hob (folklore)

{{Wiktionary|hob}}

"Hob" is a diminutive form of the name "Robin", which is itself a diminutive form of the name "Robert".

See WiKtionary: English < hob > Etymology 2: "From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French diminutive of Robert)."

"Hob" is sometimes a generic term given to a goblin, bogle or brownie. The name "Hob" became associated with the mythical creature as "a piece of rude familiarity to cover up uncertainty or fear";Scott, Charles C. P. (1895). [https://books.google.com/books?id=aVhGAQAAMAAJ&dq=hobgoblin&pg=PA101 "Hob"]. Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. Vol. 26. American Philological Association. essentially, calling a mystical creature by a common nickname was a way to make the concept less frightening, and the nickname eventually became the common term.

As well as the brownie, another cognate exists in the Scandinavian nisse or tomte; all are thought to be derived from the household gods of olden times, known in England as the {{Lang|ang|cofgodas}} (Old English for "house-gods") of which the brownie and hob are indeed a survival."Cove-Gods". An Other Dictionary.{{full citation needed|reason=Publisher, year, ISBN?|date=December 2020}}

The term 'hob' is also linked in the north of England to the Old English þyrs and Old Norse þurs, meaning 'giant' or 'monster.' These roots give rise to dialectal variants like hob-thrush, hob-thrust, and hob-dross, recorded across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire.Dickins, 'Yorkshire Hobs', 12.

Hobs have been described as small, hairy, wizened men. Hobs were viewed as kind but mischievous spirits, helpful to local people in need. One famous hob lived near Runswick Bay in a hobhole; this hob was believed to be able to cure young children of kink-cough (whooping cough).[http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/whitbyhistory/hob.php "Whitby Myth and Folklore: Hob", Whitby Online] Parents would bring their ailing young to the hob's cave dwelling and recite the following:John Christopher Atkinson (1868). A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect (1st ed.).[https://archive.org/details/glossaryofclevel00atki/page/262/mode/2up?ref=ol]

{{poemquote|Hobhole Hob!

Ma' bairn's gotten 't kink cough,

Tak't off ! tak't off!}}

Hobs are generally considered household spirits, who preferred to be about at night. Hobs were not tied to a particular place, but seemed to come and go as they chose.Roberts, Kai (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=T4s7AwAAQBAJ&dq=Hob+%28folklore%29&pg=PT123 Folklore of Yorkshire]. The History Press. {{ISBN|9780752489544}} A hob would help the farmer in the field or the shopkeeper in his store.Bane, Theresa (2013). [https://books.google.com/books?id=nSuXAAAAQBAJ&dq=Hob+%28folklore%29&pg=PA181 "Hob"]. Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland. {{ISBN|9781476612423}} The householder had to be careful in dealing with a hob, so as not to offend it. If a farmer were to speak poorly of a hob on his farm, the hob might retaliate by breaking dishes and turning loose livestock.[https://archive.org/details/rusticspeechfolk00wriguoft/page/202/mode/2up Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1913). Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore (2nd ed.)] Most importantly, a hob must not be given a gift of clothing, as this would be greatly resented and might cause a helpful hob to leave immediately.

A recurring motif in northern folklore is that when a hob is offered clothes—often a coarse shirt or hood—he vanishes, offended.Terence W. Whitaker (1983). Yorkshire's Ghosts and Legends. Granada Publishing. This is often marked by a rhyme, such as: “Ha! a cap and a hood, / Hob’ll never do mair good.” (Sturfit Hall)Henderson, William (1879). Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (2nd ed.).[https://archive.org/details/cu31924006726552/page/n287/mode/2up]

“Gin Hob mun hae nowght but a hardin’ hamp, / He’ll come nae mair nowther to berry nor stamp.” (Hart Hall, Glaisdale)

These couplets often signal the end of a hob’s aid, linking him to the wider European motif of the departing brownie or tomte.

