Posted: November 10, 1999 at 02:55:18: by Michael Martinez
: : Does anyone know the diff between dwarves & gnomes? I know : : what dwarves R bur im not sure about gnomes. All i know about : : them is in ancient & medieval philosophy, they're the : : elemental spirit of earth. (The others are sylphs of the air, : : undines/nymphs of the water & salamanders of fire): feel free to shoot me down if i'm wrong here (it's very : possible, and quite likely), but i think i recall reading : somewhere that tolkien equated gnomes more with elves than : dwarves...i think it was some discussion of the naming and the : language that i read it in, something about gnomish --> : noldorin, in some form or fashion...don't quote me on that, : though ;) Actually, I get the impression that Persia was asking about more traditional gnomes. It's my understanding that in traditional folklore gnomes are somehow related to dwarves, but are not the same thing. Dwarves and Elves were very similar in Norse mythology, and some peopel say the Svartalfar (Dark Elves) were really very much like the Dwarves. Click on the link below to visit a good starting place for reading about traditional gnomes and other fairies on the Web.
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Gnomes Website
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