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{{short description|German fairy tale}}
[[Image:Rumpelstiltskin.jpg|thumb|200px|Illustration of Rumpelstiltskin from [[Andrew Lang]]'s ''[[Andrew Lang's Fairy Books|The Blue Fairy Book]]'', ca. 1889]]
{{Other uses}}
'''Rumpelstiltskin''' is a dwarf [[fictional character|character]] in a [[fairy tale]] of the same name that originated in [[Germany]] (where he is known as '''Rumpelstilzchen'''). The tale was collected by the [[Brothers Grimm]], who first published it in the 1812 edition of ''[[Children's and Household Tales]]''. It was subsequently revised in later editions until the final version was published in [[1857]].
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
==Plot synopsis==
{{Expand German|date=September 2020}}{{Infobox Folk tale
|Folk_Tale_Name = Rumpelstiltskin
|Image_Name = Rumpelstiltskin.jpg
|Image_Caption = Illustration from [[Andrew Lang]]'s ''The Blue Fairy Book'' (1889)
|AKA = {{plainlist|
*Tom Tit Tot
*Päronskaft
*Repelsteeltje
*Cvilidreta
*Rampelník
*Tűzmanócska
*Eiman}}
|Aarne–Thompson Grouping = {{plainlist|ATU 500 (The Name of the Helper; The Name of the Supernatural Helper)}}
|Mythology =
|Country = {{plainlist|
*Germany
*United Kingdom
*Netherlands
*Czech Republic
*Hungary}}
|Region =
|Origin_Date =
|Published_In = {{plainlist|
*''[[Grimm's Fairy Tales]]''
*''[[Joseph Jacobs|English Fairy Tales]]''}}
}}
"'''Rumpelstiltskin'''" ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|r|ʌ|m|p|ə|l|'|s|t|ɪ|l|t|s|k|ɪ|n}} {{Respell|RUMP|əl|STILT|skin}};<ref>{{cite book|last=Wells|first=John|author-link=John C. Wells|title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary|location=Harlow|publisher=Pearson|edition=3|date=3 April 2008|isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0}}</ref> {{langx|de|Rumpelstilzchen}}, {{IPA|de|ʁʊmpl̩ʃtiːltsçn̩|IPA}}) is a German [[fairy tale]]<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web|title=Rumpelstiltskin|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Rumpelstiltskin|access-date=2020-11-12|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|language=en}}</ref> collected by the [[Brothers Grimm]] in the 1812 edition of ''[[Children's and Household Tales]]''.<ref name="Britannica" /> The story is about an imp who spins [[straw]] into [[gold]] in exchange for a woman's [[firstborn]] child.<ref name="Britannica" />


== Plot ==
In 1904, Rump, as his friends called him, was caught pants down with Betty Bondain of the Royal Isle of Wales. The townspeople all were caught in an uproar for young Rump was the ideal boy. Betty Bondain was banished from the fine land and sent to work as a slave on the farm of Kuntakintea. For 40 nights, young Rump was stricken to the watchtower and locked on solace. After only 20 moons young Rump heard the cries of the townspeople harrowing, "Rumple, Rumple, you are our savior." Rumpelstilskin stuck his head out of the watchtower and said, "yeah my niggas!" The town rejoiced.
In order to appear superior, a [[miller]] brags to the king and people of his kingdom by claiming his daughter can [[Spinning (textiles)|spin]] [[straw]] into [[gold]].<ref group="note">Some versions make the miller's daughter [[blond]]e and describe the "straw-into-gold" claim as a careless boast the miller makes about the way his daughter's straw-like blond hair takes on a gold-like lustre when sunshine strikes it.</ref> The king calls for the girl, locks her up in a tower room filled with straw and a [[spinning wheel]], and demands she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will have her killed.<ref group="note">Other versions have the king threatening to lock her up in a dungeon forever, or to punish her father for lying.</ref> When she has given up all hope, a little [[imp]]-like man appears in the room and spins the straw into gold in return for her necklace of [[glass]] [[beads]]. The next morning the king takes the girl to a larger room filled with straw to repeat the feat, and the imp once again spins, in return for the girl's glass ring. On the [[Rule of three (writing)|third]] day the girl is taken to an even larger room filled with straw, and told by the king that if she can spin all this straw into gold he will marry her, but if she cannot she will be executed. While she is sobbing alone in the room, the little imp appears again and promises that he can spin the straw into gold for her, but the girl tells him she has nothing left with which to pay. The strange creature suggests she pay him with her [[firstborn|first child]]. She reluctantly agrees, and he sets about spinning the straw into gold.<ref group="note">In some versions, the imp appears and begins to turn the straw into gold, paying no heed to the girl's protests that she has nothing to pay him with; when he finishes the task, he states that the price is her first child, and the horrified girl objects because she never agreed to this arrangement.</ref>


[[File:Rumplestiltskin - Anne Anderson.jpg|thumb|Illustration by [[Anne Anderson (illustrator)|Anne Anderson]] from ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (London and Glasgow 1922)]]
In order to make himself appear more important, a miller lied to the king that his daughter could [[spinning wheel|spin]] [[straw]] into [[gold]]. The king called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a [[spinning wheel]], and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning, for three nights, or be executed. Some versions say that if she failed, she would be skewered and then fricasseed like a pig. She had given up all hope, when a [[dwarf]] appeared in the room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace; then again the following night for her ring. On the [[Rule of three (writing)|third]] night, when she had nothing with which to reward him, the strange creature spun straw into gold for a promise that the girl's first-born child would become his.


The king was so impressed that he let the miller's daughter marry his son, the prince, but when their first child was born, the dwarf returned to claim his payment: "Now give me what you promised". The queen was frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. The dwarf refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed, but before the second night, her messenger overheard the dwarf hopping about his fire and singing:
The king keeps his promise to marry the miller's daughter. But when their first child is born, the imp returns to claim his payment. She offers him all the wealth she has to keep the child, but the imp has no interest in her riches. He finally agrees to give up his claim to the child if she can guess his name within three days.<ref group="note">Some versions have the imp limiting the number of daily guesses to three and hence the total number of guesses allowed to a maximum of nine.</ref>


The queen's many guesses fail. But before the final night, she wanders into the woods<ref group="note">In some versions, she sends a servant into the woods instead of going herself, in order to keep the king's suspicions at bay.</ref> searching for him and comes across his remote mountain cottage and watches, unseen, as he hops about his fire and sings. He reveals his name in his song's lyrics: "tonight tonight, my plans I make, tomorrow tomorrow, the baby I take. The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name".
:''"Today I bake, tomorrow I brew,''
:''Today for one
:''Tomorrow for two
:''Little knows my royal dame
:''Rumpelstiltskin is my name"
When the dwarf came to the queen on the third day and she revealed his name, Rumpelstiltskin lost his bargain. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in a final 1857 edition to a more gruesome version where Rumpelstiltskin "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two." Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin flies out of the window on a cooking [[ladle (spoon)|ladle]] (Heidi Anne Heiner).


