Editing Gnome (section)

== Cultural references ==

===In Romanticism and modern fairy tales===
[[File:CarlSpitzwegGnomEisenbahnbetrachtend.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Gnome Watching Railway Train]]'', [[Carl Spitzweg]], 1848]]

The English word is attested from the early 18th century. Gnomes are used in [[Alexander Pope]]'s "[[The Rape of the Lock]]".<ref name="veenstra2013"/> The creatures from this mock-epic are small, celestial creatures that were prudish women in their past lives, and now spend all of eternity looking out for prudish women (in parallel to the guardian angels in Catholic belief). Other uses of the term ''gnome'' remain obscure until the early 19th century, when it is taken up by authors of [[Romanticist]] collections of [[fairy tale]]s and becomes mostly synonymous with the older word ''[[goblin]]''.

Pope's stated source, the 1670 French satire ''[[Comte de Gabalis]]'' by [[Henri de Montfaucon de Villars|Nicolas-Pierre-Henri de Montfaucon de Villars]], the [[abbot]] of [[Villars-sur-Ollon|Villars]],  describes gnomes as such:
<blockquote>The Earth is filled almost to the center with ''Gnomes'' or ''Pharyes'', a people of small stature, the guardians of treasures, of mines, and of precious stones. They are ingenious, friends of men, and easie to be commandded. They furnish the children of the ''Sages'' with as much money, as they have need of; and never ask any other reward of their services, than the glory of being commanded. The ''Gnomides'' or wives of these ''Gnomes'' or ''Pharyes'', are little, but very handsom; and their habit marvellously curious.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2003&res_id=xri:eebo&rft_id=xri:eebo:image:199577 |title=The Count of Gabalis: Or, The Extravagant Mysteries of the Cabalists, Exposed in Five Pleasant Discourses on the Secret Sciences |publisher=B. M. Printer |location=London |first=Nicolas-Pierre-Henri |last=Montfaucon de Villars |translator-first=P. A. |translator-last=Gent |pages=29–30 |date=1680 |oclc=992499594}}</ref></blockquote>
De Villars used the term ''gnomide'' to refer to female gnomes (often "gnomid" in English translations).<ref>{{cite book |url=http://sacred-texts.com/eso/cdg/index.htm |title=Comte de Gabalis |publisher=The Brothers, Old Bourne Press |location=London |first=N.-P.-H. |last=de Montfaucon de Villars |date=1913 |orig-year=1670 |oclc=6624965 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513012258/http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/cdg/index.htm |archive-date=13 May 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> {{anchor|gnomess}}Modern fiction instead uses the word "gnomess" to refer to female gnomes.<ref>2007: [https://books.google.com/books?id=FD6zseJQdycC&pg=PA115 Shadow on the Land, page 115]</ref><ref>2013: [https://books.google.com/books?id=vElLBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA120 Gnomes and Haflings, page 120]</ref>

In 19th-century fiction, the [[chthonic]] gnome became a sort of antithesis to the more airy or luminous [[fairy]]. [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] in ''[[Twice-Told Tales]]'' (1837) contrasts the two in "Small enough to be king of the fairies, and ugly enough to be king of the gnomes" (cited after [[OED]]). Similarly, gnomes are contrasted to [[elf|elves]], as in [[William Cullen Bryant]]'s ''Little People of the Snow'' (1877), which has "let us have a tale of elves that ride by night, with jingling reins, or gnomes of the mine" (cited after [[OED]]).

The Russian  composer [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]]  produced a movement in his work ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'', (1874)  named "Gnomus" ([[Latin]] for "The Gnome"). It  is written to sound as if a gnome is moving about.

[[Franz Hartmann]] in 1895 satirized [[materialism]] in an allegorical tale entitled ''Unter den Gnomen im Untersberg''. The English translation appeared in 1896 as ''Among the Gnomes: An Occult Tale of Adventure in the Untersberg''. In this story, the ''Gnomes'' are still clearly subterranean creatures, guarding treasures of gold within the [[Untersberg]] mountain.

As a figure of 19th-century [[fairy tale]]s, the term gnome became largely synonymous with other terms for "[[little people (mythology)|little people]]" by the 20th century, such as ''[[goblin]]'', ''[[brownie (folklore)|brownie]]'', ''[[leprechaun]]'' and other instances of the [[household spirit]] type, losing its strict association with earth or the underground world.