Farndale in the North York Moors is separated from its neighbour Rosedale to the east by a high but relatively level moorland promontory known as Blakey Ridge. On the east side of that ridge is a topological feature known as Hobb Crag, overlooking the village of Rosedale Abbey. A local story relates how a farmer in Farndale was so troubled by a Hob that he decided to relocate to another farm – just to get rid of that Hob.{{sfn|Scott|1965|pp=108-109}}

{{poemquote|He loaded his cart with furniture and farm equipment and set off. On the way he met a neighbour who exclaimed, "What's thoo doin' George, flittin'?" And a voice from the churn called out, "Aye, lad, we're flittin'!" So the farmer turned his horse and cart round and went back to his farm, knowing that the hobgoblin would always be with him.{{sfn|Scott|1965|pp=108–109}}}}

Note the local dialect word flittin{{efn|J. C. Atkinson. "Flit". Cleveland Dialect . "1. To remove one's goods, household furniture, and gear generally, in the process of removing from one tenement or residence to another." p. 190.{{sfn|Atkinson|1868|p=190}} }}

which may be derived from the Old Norse language.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

{{Quote box

| width = 20em

| align = right

| quote = "Hob-trush Hob ! Where is thou ?{{efn|name="Hobtrush_cave" |J.C.Atkinson – Cleveland Dialect < Hobtrush >
..."Hobtrush Hob, a being once held to frequent a certain cave in the Mulgrave Woods...
..."he is supposed to haunt woods only : Hob o' t' hyrst...{{sfn|Atkinson|1868|p=263}} }}

. . ."Ah's tying on mah left-fuit shoe;
An' Ah'll be wiv thee—Noo!"

| source = J.C.Atkinson – Cleveland Dialect.{{sfn|Atkinson|1868|p=263}}}}

It was customary for a local hob to have a local name and a local habitation.{{efn|J.C.Atkinson – Cleveland Dialect < Hob >

..."Probably, like the nisses of popular faith in Denmark, there were many Hobs, each with a local habitation and a local name...

{{sfn|Atkinson|1868|pp=262}} }}

Some "Hob" names may suggest their mischievous personality:

• Jester
• Hobshaddow{{efn|Harry J. Scott – Portrait of Yorkshire
  ..."Good or bad, a self-respecting Hob would attach himself to a family and stay with them...{{sfn|Scott|1965|pp=108-109}} }}

The name Hob-thrush may be derived from Hobbe Hyrste{{efn|Charles Scott – The Devil and his Imps

..."I suppose it to have been existent as early as 1489, at which date...Hobbe Hyrste...{{sfn|Scott|1895|pp=103}} }} or Hob o' t' hyrst – "Hob of the hurst".{{efn|J.C.Atkinson – Cleveland Dialect < Hob >

..."Certainly, it is not impossible that Hob-thrush, as well as Hob-thrust, may be a corruption of this assumed Hob o' t' hurst...{{sfn|Atkinson|1868|pp=262}} }}

1. Hob o' t' hyrst
2. Hob-t-hyrst
3. Hob-thyrst
4. Hob-thrust
5. Hob-thrush

See also WiKtionary : Old English < hyrst > ..."hurst, hillock, eminence, height, wood, wooded eminence".

The following names may be derived from Hobbe Hyrste:

Similar names are found in disparate parts of the country – it is possible that these were introduced by migrant workers while moving between employments, especially those involved with mining and railway construction.

File:Hob's House Cave - geograph.org.uk - 3226172.jpg, Derbyshire.]]

The habitation was usually a topological feature, such as a hill, crag, hole, cave or island.

Often the feature would be within view of the farm or local settlement:

WiKtionary: The name element hole might relate to:

1. English < hole > ..."A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; a dent; a depression; a fissure".
2. Old Norse < hóll > ..."hill, hillock, knoll".

It was common for Hob place names to be associated with tumuli:

{{Inc-list|date=March 2023}}

Many topological features, especially in North Yorkshire, are named "Hobs".{{efn|Harry J. Scott – Portrait of Yorkshire

..."This may explain why you will so frequently find "Hob" place names in Cleveland...{{sfn|Scott|1965|pp=108-109}} }} Dickins provides dozens of attested hob place-names across Northern England, many associated with barrows, springs, or moorlands.Dickins, 'Yorkshire Hobs'.