When the imp comes to the queen on the third day, after first feigning ignorance, she reveals his name, Rumpelstiltskin, and he loses his temper at the loss of their bargain. Versions vary about whether he accuses the devil or witches of having revealed his name to the queen. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in an 1857 edition to a more gruesome ending wherein Rumpelstiltskin "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two". Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the Brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin flies out of the window on a cooking ladle.
The literal translation of his rhyme is:


== History ==
:''"Today I bake, tomorrow I brew ''
According to researchers at [[Durham University]] and the [[NOVA University Lisbon]], the origins of the story can be traced back to around 4,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite news|last1=BBC|date=2016-01-20|title=Fairy tale origins thousands of years old, researchers say|publisher=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35358487|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=da Silva |first1=Sara Graça |last2=Tehrani |first2=Jamshid J. |title=Comparative phylogenetic analyses uncover the ancient roots of Indo-European folktales |journal=Royal Society Open Science |date=January 2016 |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=150645 |doi=10.1098/rsos.150645 |pmid=26909191 |pmc=4736946 |bibcode=2016RSOS....350645D }}</ref>{{Undue weight inline|date=November 2020|reason=No indication this view is supported by others}} A possible early literary reference to the tale appears in [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]]'s ''Roman Antiquities'', in the 1st century AD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Graham |title=Fairytale in the Ancient World |date=2000 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415237031 |url=https://www.routledge.com/Fairytale-in-the-Ancient-World/Anderson/p/book/9780415237031}}</ref>
:''The day after tomorrow I'll go and get the Queen's child,
:''Oh, how good that no one knows,
:''that Rumpelstiltskin is my name!"


==Name origins==
== Variants ==
<!-- Please make sure that '''''names listed here or there''''' are not simply those used in translations of the Grimm fairy tale KHM 55 into other languages-->
The name ''Rumpelstilzchen'' in [[German language|German]] means literally "little rattle stilt". (A ''stilt'' is a post or pole which provides support for a structure.) A ''rumpelstilt'' or ''rumpelstilz'' was the name of a type of [[goblin]], also called a ''pophart'' or ''poppart'' that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. The meaning is similar to ''rumpelgeist'' ("rattle ghost") or ''[[poltergeist]]'' ("noisy ghost"), a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. (Other related concepts are ''mummarts'' or ''[[boggart]]s'' and ''[[Hob (folklore)|hobs]]'' that are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.)
[[File:Stamps of Germany (DDR) 1976, MiNr Kleinbogen 2187-2192.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Stamp series on ''Rumpelstilzchen'' from the [[Deutsche Post of the GDR]], 1976]]


[[File:Rumpelstilzchen_DP_GrimmsSerie2022_1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Grimms' fairytale stamp series of ''Rumpelstilzchen'' stamp set from the [[Deutsche Post|Deutsche Post of the BRD]] by artist Michael Kunter, 2022]]
The earliest known mention of Rumpelstiltskin occurs in [[Johann Fischart]]'s ''Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua'' of [[1577]] (a loose adaptation of [[François Rabelais|Rabelais']] ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]'') which refers to an "amusement" for children named "''Rumpele stilt'' or the ''Poppart''".
[[File:Rumpelstilzchen_DP_GrimmsSerie2022_2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Grimms' fairytale stamp series of ''Rumpelstilzchen'' stamp set front cover from the [[Deutsche Post|Deutsche Post of the BRD]] by artist Michael Kunter, 2022]]
[[File:Rumpelstilzchen_DP_GrimmsSerie2022_3.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Grimms' fairytale stamp series of ''Rumpelstilzchen'' stamp set inner cover from the [[Deutsche Post|Deutsche Post of the BRD]] by artist Michael Kunter, 2022, reciting the concise version of the story and the song Rumpelstilzchen sings]]


The same story pattern appears in numerous other cultures: ''Tom Tit Tot''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/134/stories-from-around-the-world/5297/the-story-of-tom-tit-tot/|title="The Story of Tom Tit Tot" &#124; Stories from Around the World &#124; Traditional &#124; Lit2Go ETC|website=etc.usf.edu}}</ref> in the [[United Kingdom]] (from ''English Fairy Tales'', 1890, by [[Joseph Jacobs]]); ''[[Whuppity Stoorie]]'' in Scotland (from [[Robert Chambers (journalist)|Robert Chambers]]'s ''Popular Rhymes of Scotland'', 1826); ''Gilitrutt'' in Iceland;<ref>Grímsson, Magnús; Árnason, Jon. ''Íslensk ævintýri''. Reykjavik: 1852. pp. 123-126. [https://archive.org/details/lenzkaefinti00grss/page/n5/mode/2up]</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Jacqueline |title=Icelandic folktales & legends |date=2004 |publisher=Tempus |location=Stroud |isbn=0752430459 |pages=86–89 |edition=2nd}}</ref> and ''The Lazy Beauty and her Aunts'' in Ireland (from ''[[iarchive:firesidestories00kenngoog/page/n2|The Fireside Stories of Ireland]]'', 1870 by [[Patrick Kennedy (folklorist)|Patrick Kennedy]]), though subsequent research <ref>{{Cite web |title=On the Trail of an Irish Rumpelstiltskin |url=https://www.kieranfanning.com/2024/10/on-trail-of-irish-rumpelstiltskin.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=www.kieranfanning.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> has revealed an earlier published version called ''The White Hen''<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7QxLAQAAMAAJ&dq=tirminion&pg=PA31 |title=Duffy's Fireside Magazine |date=1852 |publisher=J. Duffy |language=en}}</ref> by Ellen Fitzsimon.<ref>[[Ellen Fitzsimon]]</ref>
==In other languages==
''Rumpelstiltskin'' is a widespread tale, known almost universally in cultures that depend on spinning for clothing. <ref>Maria Tatar, p 124, ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'', ISBN 0-393-05163-3</ref>