===Modern fantasy literature===
* Creatures called ''gnomes'' have been used in the [[fantasy]] genre of fiction and later gaming since the mid-nineteenth century, typically in a cunning role, e.g. as an inventor.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy |chapter=Elemental |publisher=St. Martin's Griffin |location=New York |first1=John |last1=Clute |first2=John |last2=Grant |pages=313–314 |date=1999 |isbn=0-312-19869-8|title-link=The Encyclopedia of Fantasy }}</ref>
* In [[L. Frank Baum]]'s [[List of Oz books|Oz]] books (published 1900 to 1920), the Nomes (so spelled), especially [[Nome King|their king]], are the chief adversaries of the Oz people. They are ugly, hot-tempered, immortal, round-bodied creatures with spindly limbs, long beards and wild hair, militantly collecting and protecting jewels and precious metals underground. [[Ruth Plumly Thompson]], who continued the series (1921 to 1976) after Baum's death, reverted to the traditional spelling. He also featured gnomes in his book ''[[The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus]]''. They watch over the rocks, their king is part of the Council of Immortals, and they created the sleigh bells for [[Santa Claus's reindeer]].
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], in the [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]] (created 1914 to 1973) surrounding his [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], uses "Gnomes" as the initial- but later dropped- name of the [[Noldor]], the most gifted and technologically minded of his elvish races, in conscious exploitation of the similarity with the word ''[[:wikt:gnomic|gnomic]]''. ''Gnome'' is thus Tolkien's English loan-translation of the [[Quenya]] word ''Noldo'' (plural ''Noldor''), "those with knowledge". Tolkien's "Gnomes" are generally tall, beautiful, dark-haired, light-skinned, immortal, and wise. They are also proud, violent, and unduly admire their own creations, particularly their gemstones. Many live in cities below ground ([[Nargothrond]]) or in secluded mountain fortresses ([[Gondolin]]). He uses "Gnomes" to refer to both males and females. In ''[[The Father Christmas Letters]]'' (between 1920 and 1942), which Tolkien wrote for his children, Red Gnomes are presented as helpful creatures who come from Norway to the North Pole to assist Father Christmas and his Elves in fighting the wicked Goblins.
* [[Denys Watkins-Pitchford|BB's]] ''[[The Little Grey Men]]'' (1942) is a story of the last gnomes in England, little wild men who live by hunting and fishing.
* In [[C. S. Lewis]]'s ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' (created 1950 to 1956), the gnomes are sometimes called "Earthmen". They live in the [[Underland (Narnia)|Underland]], a series of caverns. Unlike the traditional, more human-like gnomes, they can have a wide variety of physical features and skin colours where some of them are either standing at 1&nbsp;ft or being taller than humans. They are used as slaves by the [[Lady of the Green Kirtle]] until her defeat, at which point they return to their true home, the much deeper (and hotter) underground realm of Bism.
* The Dutch books ''[[Gnomes (book)|Gnomes]]'' (1976) and ''[[Secrets of the Gnomes]]'' (1982), written by [[Wil Huygen]], deal with gnomes living together in harmony. These same books are the basis for [[Gnomes (film)|a made-for-TV animated film]] and the Spanish-animated series ''[[The World of David the Gnome]]'' (as well as the spin-off ''[[Wisdom of the Gnomes]]''). The word "gnome", in this case, is used in place of the Dutch [[kabouter]].
* In [[J. K. Rowling]]'s ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series (created 1997 to 2007), gnomes are pests that inhabit the gardens of witches and wizards. They are small creatures with heads that look like potatoes on small stubby bodies. Gnomes are generally considered harmless but mischievous and may bite with sharp teeth. In the books, it is stated that the [[Weasleys]] are lenient to gnomes, and tolerate their presence, preferring to throw them out of the garden rather than more extreme measures.
* In ''[[Sorcerous Stabber Orphen|A. Yoshinobu's Sorcerous Stabber Orphen]]'', the European concept of a gnome is used in order to introduce the Far Eastern notion of the ''Koropokkuru'',  a mythical indigenous race of small people: gnomes are a persecuted minority banned from learning wizardry and attending magical schools.<ref name="Mizuno2019">{{cite book|last=Mizuno|first=Ryou|title=Sorcerous Stabber Orphen Anthology. Commentary|year=2019| language=ja |publisher=TO Books|isbn= 9784864728799|pages=238}}</ref>
* In [[Terry Brooks]]' ''[[Shannara]]'' series (created 1977 to 2017), gnomes are an offshoot race created after the Great Wars. There are several distinctive classes of gnomes. Gnomes are the smallest race. In ''[[The Sword of Shannara]]'' they are considered to be tribal and warlike, the one race that can be the most easily subverted to an evil cause. This is evidenced by their allegiance to the Warlock Lord in ''The Sword of Shannara'' and to the Mord Wraiths in ''[[The Wishsong of Shannara]]''.
* [[Terry Pratchett]] included gnomes in his ''[[Discworld]]'' series. Gnomes were six inches in height but quite strong, often inflicting pain upon anyone underestimating them. One prominent gnome became a [[Watchman (law enforcement)|Watchman]] in [[Ankh-Morpork]] as the force became more diversified under the command of [[Sam Vimes]], with [[Buggy Swires]] appearing in [[Jingo (novel)|Jingo]]. Another gnome in the series was [[Wee Mad Arthur]] a pest terminator in [[Feet of Clay (novel)|Feet of Clay]].