• Hobhouse is a rare English family name, belonging originally to a Somerset family.
• The Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce was known as "King Hobbe" by his English enemy.{{efn|Ian Crofton. Walking the Border.{{sfn|Crofton|2014|p=88}} "Hobb was formerly a familiar name for anyone called Robert or Robin. The English soldiery gave the nickname 'King Hobbe' to Robert the Bruce and sang rather a rude song about him in Middle English. ... Hob was also the name of Robin Goodfellow, the mischievous sprite also known as Puck.See {{section link|Robin Hood#Mythology}}. Robin Goodfellow was associated with Will-o'-the-wisp, the pale flares of marsh gas sometime seen in boggy areas at night."{{sfn|Crofton|2014|p=88}} }}

• The 1958 TV serial Quatermass and the Pit, and the later film version, centre around the fictional Hobbs Lane (formerly called Hob's Lane), the significance of the name becoming apparent as the plot unfolds.
• In Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files, hobs are eyeless creatures who burn in light. They serve the Queen Mab of the Winter Court of the Sidhe.
• In Lionhead Studios' video games Fable, Fable II, and Fable III some of the minor adversaries are creatures known as "hobbes". They are created from children who misbehave and are captured by hobbes.
• In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, house-elves (such as Harry's friend Dobby) appear to be a type of hob, doing household tasks for human masters and driven from their households if given gifts of clothing (in what most house-elves see as a type of shameful expulsion, but the eccentric Dobby – and several human observers – consider an emancipation from slavery).
• The Hob appearing in The Years of Longdirk by Ken Hood is considerably different from the traditional depiction, being a powerful spirit which is amoral, neither good nor bad, but which has considerable destructive powers it can use if provoked. In Hood's fantasy world, "Hob" and "Imp" are two names for much the same kind of being.
• In The Hob's Bargain by Patricia Briggs, the Hob is a powerful creature, possibly the last of his kind, who bargains to help protect a local village from a necromancer in exchange for a mate. The heroine who brought the Hob to the village agrees to his bargain in exchange for his help.
• In Moonshine, the second novel of the Cal Leandros novels by Rob Thurman, the villain is "Hobgoblin" or "the Hob", the oldest of the race of immortal creatures known as pucks. In this series, the pucks all look alike, with curly brown hair, green eyes, and "foxlike" faces. Unlike his fellow puck, Robin Goodfellow, the Hob sees humans merely as toys and tools, beings which are utterly beneath him.
• In An Elder Scrolls Novel: The Infernal City, hobs are used as kitchen slaves.
• In Richard Dawson's 2017 album Peasant, a song titled "Hob" tells the story of a family's encounter with a hobthrust.
• In Travis Baldree's book Legends & Lattes, the main character hires a hob as a carpenter in her coffee shop, noting that they are disparagingly referred to as 'pucks' by humans and are not often seen in cities.

• Hobbit
• Hobgoblin
• Lubber fiend, also known as "Lob".

{{Reflist}}

{{Reflist|group=web}}

{{Reflist|group=HE}}

{{Reflist|group=Map}}

{{notelist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Atkinson |first=John Christopher |date=1868 |title=A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect

|url=https://archive.org/details/glossaryofclevel00atki/page/n1/mode/2up |edition=1st |location=London |publisher=J. R. Smith |access-date= 2 April 2023 }}

• {{Cite book |last=Crofton |first=Ian |date=2014 |title=Walking the Border: A Journey Between Scotland and England |publisher=Birlinn |isbn=978-1-78027-207-8 }}
• Dickins, Bruce (1942), ‘Yorkshire Hobs’, Transaction of the Yorkshire Dialect Society 7, 9-23.
• {{Cite journal |last=Scott |first= Charles P. G. |year=1895 |title=The Devil and His Imps: An Etymological Inquisition |journal=Transactions of the American Philological Association |volume= 26 |pages=79–146 |doi=10.2307/2935696 |jstor=2935696 }}
• {{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Harry J. |author-link= Harry J. Scott |date=1965 |title=Portrait of Yorkshire |url=https://archive.org/details/yorkshire0000scot |series=Portrait Books |location=London |publisher=Robert Hale Limited |oclc=2898758}} Linked version is the 1977 second edition.

{{Fairies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hob (Folklore)}}

Category:Anglo-Scottish border

Category:Elves

Category:English folklore

Category:English legendary creatures

Category:Fairies

Category:Goblins

Category:Household deities

Category:Northumbrian folklore

Category:Northumbrian folkloric beings

Category:Tutelary deities

Category:Yorkshire folklore