The story also appears as جعيدان (''Joaidane'' "He who talks too much") in Arabic; Хламушка (''Khlamushka'' "Junker") in Russia; ''Rumplcimprcampr'', ''Rampelník'' or ''Martin Zvonek'' in the Czech Republic; ''Martinko Klingáč'' in Slovakia; "Cvilidreta" in Croatia; ''Ruidoquedito'' ("Little noise") in South America; ''Pancimanci'' in Hungary (from 1862 folktale collection by László Arany<ref>László Arany: ''[https://archive.org/stream/eredetinpmesk00arangoog#page/n6/mode/2up Eredeti népmesék]'' (folktale collection, Pest, 1862, in Hungarian)</ref>); ''Daiku to Oniroku'' (大工と鬼六 "The carpenter and the ogre") in Japan and ''Myrmidon'' in France.
The being is known by a variety of names in a number of other [[language]]s:
* [[Arabic language|Arabic]]: ''جعيدان'' (Ju'aidan)
* [[Czech language|Czech]]: ''Rumplcimprcampr''
* [[Danish language|Danish]]: ''Rumleskaft''
* [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Repelsteeltje''
* [[English language|English]]: ''Rumpelstiltskin'' and ''Tom Tit Tot'' (from ''English Fairy Tales'', collected & edited by [[Joseph Jacobs]], [[1884]])
* [[Finnish language|Finnish]]: ''Tittelintuure''
* [[French language|French]]: ''Grigrigredinmenufretin''
* [[German language|German]]: ''Rumpelstilzchen''
* [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: ''עוץ לי גוץ לי'' (ootz li gootz li)
* [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]: ''Pancimanci''
* [[Icelandic language|Iceland]]: ''Rumputuski''
* [[Italian language|Italian]]: ''Tremotino'' or ''Praseidimio''
* [[Japanese language|Japanese]]: ''ルンペルシュティルツヒェン''(Runperushutirutsuhien), ''がたがたの竹馬こぞう''(Gatagata-no-takeuma-kozou)
* [[Korean language|Korean]]: ''럼펠스틸트스킨'' (reompelseutilteuseukin)
* [[Persian language|Persian]]: ''رامپل استل کین'' (Rumpel Stel Kin)
* [[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Titelitury''
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Rumpelstiltskin'' and ''O Anão Dançarino'' (the dancing dwarf)
* [[Russian language|Russian]]: ''Гном-Тихогром''
* [[Slovak language|Slovak]]: ''Martin Klingáčik''
* [[Slovenian language|Slovenian]]: ''Špicparkeljc''
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Rumpelstiltskin'' and ''El Enano Saltarín'' (the jumping dwarf).
* [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: ''Rymplstiltsgin'
* [[Swedish language|Swedish]]: ''Bulleribasius'' and ''Päronskaft'' (pear stalk)
* [[Greek language ]]: ΡΟΥΜΠΕΛΣΤΙΝΤΣΚΙΝ


An earlier literary variant in [[France language|French]] was penned by [[Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier de Villandon|Mme. L'Héritier]], titled ''Ricdin-Ricdon''.<ref>[[Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier]]: ''La Tour ténébreuse et les Jours lumineux: Contes Anglois'', 1705. In French</ref> A version of it exists in the compilation ''Le Cabinet des Fées'', Vol. XII. pp.&nbsp;125–131.


The [[Cornish people|Cornish]] tale of [[Duffy and the Devil]] plays out an essentially similar plot featuring a "devil" named ''Terry-top''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Robert |title=Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall |date=1871 |publisher=John Camden Hotten |location=London |pages=239–247}}</ref>
Other elements may also vary: in ''Tom Tit Tot'', the girl ate five pies, and her mother scolded her. When the king heard it and asked what had happened, the woman lied and said she had been talking of the five skeins her daughter had spun, and that speed of spinning was what interested him.


All these tales are classified in the [[Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index]] as tale type ATU 500, "The Name of the Supernatural Helper".<ref>Uther, Hans-Jörg (2004). The Types of International Folktales: Animal tales, tales of magic, religious tales, and realistic tales, with an introduction. FF Communications. p. 285 - 286.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0500.html |title=Name of the Helper |publisher=D. L. Ashliman |access-date=2015-11-29}}</ref> According to scholarship, it is popular in "Denmark, Finland, Germany and Ireland".<ref>Christiansen, Reidar Thorwalf. ''Folktales of Norway''. Chicago: University of Chicago press by 1994
The Scottish fairy tale ''[[Whuppity Stoorie]]'', though differing from ''Rumpelstiltskin'' in every other respect, has the heroine guessing the name of a helper to save her baby, and is therefore classified with it.


. pp. 5-6.</ref>
==Analysis==
The story of ''Rumpelstiltskin'' is an example of [[Aarne-Thompson classification system|Aarne and Thompson's folklore type]] 500 (''The Name of the Helper''; see links below). Other fairy tale themes in the story include the ''Impossible Task'', the ''Hard Bargain'', the ''Changeling Child'', and, above all, the ''[[True name|Secret Name]]''.


== Name ==
''Rumpelstiltskin'' is most commonly interpreted as a cautionary tale against bragging (compare with the concept of ''[[hubris]]'' in [[Greek mythology]]), but in this case not the miller himself but rather his daughter is punished for his lies. An alternative explanation is that the tale could have been meant to teach women the importance of performing a supporting role in their later marriage. The gift of spinning straw into gold is seen here as a metaphor for the value of household skills. Indeed, the king in this tale does not seem to be interested in the girl besides her alleged magical capabilities — even though her beauty is mentioned in passing — and she exists only to bring him riches and bear his children. Another moral gleaned by this story is that it's okay to break promises if you happen to change your mind.
[[File:Rumpelstiltskin-Crane1886.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Illustration by Walter Crane from ''Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm'' (1886)]]


"Rumpelstiltskin" is usually explained as literally meaning "little rattle stilt". The ending ''-chen'' in the German form Rumpelstiltschen is a [[diminutive]] cognate to English ''-kin''.
The dwarf's demand for the girl's first-born child probably has remnants of older legends which held that malignant sprites and [[goblin]]s would steal unattended babies and replace them with a child (or "[[changeling]]") of their own.<ref>Maria Tatar, p 128, ''The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales'', ISBN 0-393-05163-3</ref> (Similar tales exist about [[troll]]s as well, though their motives were generally seen as selfish rather than unpleasant, in that they supposedly found some of their own children too humanoid to exist among them.) However, tales like these in themselves were intended to stop children from playing outside without care, or mothers from leaving their children in danger, and the miller, famously, puts his own child in the power of a greedy king, while she in turn agrees to hand over her child to a virtual stranger.


