Hob (folklore)

A hob is a type of small mythological household spirit found in the English Midlands, Northern England [lower-alpha 2] [lower-alpha 3] and on the Anglo-Scottish border, according to traditional folklore of those regions.[3] They could live inside the house or outdoors. They are said to work in farmyards and thus could be helpful; however, if offended they could become nuisances. The usual way to dispose of a hob was to give them a set of new clothing, the receiving of which would make the creature leave forever. It could, however, be impossible to get rid of the worst hobs.[4]

Runswick Bay, North Yorkshire. Local people would ask "Hobhole Hob" for help to get rid of a cough. . .

Etymology
Look up hob in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

"Hob" is a diminutive form of the name "Robin", which is itself a diminutive form of the name "Robert". [5]

"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";[6] essentially, calling a mystical creature after 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 cofgodas (Old English for "house-gods") of which the brownie and hob are indeed a survival.[7]

Folklore

Yorkshire

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).[8] Parents would bring their ailing young to the hob's cave dwelling and recite the following:[9]

"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.[10] A hob would help the farmer in the field or the shopkeeper in his store.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] This was said to have happened at Sturfit Hall in Yorkshire, where the well-meaning family left a small hat and cloak for their helpful hob; however, when he encountered the gift, he exclaimed "Ha! a cap and a hood, / Hob'll never do mair good!" and was never seen again.[14] Another Yorkshire hob, this one at Hart Hall, refused with a warning when offered a work shirt: "Gin Hob mun hae nowght but a hardin' hamp, / He'll come nae mair nowther to berry nor stamp."[9]

Habitation

The following is a list of examples of Hob habitations on the North York Moors: [lower-alpha 4]

Hob name Habitation Type Location Area Grid ref
Hobhole Hob Hob Holes Topological Runswick Bay Scarborough NZ815155
Hobhole Hob Hob Holes Topological Kempswithen near Danby Eskdale
Hobtrush Hob Hob's Cave Topological Mulgrave woods Scarborough
Hobtrush Hob Hobtrush Rook[lower-alpha 5] Tumulus Farndale Ryedale

Hob-trush Hob (Mulgrave woods)

According to local folklore, Hob-trush Hob lived in a cave in Mulgrave woods.[15]

"Hob-trush Hob !
Where is thou ?
Ah's tying on mah left-fuit shoe;
An' Ah'll be wiv thee—Noo !"[15]

The name Hob-trush may be derived from "Hob o' t' hyrst" ( " Hob of the hurst " ): [lower-alpha 6] [lower-alpha 7] [lower-alpha 8] [lower-alpha 9]

  • Hob o' t' hyrst.
  • Hob-t-hyrst
  • Hob-tyrst.
  • Hob-trust.
  • Hob-trush.

Farndale flit

Beautiful 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.[lower-alpha 10] A local story narrate's 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.[2]

"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.[2]

Note the local dialect word flittin[lower-alpha 11] which may be derived from the Old Norse language.[lower-alpha 12]

Legacy

Place names
Hob's House Cave, Monsal Dale, Derbyshire.

Yorkshire place names

Many topological features, especially in North Yorkshire, are named "Hobs". [lower-alpha 13]

Examples of "Hob" place names ( North York Moors ):[lower-alpha 14]

Derbyshire place names

Examples in Derbyshire:[lower-alpha 20]

Other place names

Examples in Scottish Borders:

Examples in Oxfordshire:[lower-alpha 24]

Examples in Cornwall:[lower-alpha 25]

Robert the Bruce

The Scottish national hero Robert the Bruce was known as "King Hobbe" by his English enemy. [lower-alpha 26]

Other notable people
  • 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 the 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 aren't often seen in cities.

