Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Greiweldingen Gnomes, Wîterchesberg Wichtelcher
Category: Gnome
The Myth
In a forest near Greiweldingen stands a hill called Wîterchesberg. There, a cave is said to serve as a hidden entrance to the dwelling of the little gnomes.
Once, a cowherd drove his animals to graze on the hill and sat down near the cave to rest. As he sat, he heard the clattering of the little creatures within. Looking inside, he saw them preparing their soup. Hungry and poor, the man begged them for something to eat. “If you are sent by God,” he said, “give me a piece of bread.”
A group of gnomes came out of the cave and gave him half a loaf, saying, “If you do not betray us, you will always have bread.” The herdsman returned home joyfully. For several days he ate from the loaf, and it never seemed to grow smaller.
At last his wife asked him where he had obtained such wonderful bread. He told her, but only after she promised to keep the secret. Later, during a quarrel, she carelessly revealed the truth. From that moment on, the bread began to shrink and was soon entirely gone.
Old people later claimed that they had seen swarms of gnomes come out to the edge of the forest to sun themselves. It was also said that when a cart passed through the forest, the little creatures would cling to it, even to the wheels, and be carried along the road.
Gallery
Sources
sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Die Wichtlein zu Greiweldingen. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Wichtlein_Greiweldingen.html
Interpretive Lenses
Religious Readings
- Christian Ascetic Deep Dive
Philosophical Readings
- Nietzschean Deep Dive
Psychological Readings
- Jungian Deep Dive
Esoteric Deep Dive
- Hermetic Deep Dive
Political / Social Readings
- Marxist Deep Dive