''Rumpelstilzchen'' is regarded as containing {{lang|de|Stilzchen}}, diminutive of {{lang|de|Stelze}} "[[Stilts|stilt]]".<ref name="bergeler1961"/>{{Refn|Donald B. Rinsley's clinical paper cites Bergeler, but states that this association with "stilt" is mistaken.<ref name="rinsley1983"/>}} This etymology seems endorsed by [[Hans-Jörg Uther]]'s handbook on the Grimms ''[[Kinder- und Hausmärchen]]''. Uther cites {{illm|Handwörterbuch des deutschen Aberglaubens|de|lt=''HdA''}} which gives the examples of {{linktext|Bachstelze}}, ''Wasserstelze'' (names of birds; [[stilt]]) as paralleling examples.<ref name="uther2021"/><ref name="HdA-Jacoby-boppelgebet"/> However, this was not the etymology hinted at by [[Jacob Grimm]].<ref name="grimm-stalt">Grimm (1875) ''Deutsche Mythologie'' {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=85GLFD-dUEoC&pg=PA418 |2='''1''': 418 n1}}; Stallybrass tr. (1883) {{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=8ektAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA505 |2='''2''': 505n}}: Rumpelstilt, "''stilt, stilz'', the old ''stalt'' in compounds?"</ref>
Another tale revolves about a girl trapped by false claims about her spinning abilities: ''[[The Three Spinners]]''. However, the three women who assist that girl do not demand her first born, but that she invite them to her wedding and say that they are relatives of hers. With this more reasonable request, she complies, and is freed from her hated spinning when they tell the king that their hideous looks spring from their endless spinning. In one Italian variant, she must discover their names, as with Rumpelstiltskin, but not for the same reason: she must use their names to invite them, and she has forgotten them.


Harry Rand's book on this fairy suggests that ''Rumpel'' is not just a noise, but originally a crumpling noise, associated with shrunkenness and dwarfness, as apropos for the imp. So the name Rumpel-stilts is an oxymoronic juxtaposition, embodying the dichotomy of "shortness-tallness". Succinctly it may also be rendered as "crumpled stalk".
==Influence==
{{sfnp|Rand|2019|pp=38–41}}
Rumpelstiltskin Syndrome is an analogical reference to the role of the king in the story of Rumpelstiltskin. Common practice in middle-management is to impose unreasonable work demands on subordinates. Upon completion of the task or tasks in question, equal or higher work demands are then imposed; moreover, no credit, acknowledgement, or overt appreciation is demonstrated by way of recognition.
<!--commented out the following possible cruft, awaiting its source in an Opie publication== Peter and Iona Opie ==
-- Two researchers, [[Peter and Ina Opie]], have suggested an alternative reading of the tale. They suggest that it was originally a morality tale warning young women of the 'dangers' of female [[masturbation]]: the idea that it leads to sterility. They point out that in some versions, the miller's daughter sits on a little stick which becomes a little man. In old versions of the tale, when his name is spoken out loud, he jumps inside the woman and cannot be removed, with the result that the woman and her husband (the King) cannot procreate (in this version, the stolen child has been killed by the soldiers). The moral is that masturbation leads to sterility, and that women should be too embarrassed to ever refer to it. The Opies also point out that repeatedly in older versions, there is a recurring line: "What is his name? What is his name?" 'What is a stilt with rumpled skin?', they suggest (they suggest that it is a euphemism for a [[dildo]]). It is unclear if the Opie Theory is reliable. It is to be noted that the Opies specify the feature of Rumpelstiltskin getting his foot stuck in the floor as a vestigial remnant of the more distressing 'plugging' of the miller' daughter: some versions of the Grimm Tale have the foot-in-the-floor feature. --commented out the preceding,: see above-->
The story of Rumpelstiltskin is discussed in [[Walter Tevis]]'s science-fiction novel ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''. The main character in the novel, an extraterrestrial, is analogized to the Rumpelstiltskin character. Also, Rumpelstiltskin appeared to be an evil character in [[The Sisters Grimm (book series)|The Sisters Grimm]] series by [[Michael Buckley]].