See also

References

Notes
  1. WiKtionary : English < appellation > 1. " A name or title by which someone is addressed or identified. "
  2. Cleveland Dialect (J.C. Atkinson). < Hob > . . .The appellation[lower-alpha 1] of a spirit, or being of elf-nature, who must once have occupied a prominent place in the belief or popular faith of the people of the district. . .(PDF page 322, actual page 262).[1]
  3. Yorkshire ( Harry J. Scott ).[2] . . .In the moorland areas the farming community preserved their old customs . . .Cut off from the outside world except for rare occasions, a supernatural world provided explanations . . .There were many "Hobs" – which might be good or evil spirit . . .A good Hob would help his master bring in the hay or cure an ailing pig . . .A bad Hob would pester a man so that all went ill . . .Good or bad, a self-respecting Hob would attach himself to a family and stay with them . . .[2]
  4. Cleveland Dialect (J.C. Atkinson). < Hob > . . ."There were many Hobs, each with a local habitation and a local name" . . .(PDF page 322, actual page 262).[1]
  5. Cleveland Dialect (J.C. Atkinson). < Hobtrush > . . .Hobtrush or Obtrush Rook (a tumulus on the Farndale Moors) . . .(PDF page 323, actual page 263).[15]
  6. The Devil and his Imps ( Charles Scott ).[16] . . .21. (2) Hob Thurst, Hob-thurst. . .I suppose it to have been existent as early as 1489, at which date the earliest instance of the word. . .namely, " Hobbe Hyrste " . . .(PDF page 26, actual page 103).[16]
  7. WiKtionary : Old English < hyrst > 1. " hurst, hillock, eminence, height, wood, wooded eminence. "
  8. Cleveland Dialect (J.C. Atkinson). < Hobtrush > . . .he is supposed to haunt woods only : "Hob o' t' hyrst". . .(PDF page 323, actual page 263).[15]
  9. See also Hob Hurst's House near Bakewell in Derbyshire.
  10. See (Contents) > Legacy > Place names > . . .Hobb Crag
  11. Cleveland Dialect (J.C. Atkinson). < Flit > . . .1. To remove one's goods, household furniture, and gear generally, in the process of removing from one tenement or residence to another. . .(PDF page 250, actual page 190).[17]
  12. See WiKtionary : Old Norse < flytja > 2. " to move (between homes) ".
  13. Yorkshire ( Harry J. Scott ) . . .This may explain why you will so frequently find "Hob" place names in Cleveland . . .[2]
  14. MAGiC MaP: See Table of Contents:
    • Administrative Geographies > Parish boundary
    • Designations > Scheduled Monument (England)
    Use Table of Contents for Colour mapping.
  15. "Hob Hill" is above a deep river gorge known locally as "The Fairy Glen". See Saltburn-by-the-Sea > The Fairy Glen.
  16. Use Table of Contents for Colour Mapping
  17. Mapping criteria: See Table of Contents: [lower-alpha 16]
    • Administrative Geographies > Parish boundary
    • Designations > Scheduled Monument (England)
  18. "Hob on the Hill" is beside the meeting point of three parish boundaries:
    • East – LOCKWOOD CP
    • West – GUISBOROUGH CP
    • South – COMMONDALE CP
    There are several tumuli shown on the map. It is not known whether "Hob on the Hill" refers to a specific one.
  19. Hob Holes is between Calais Beck and Claymoor Beck.
  20. MAGiC MaP: See Table of Contents:
    • Administrative Geographies > Parish boundary
    • Designations > Scheduled Monument (England)
    Use Table of Contents for Colour mapping.
  21. See Wirksworth > Hob (folklore)
  22. See Whitfield, Derbyshire > Local place names
  23. See Kershope Burn > Source of burn
  24. MAGiC MaP: See Table of Contents:
    • Designations
    Use Table of Contents for Colour mapping.
  25. MAGiC MaP: See Table of Contents:
    • Designations > Scheduled Monument.
    Use Table of Contents for Colour mapping.
  26. Walking the Border ( Ian Crofton ).[27]. . .Hobb was formerly a familiar name for anyone called Robert or Robin.[5] .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.[28] .Robin Goodfellow was associated with Will-o'-the-wisp, the pale flares of marsh gas sometime seen in boggy areas at night. . .[27]

Citations
  1. Atkinson 1868, pp. 262–263.
  2. Scott 1965, pp. 108–109.
  3. Atkinson, Philip Folk Tales of North East England (http://viewbook.at/FolkTalesEngland)
  4. English Folklore. A Dictionary of English Folklore. 2000, 2003, Oxford University Press.
  5. See WiKtionary: English < hob > Etymology 2: " From Middle English Hob (a diminutive of Robin, an Old French diminutive of Robert)."
  6. Scott, Charles C.P., "Hob", Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol.26, American Philological Association, 1895
  7. "Cove-Gods". An Other Dictionary.
  8. "Whitby Myth and Folklore: Hob", Whitby Online
  9. John Christopher Atkinson (1868). A Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect (1st ed.).
  10. Roberts, Kai (2013). Folklore of Yorkshire. The History Press. ISBN 9780752489544
  11. Bane, Theresa (2013). "Hob". Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland. ISBN 9781476612423
  12. Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1913). Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore (2nd ed.)
  13. Terence W. Whitaker (1983). Yorkshire's Ghosts and Legends. Granada Publishing.
  14. Henderson, William (1879). Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (2nd ed.).
  15. Atkinson 1868, p. 263.
  16. Scott 1895, p. 103.
  17. Atkinson 1868, p. 190.
  18. "MAGiC MaP : Saltburn-by-the-Sea – Hob Hill". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  19. "MAGiC MaP : Commondale Moor – Hob on the Hill". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  20. "MAGiC MaP : Runswick Bay – Hob Holes – NZ 814 154". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  21. "MAGiC MaP : Rosedale Abbey – Hobb Crag – SE 716 954". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  22. "MAGiC MaP : Monsal Dale – Hob's House Cave – SK 176 713". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  23. "MAGiC MaP : Bloxham – Hobb Hill – SP 423 366". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  24. "MAGiC MaP : Great Tew – Hobbs Hole Farm – SP 411 291". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  26. "MAGiC MaP : Hobbs Hill tin mine". Natural England, Magic in the Cloud.
  27. Crofton 2014, p. 88.
  28. See Robin Hood > Mythology > . . .Robin Goodfellow.

Sources
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