===Music===

* One of the first movements in [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky's]] 1874 work ''[[Pictures at an Exhibition]]'' is named "Gnomus" ([[Latin]] for "The Gnome"). It is written to sound as if a gnome is moving about, his movements constantly changing in speed.
{{listen
| type         = music
| filename     = Modest Mussorgsky - pictures at an exhibition - i. gnomus - vivo.ogg
| title        = Gnomus by Mussorgsky, 1874
| description  = A classical piece of music  written to sound as if a gnome is moving about.
| format       = [[ogg]]
| help         = no
}}
* "[[The Laughing Gnome]]" is a song by English musician [[David Bowie]], released as a single in 1967. It became a hit when reissued in 1973, in the wake of Bowie's commercial success.
* The 1970 album ''[[All Things Must Pass]]'' by English musician [[George Harrison]] has a cover image of the musician sitting among a group of garden gnomes.
* "[[The Gnome]]" is a song by [[Pink Floyd]] on their 1967 album ''[[The Piper at the Gates of Dawn]]''. It is about a gnome named Grimble Gromble.

===Games===
* In the ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' [[fantasy]] [[role-playing game]], gnomes are one of the core races available for play as [[player character]]s.<ref>{{cite book | first = Jonathan | last = Tweet |date=July 2003 | title = Player's Handbook Core Rulebook I v.3.5 | publisher = [[Wizards of the Coast]] | location = Renton WA }} {{verify source |date=September 2019 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/908811746 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/901881503 cite #1 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC bot/Job 18]]}}</ref> They are described as being smaller than [[Dwarf (folklore)|dwarves]] and large-nosed. They have an affinity with small animals and a particular interest in gemstones. Depending on setting and subrace, they may also have a natural skill with illusion magic or engineering.
* In the ''[[Warcraft]]'' franchise (1994 to present), particularly as featured in the [[massively multiplayer online role-playing game]] ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', [[Races and factions of Warcraft#Gnomes|gnomes]] are a race of beings separate from but [[Races and factions of Warcraft#The Alliance|allied]] to dwarves and humans, with whom they share the lands of the Eastern Kingdoms. Crafty, intelligent, and smaller than their dwarven brethren, gnomes are one of two races in Azeroth regarded as technologically savvy. It is suggested in lore that the gnomes originally were mechanical creations that at some point became organic lifeforms. In ''World of Warcraft'', gnomes are an exile race, having irradiated their home city of Gnomeregan in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to drive out marauding foes.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/04/23/know-your-lore-gnomes-the-inheritors-of-the-future/ |title=Know Your Lore: Gnomes, the inheritors of the future |work=Engadget |last=Rossi |first=Matthew |date=23 April 2014 |access-date=4 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731185111/https://www.engadget.com/2014/04/23/know-your-lore-gnomes-the-inheritors-of-the-future/ |archive-date=31 July 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* in the [[RuneScape]] franchise (2001 to present ), gnomes are featured as [[Non-player character|NPCs]], with the ''Tree Gnome Village'', and ''Gnome Stronghold,'' being featured in a number of quests''.'' <ref>{{Cite book |last=Calvin |first=Alex |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3klEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA88&dq=runescape+gnomes&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gb_mobile_search&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_24Xgu5qNAxVamIkEHZ5qO5kQ6AF6BAgMEAM |title=Runescape: The First 20 Years--An Illustrated History |last2=JagEx |date=2021-12-07 |publisher=Dark Horse Comics |isbn=978-1-5067-2126-2 |language=en}}</ref> A Gnome child NPC has since become a [[meme]], and is featured on a number of merchandise items.<ref>{{Cite news |last=published |first=Ted Litchfield |date=2022-11-08 |title=That wonderful little Gnome Child from RuneScape is coming to a MOBA near you |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/that-wonderful-little-gnome-child-from-runescape-is-coming-to-a-moba-near-you/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bitner |first=Jon |date=2020-11-23 |title=RuneScape Announces 10th Annual Golden Gnome Award Winners |url=https://www.thegamer.com/runescape-10th-annual-golden-gnome-award-winners/ |access-date=2025-05-11 |website=TheGamer |language=en}}</ref>

=== Movies ===

* The 1967 Walt Disney movie ''[[The Gnome-Mobile]]''
* The 2011 animated movie ''[[Gnomeo & Juliet]]''
* The 2018 animated movie ''[[Sherlock Gnomes]]'' featured gnomish versions of several classic [[Sherlock Holmes]] characters.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sherlock Gnomes|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2809955841/|access-date=2020-12-05|website=Box Office Mojo}}</ref>

=== TV Shows ===

* The [[Disney+]] Series [[The Santa Clauses]]
* [[The Little Troll Prince]] features the [[troll]] [[prince]] Bu, turning into a gnome and gnomes by the end of the special
* [[David the Gnome]], [[The Wisdom of Gnomes]] and [[The New World Of the Gnomes]]
* [[Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl]]  ,  a 2024 British stop motion animated comedy film produced by Aardman Animations and the BBC released for  Christmas features a large number of robotic garden gnomes.