Grimm suggested ''-stilt'', ''-stiltchen'' from Old German ''stalt'' with some uncertainty,<ref name="grimm-stalt"/> and did not much elaborate. [[Eberhard Gottlieb Graff|Graff]]'s dictionary indicates that Rumpelstilts, or rather the form Rumpelstilz was corrupted phonetically towards ''{{linktext|Stolz}}'' 'haughtiness', but the correct etymology points to ''stalt'' as Grimm suggested, and this goes to "{{lang|goh|stal}} (1)" meaning "{{lang|la|locus}}, location, place" and {{lang|de|stellen}} meaning to "set, place".<ref name="Graff-AHD-Sprachshatz-stolz">[[Eberhard Gottlieb Graff|Graff, Eberhard Gottlieb ]] (1842) ''Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz'' '''6''', s.v. "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=KxkJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA677 |2=Stolz (2)}}" cross-referenced to "Stal (1)"</ref>{{Refn|group="note"|Graff lists as parallel example the German word ''{{linktext|Hagestolz}}'' meaning 'confirmed bachelor', which seems also to contain the steim ''Stolz'' 'haughtiness' but is also actually rooted from ''stalt''.<ref name="Graff-AHD-Sprachshatz-stolz"/> The explanatory on this ''Hagestolz'' word by [[Rudolf Steiner]] and Christopher Bamford is illuminating.<ref name="steiner&bamford"/>}}
==References in popular culture==
* The book ''Spinners'' by [[Donna Jo Napoli]] and [[Richard Tchen]]
* A song called "Rumpelstiltskin" by [[John Otway]] on the album ''The Pen-Ultimate'' features the chorus "Give us the baby, Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin".
* In the PC game ''[[King's Quest 1]]'' there's a character called Nikstlitslepmur - Rumpelstiltskin spelled backwards.
* "I.M. Rumpelstilzchen", a song on the [[Megaherz]] album ''[[Herzwerk II]]'' (song title translates roughly to ''Unofficial Collaborator Rumpelstiltskin).
* Rumpelstiltskin was brought to life in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' episode "If Wishes Were Horses".
* ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' did the story as a ''[[U.S. Acres]]'' short titled "The Name Game", in which Orson tries to tell the story to Booker and Sheldon. As the episode progresses, Booker and Sheldon, and later Roy and Wade, request various changes to the story, such as the miller's daughter, (played by Wade) being male and having to give Rumpelstiltskin (Roy) his [[VCR]]. At the end of the episode, Wade and Roy end up trying to amend the ending to work in their respective characters' favors.
* Rumpelstiltskin was the name given to a suspect in ''[[The Closer]]'' episode "The Round File" when he told Brenda and her team to figure out his name for themselves.
* Rumpelstiltskin was also referred in ''[[The Last Unicorn]]'' by [[Peter S. Beagle]].
*Rumpelstiltskin is featured in ''[[Shrek the Third]]'' as part of Prince Charming's villain army.
*Anne Sexton refers to Rumpelstiltskin in her poem "The Abortion."
*[[Jonathan Carroll]]'s book ''[[Sleeping in Flame]]'' features a Rumpelstiltskin-type father/son relationship.
*Rumpelstiltskin is the name the killer uses in the book ''The Analyst'' by [[John Katzenbach]], where the killer communicates with the main character through rhymes published on the ''New York Times'' newspaper.
*Doopliss, a villain from ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' is based on the story of Rumpelstiltskin in that saying his name will defeat/hinder him. His Japanese name is derived from "Rumpelstiltskin".
*The television series [[Reaper]] has a concept similar to Rumpelstiltskin. [[The Devil]] plays the Rumpelstiltskin role, promising to help a young couple in exchange for the soul of their firstborn child.
* [[The Meat Puppets]] II LP featured a song 'Split Myself in Two' In reference to Rumpelstiltskin.
* The Nameless Man (antagonist of the comic [[The Goon]]) is mentioned to be the origin of Rumplestiltskin, although it is never explicitly stated thus.
* [[Vivian Vande Velde]]'s book ''The Rumpelstiltskin Problem'' presents a handful of alternative versions of the tale in a humorous attempt to address the story's [[plot hole]]s.
*The Muppets portrayed the classic story in "Muppet Classic Theater" with Gonzo as the title character.
*[[Superman]] villain [[Mister Mxyzptlk]] is an omnipotent fifth dimensional imp who can only be banished by guessing his name.


The meaning is similar to ''rumpelgeist'' ("rattle-ghost") or ''[[poltergeist]]'' ("rumble-ghost"), a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. The name is believed to be derived from [[Johann Fischart]]'s ''Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua'' of 1577 (a loose adaptation of [[François Rabelais|Rabelais']] ''[[Gargantua and Pantagruel]]''), which refers to an "amusement" for children, a children's game named "Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart". Thus a ''rumpelstilt'' or ''rumpelstilz'' was also known by such names as ''pophart'' or ''poppart'',<ref name="HdA-Jacoby-boppelgebet"/> that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. (Other related concepts are ''mummarts'' or ''[[boggart]]s'' and ''[[Hob (folklore)|hobs]]'', which are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.)
==References==
{{reflist}}
Anne Sexton refers to Rumpelstiltskin in her poem "The Abortion."


=== Translations ===
==External links==
[[File:The heart of oak books (1906) (14750176241).jpg|thumb|Illustration for the tale of "Rumpel-stilt-skin" from ''The heart of oak books'' (Boston 1910).]]
{{wikisourcepar|Rumpelstiltskin}}
*[http://www.mediainformatics.biz/kidsbook/rumples.html Rumpelstiltzkin] The fairy tale, lushly illustrated in [http://mediainformatics.biz/kidsbook The Colorful Story Book] of 1941.
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/index.html SurLaLune Fairy Tale Pages: Heidi Anne Heiner, "The Annotated Rumpelstiltskin"]
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/other.html SurLaLune: Related stories]
* [http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/edwardclodd/index.html Tom Tit Tot: An Essay on Savage Philosophy in Folk-Tale by Edward Clodd]
* [http://www.storyresources.co.nz/shop/item.aspx?itemid=518 Rumpelstiltskin] Felt Works at [http://www.storyresources.co.nz Story Resources]
* [http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~wbarker/fairies/grimm/055.html "Rumpelstiltskin"] translated by Margaret Hunt, 1884 e-text
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0500.html#rumpelstiltskin A translation of the Rumpelstiltskin story from the 1812 Brothers Grimm edition]
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html D.L. Ashliman's Brothers Grimm website]. The classification is based on Antti Aarne and Stith Thompson, ''The Types of the Folktale: A Classification and Bibliography,'' (Helsinki, 1961).
* [http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html D.L. Ashliman's Brothers Grimm website].
* [http://www.rumpelstiltzkin.com Rumeplstiltzkin with modern illustrations].
* [http://www.myspace.com/rumpelstiltskinofficial Rumpelstiltskin horror movie].


Translations of the original Grimm fairy tale (KHM 55) into various languages have generally substituted different names for the dwarf whose name is ''[[wikt:Rumpelstiltskin|Rumpelstilzchen]]''. For some languages, a name was chosen that comes close in sound to the German name: ''Rumpelstiltskin'' or ''Rumplestiltskin'' in English, ''Repelsteeltje'' in [[Dutch language|Dutch]], ''Rumpelstichen'' in Brazilian [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], ''Rumpelstinski'', ''Rumpelestíjeles'', ''Trasgolisto'', ''Jasil el Trasgu'', ''Barabay'', ''Rompelimbrá'', ''Barrabás'', ''Ruidoquedito'', ''Rompeltisquillo'', ''Tiribilitín'', ''Tremolín'', ''El enano saltarín'' y ''el duende saltarín'' in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], ''Rumplcimprcampr'' or ''Rampelník'' in [[Czech language|Czech]].
[[Category:German fairy tales]]
[[Category:Dwarves]]
[[Category:Brothers Grimm]]
[[Category: dwarves]]
[[Category: goblins]]


In [[Japanese language|Japanese]], it is transcribed as {{lang|ja|[[:ja:ルンペルシュティルツヒェン|ルンペルシュティルツヒェン]]}}, {{translit|ja|Runperushutirutsuhyen}}. The [[Russian language|Russian]] name is close to the original German, {{lang|ru|Румпельштильцхен}}, {{translit|ru|Rumpel'shtíl'tskhen}}.


