bergmönch}} or "mountain monk" who uses the so-called "mining light ({{lang|de|Grubenlicht}} or {{lang|de|Geleucht}}) to guide miners to their quarry or to their exit.<ref>"Der Berggeist spendet Geleucht" (C. 5 ), {{harvp|Heilfurth|Greverus|1967}} pp. 438–442<!--apud Stopp--></ref><ref name="stopp1970"/>

The lantern he holds is apparently an ignited lump of [[tallow]] ({{lang|de|Unschlitt}}).<ref name="ranke1910"/> 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 a German bushel or {{interlanguage link|Scheffel  (measurement)|de|Scheffel (Maßeinheit)|lt=''Scheffel ''}}.{{Refn|group="lower-alpha"|Modern UK/US bushel is about 35The German bushel or ''Scheffel'' historically was a widely differing unit of dry volume, depending on region, it was around 50 liters in many areas, but given as 310 odd liters in the Duchy of Braunschweig.<!--310.25 accord de.wikipedia--><ref>"Braunschweig Himten 31 1/7 liter" (cf." Baiern Schäffel 222.4 liter"). Schrader, Theodor Friedrich  (1859).{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=vavksnBnvrQC&pg=PA65|2=Das Wichtigste der Wechselcourse, des Münzwesens und der Maasse und Gewichte}}, p. 65.</ref><ref>"Ein Wispel hält in Braunschweir\g 4 Scheffel, 40 Himten oder 640 Löcher ". [[Otto von Münchhausen]] (1771){{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=eDs7AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA640|2=Der Hausvater}}, p. 640.</ref>}}<ref name="ranke1910"/>

===Communication through noises===
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 the ''Berggeist'' of the Germans.{{Refn|Mr. Kalodzy, teacher at the Hungarian Mining School, cited by spiritualist [[Emma Hardinge Britten]].<ref name="britten1884"/>}}

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.{{Refn|William Howitt, ''London Spiritual Magazine'', cited by Britten.<ref name="britten1884"/>}}

There is also a experiential report of a German mine sprite communicating residents and visiting their house (cf.[[Kobold#Visitors from mines]]).

===Switzerland===
The gnomes of [[Swiss folklore]] are also associated with riches of 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 (geology)|vein]] for the benefit of humans, and were  corrupted by this newfound prosperity, which greatly offended the gnomes.<ref>[[H. A. Guerber|Guerber, H. A.]] (1899). ''Legends of Switzerland''. [[Dodd, Mead & Co.]] pp. 289–290.</ref>