A coblyn (plural coblynau1) is a mythical gnome-like creature that is said to haunt the mines and quarries of Wales and areas of Welsh settlements in America.2
Description
In British Goblins, Wirt Sikes describes coblynau as friendly fairies, half a yard tall, very ugly, and often dressed in miner's clothing, carrying tools with which they enthusiastically but ineffectually imitate the work of the miners. Like the Knockers of Cornish folklore, they often help miners to the richest veins of ore or other treasures by their peculiar knocking sound.3
Word origin
The word Coblynau is related to the English word Goblin, and may derive from a Germanic source akin to the German Kobold, via the French Gobelin.45
Appearances in media
Coblynau are mentioned in the Constantine episode "The Darkness Beneath", but the description of the creatures given is closer to knockers.
References
References
- ""coblynau" in A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, OUP".
- Offut, Jason (2019). Chasing American Monsters. Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-0-7387-5995-1.
- Sikes, Wirt (1880). British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Riverton. p. 27.
- Franklin, Anna (2002). "Goblin", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies. London: Paper Tiger. ISBN 1-84340-240-8. p. 108
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English