In other languages, the name was translated in a poetic and approximate way. Thus ''Rumpelstilzchen'' is known as ''Päronskaft'' (literally "Pear-stalk") or ''Bullerskaft'' (literally "Rumble-stalk") in [[Swedish language|Swedish]],<ref>{{cite book |title=Bröderna Grimms sagovärld |last1=Grimm |first1=Jacob |last2=Grimm |first2=Wilhelm |publisher=Bonnier Carlsen |year=2008 |isbn= 978-91-638-2435-7 |language=sv |page=72}}</ref> where the sense of ''stilt'' or ''stalk'' of the second part is retained.
[[de:Rumpelstilzchen]]

[[es:Rumpelstiltskin]]
[[Slovak language|Slovak]] translations use ''Martinko Klingáč''. [[Polish language|Polish]] translations use ''Titelitury'' (or ''Rumpelsztyk'') and [[Finnish language|Finnish]] ones ''Tittelintuure'', ''Rompanruoja'' or ''Hopskukkeli''. The [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] name is Tűzmanócska and in [[Serbo-Croatian]] ''Cvilidreta'' ("Whine-screamer"). The [[Slovenian language|Slovenian]] translation uses ''Špicparkeljc'' ("Pointy-Hoof").
[[fr:Nain Tracassin]]

[[he:עוץ לי גוץ לי]]
In [[Italian language|Italian]], the creature is usually called ''Tremotino'', which is probably formed from the world ''tremoto'', which means "earthquake" in [[Tuscan dialect]], and the suffix "-ino", which generally indicates a small and/or sly character. The first Italian edition of the fables was published in 1897, and the books in those years were all written in Tuscan Italian.
[[nl:Repelsteeltje (sprookje)]]

[[ja:ルンペルシュティルツヒェン]]
For [[Hebrew]], the poet [[Avraham Shlonsky]] composed the name {{lang|he|עוּץ־לִי גּוּץ־לִי}} {{translit|he|AHL|Utz-li gutz-li}}, a compact and rhymy touch to the original sentence and meaning of the story, "My-Adviser My-Midget", from {{lang|he|יוֹעֵץ}}, {{translit|he|AHL|yo'etz}}, "adviser", and {{lang|he|גּוּץ}}, {{translit|he|AHL|gutz}}, "squat, dumpy, pudgy (about a person)"), when using the fairy-tale as the basis of a children's [[musical theatre|musical]], now a classic among Hebrew children's plays.
[[pl:Titelitury]]

[[pt:Rumpelstichen]]
[[Greek language|Greek]] translations have used Ρουμπελστίλτσκιν (from the English) or Κουτσοκαλιγέρης (''Koutsokaliyéris''), which could figure as a Greek surname, formed with the particle κούτσο- (''koútso-'' "limping"), and is perhaps derived from the Hebrew name.
[[fi:Tittelintuure]]

[[Urdu]] versions of the tale used the name ''Tees Mar Khan'' for the imp.

== Rumpelstiltskin principle ==
The value and power of using personal names and titles is well established in psychology, management, teaching and trial law. It is often referred to as the "Rumpelstiltskin principle". It derives from a very ancient belief that to give or know the [[true name]] of a being is to have power over it. See Adam's naming of the animals in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 2:19-20 for an example.
*{{cite web |url=http://psycnet.apa.org/books/14037/043/ |title=The Rumpelstiltskin Principle |last=Brodsky |first=Stanley |publisher= [[American Psychological Association]] |date=2013 |website=APA.org | accessdate= }}
*{{Cite web |url=https://alum.mit.edu/slice/rumpelstiltskin-principle/ |title=The Rumpelstiltskin Principle |last=Winston |first=Patrick |date=2009-08-16 |publisher=MIT}}
*{{Cite book |url=https://www.academia.edu/5548653 |contribution=Rumpelstiltskin: The magic of the right word |last=van der Geest |first=Sjak |editor1-first=Arko |editor1-last=Oderwald |editor2-first= Willem |editor2-last=van Tilburg |editor3-first=Koos |editor3-last=Neuvel |title=Unfamiliar knowledge: Psychiatric disorders in literature |location=Utrecht |publisher=De Tijdstroom |date=2010 }}

== Media and popular culture ==
=== Literature adaptations ===
* ''Gold Spun,'' a 2021 first novel of a duology by Brandie June.
* ''Gilded'', a 2021 first novel of a duology by [[Marissa Meyer]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baugher |first=Lacy |date=2021-11-02 |title=Marissa Meyer reimagines Rumpelstiltskin in haunting retelling Gilded |url=https://culturess.com/2021/11/02/marissa-meyer-gilded-review/ |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Culturess |language=en-US}}</ref>
* ''[[Spinning Silver]]'', a 2018 fantasy novel by [[Naomi Novik]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schnieders Lefever |first=Kelsey |date=2020-04-20 |title='Spinning Silver,' a retelling of 'Rumpelstiltskin,' to be featured Big Read book |url=https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2020/Q2/spinning-silver,-a-retelling-of-rumpelstiltskin,-to-be-featured-big-read-book.html |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=www.purdue.edu |language=en}}</ref>

=== Film ===
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1915 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1915 film)]], an American silent film, directed by [[Raymond B. West]]
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1940 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1940 film)]], a German fantasy film, directed by Alf Zengerling
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1955 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1955 film)]], a German fantasy film, directed by Herbert B. Fredersdorf
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1985 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1985 film)]], a twenty-four-minute animated feature
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1987 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1987 film)]], an American-Israeli film
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (1995 film)|''Rumpelstiltskin'' (1995 film)]], an American horror film, loosely based on the Grimm fairy tale
* [[Rumpelstilzchen (2009 film)|''Rumpelstilzchen'' (2009 film)]], a German TV adaptation starring [[Gottfried John]] and [[Julie Engelbrecht]]

=== Ensemble media ===
* The 1994 direct-to-video ''[[Muppet Classic Theater]]'' adapted the story, starring [[Gonzo (Muppet)|The Great Gonzo]] as the title character, [[Miss Piggy]] as the miller's daughter, and [[Kermit the Frog]] as the king. In this version of the story, Rumpelstiltskin reveals that his mother sent him to camp every summer until he was 18. The miller's daughter, who has her father, the king and the king's loyal royal advisor help her guess the name of the "weird, little man", recalls that "a good mother always sews her kid's name inside their clothes before sending them off to camp." Thus, the girl decides to check his clothing, and finds Rumpelstiltskin's name inside.
* "Rumpelstiltskin", a 1995 episode from ''[[Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child]]''.
* ''Barney's Once Upon a Time'' involves the story told by Stella, with Shawn as the title character, Tosha as the miller's daughter, Carlos as the King, and Barney as the messenger.
* Rumpelstiltskin appears as a figment of Chief O'Brien's imagination in the 15th episode "[[If Wishes Were Horses (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)|If Wishes Were Horses]]" of season 1 in the ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''.
* [[Rumpelstiltskin (Shrek)|Rumpelstiltskin]] appears as a villainous character in the [[Shrek (franchise)|''Shrek'' franchise]], first voiced by [[Conrad Vernon]] in a minor role in ''[[Shrek the Third]]''. In ''[[Shrek Forever After]]'', the character's appearance and persona are significantly altered to become the main villain of the film, now voiced by [[Walt Dohrn]].
* In [[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|''Once Upon a Time'']], [[Rumplestiltskin (Once Upon a Time)|Rumplestiltskin]] is one of the integral characters, portrayed by [[Robert Carlyle]]. Within the interconnected fairy tale narrative, he acts as a composite character for the Crocodile from ''[[Peter Pan]]'', the Beast of ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'' and [[Cinderella]]'s fairy godfather.
* Rumpelstiltskin appears in ''[[Ever After High]]'' as an infamous professor known for making students spin straw into gold as a form of extra credit and detention. He deliberately gives his students bad grades in such a way they are forced to ask for extra credit.
* The cast of the children's TV series ''[[Rainbow (TV series)|Rainbow]]'' acted out the story in a 1987 episode. Zippy played the title character, [[Geoffrey Hayes|Geoffrey]] played the king, [[Rod, Jane and Freddy|Rod]] played the miller, Bungle played the miller’s daughter, George played the baby, [[Rod, Jane and Freddy|Jane]] played the maid, and [[Rod, Jane and Freddy|Freddy]] played a peasant.
* The video game ''[[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door]]'' has a similar format with the character of Doopliss inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, in which the player has to guess his name correctly, but can only do so by finding the "p" in a chest underground. This reference is more direct in the original Japanese version and other translations, in which the character is named "Rumpel".

=== Theater ===
* ''[[Rumpelstiltskin (1965 musical)|Utz-li-Gutz-li]]'', a 1965 Israeli stage musical written by [[Avraham Shlonsky]]
* ''[[Rumpelstiltskin (2011 musical)|Rumpelstiltskin]]'', a 2011 American stage musical

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name="bergeler1961">{{cite journal|last=Bergeler |first=Edmunt |author-link=<!--Edmunt Bergeler--> |title=The Clinical Importance o 'Rumpelstiltskin' as Anti-male Manifesto |journal=American Imago |volume=18 |year=1961 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P6UtAAAAMAAJ&q=stilzchen |page=66<!--65–70-->}}</ref>

<ref name="HdA-Jacoby-boppelgebet"><!--Adolf Jacoby-->Jacoby, Adolf (1927).{{anchors|CITEREFRanke1927}} "{{URL|1=https://books.google.com/books?id=mwsNAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA281 |2=Boppelgebet}}". ''HdA'', '''1'''<!--Band 1 Aal-Butzemann-->: 1479–1480</ref>

<ref name="rinsley1983">{{cite journal|last=Rinsley |first=Donald B. |author-link=<!--Donald B. Rinsley--> |title=The Clinical Importance o 'Rumpelstiltskin' as Anti-male Manifesto |journal=Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic |volume=47 |year=1983 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDdBAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Stelze%22 |page=3<!--1–14-->}}</ref>

<ref name="steiner&bamford">{{cite book|last1=Steiner |first1=Rudolf |author1-link=Rudolf Steiner |last2=Bamford |first2=Christopher |author2-link=<!--Christopher Bamford--> |others=Translated by Ruth Pusch; Gertrude Teutsch |title=The Genius of Language: Observations for Teachers (CW 299) |location=Dornach, Switzerland |publisher=Rudolf Steiner Ver;ag |year=1995 |orig-year=1920 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzGy1Ky7j-cC&pg=PT33 |pages=|isbn=978-0-88010-916-1 }}</ref>

<ref name="uther2021">{{cite journal|last=Uther |first=Hans-Jörg |author-link=Hans-Jörg Uther|title=Handbuch zu den "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" der Brüder Grimm: Entstehung – Wirkung – Interpretation |journal=American Imago |volume=18 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |edition=3 |year=2021 |orig-year=2010 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sMdEEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA132 |page=132 |isbn=<!--3110747588, -->9783110747584}}</ref>

}}

== Selected bibliography ==
*{{Cite journal|last=Bergler|first=Edmund|date=1961|title=The Clinical Importance of "Rumpelstiltskin" As Anti-Male Manifesto|journal=American Imago|volume=18|issue=1|pages=65–70|jstor=26301733|issn=0065-860X}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Marshall|first=Howard W.|date=1973|title='Tom Tit Tot'. A Comparative Essay on Aarne-Thompson Type 500. The Name of the Helper|journal=Folklore|volume=84|issue=1|pages=51–57|doi=10.1080/0015587X.1973.9716495|jstor=1260436|issn=0015-587X}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Ní Dhuibhne|first=Éilis|date=2012|title=The Name of the Helper: "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" and Ireland|journal=Béaloideas|volume=80|pages=1–22|jstor=24862867|issn=0332-270X}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Rand|first=Harry|date=2000|title=Who was Rupelstiltskin?|journal=The International Journal of Psychoanalysis|language=en|volume=81|issue=5|pages=943–962|doi=10.1516/0020757001600309|pmid=11109578}}
*{{cite book|last=Rand |first=Harry |author-link=<!--Harry Rand--> |title=Rumpelstiltskin's Secret: What Women Didn't Tell the Grimms|location= |publisher=Routledge |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NorCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |pages= |isbn=<!--1351204149, -->9781351204149}}
*{{Cite book|last=von Sydow|first=Carl W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugXgAAAAMAAJ|title=Två spinnsagor: en studie i jämförande folksagoforskning|date=1909|publisher=P.A. Norstedt|location=Stockholm|language=sv}} [Analysis of Aarne-Thompson-Uther tale types 500 and 501]
*{{Cite journal|last=Yolen|first=Jane|date=1993|title=Foreword: The Rumpelstiltskin Factor|journal=Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts|volume=5|issue=2 (18)|pages=11–13|jstor=43308148|issn=0897-0521}}
*{{Cite journal|last=Zipes|first=Jack|date=1993|title=Spinning with Fate: Rumpelstiltskin and the Decline of Female Productivity|journal=Western Folklore|volume=52|issue=1|pages=43–60|doi=10.2307/1499492|jstor=1499492|issn=0043-373X}}
*{{Cite journal|last1=T.|first1=A. W.|last2=Clodd|first2=Edward|date=1889|title=The Philosophy of Rumpelstilt-Skin|journal=The Folk-Lore Journal|volume=7|issue=2|pages=135–163|jstor=1252656|issn=1744-2524}}

== Further reading ==
*{{Cite journal|last=Cambon|first=Fernand|date=1976|title=La fileuse. Remarques psychanalytiques sur le motif de la "fileuse" et du "filage" dans quelques poèmes et contes allemands|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/litt_0047-4800_1976_num_23_3_1122|journal=Littérature|volume=23|issue=3|pages=56–74|doi=10.3406/litt.1976.1122}}
* {{cite journal |last=Dvořák |first=Karel |date=1967 |title=AaTh 500 in deutschen Varianten aus der Tschechoslowakei |journal=[[Fabula (journal)|Fabula]] |volume=9 |issue=1–3 |pages=100–104 |doi=10.1515/fabl.1967.9.1-3.100 |lang=de}}
* Paulme, Denise. "Thème et variations: l'épreuve du «nom inconnu» dans les contes d'Afrique noire". In: ''Cahiers d'études africaines'', vol. 11, n°42, 1971. pp.&nbsp;189–205. DOI: [https://doi.org/10.3406/cea.1971.2800 Thème et variations : l'épreuve du « nom inconnu » dans les contes d'Afrique noire.]; www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1971_num_11_42_2800

== External links ==
{{commons category|Rumpelstilzchen (1812, Grimm)}}
*{{wikisource-inline|Rumpelstiltskin|single=true}}
*{{wikisource-inline|Tom Tit Tot|single=true}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/jacob-grimm_wilhelm-grimm/household-tales/margaret-hunt|Display Name=The complete set of Grimms' Fairy Tales, including ''{{PAGENAMEBASE}}''|noitalics=true}}
* [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5314 Free version of translation of "Household Tales" by Brothers Grimm from Project Gutenberg]
* [https://archive.org/details/tomtittotanessa01clodgoog 'Tom Tit Tot: an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale' by Edward Clodd (1898)]
* [https://sites.google.com/site/aglonareader/home/lang-en/books Parallel German-English text in ParallelBook format]
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0764662/ 1985 TV movie]

{{Brothers Grimm}}
{{Rumpelstiltskin}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Rumpelstiltskin| ]]
[[Category:Grimms' Fairy Tales]]
[[Category:Goblins]]
[[Category:Fairy tales about goblins]]
[[Category:Fairy tales about dwarves]]
[[Category:Fairy tales about magic]]
[[Category:Fairy tale stock characters]]
[[Category:Male characters in fairy tales]]
[[Category:Male literary villains]]
[[Category:Fictional German people]]
[[Category:Fictional characters who use magic]]
[[Category:Folklore featuring impossible tasks]]
[[Category:ATU 500-559]]
[[Category:Imps]]

Latest revision as of 01:47, 13 December 2024

Rumpelstiltskin
Illustration from Andrew Lang's The Blue Fairy Book (1889)
Folk tale
NameRumpelstiltskin
Also known as
  • Tom Tit Tot
  • Päronskaft
  • Repelsteeltje
  • Cvilidreta
  • Rampelník
  • Tűzmanócska
  • Eiman
  • Country
    • Germany
    • United Kingdom
    • Netherlands
    • Czech Republic
    • Hungary
    Published in

    "Rumpelstiltskin" (/ˌrʌmpəlˈstɪltskɪn/ RUMP-əl-STILT-skin;[1] German: Rumpelstilzchen, IPA: [ʁʊmpl̩ʃtiːltsçn̩]) is a German fairy tale[2] collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of Children's and Household Tales.[2] The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child.[2]

    Plot

    [edit]

    In order to appear superior, a miller brags to the king and people of his kingdom by claiming his daughter can spin straw into gold.[note 1] The king calls for the girl, locks her up in a tower room filled with straw and a spinning wheel, and demands she spin the straw into gold by morning or he will have her killed.[note 2] When she has given up all hope, a little imp-like man appears in the room and spins the straw into gold in return for her necklace of glass beads. The next morning the king takes the girl to a larger room filled with straw to repeat the feat, and the imp once again spins, in return for the girl's glass ring. On the third day the girl is taken to an even larger room filled with straw, and told by the king that if she can spin all this straw into gold he will marry her, but if she cannot she will be executed. While she is sobbing alone in the room, the little imp appears again and promises that he can spin the straw into gold for her, but the girl tells him she has nothing left with which to pay. The strange creature suggests she pay him with her first child. She reluctantly agrees, and he sets about spinning the straw into gold.[note 3]

    Illustration by Anne Anderson from Grimm's Fairy Tales (London and Glasgow 1922)

    The king keeps his promise to marry the miller's daughter. But when their first child is born, the imp returns to claim his payment. She offers him all the wealth she has to keep the child, but the imp has no interest in her riches. He finally agrees to give up his claim to the child if she can guess his name within three days.[note 4]

    The queen's many guesses fail. But before the final night, she wanders into the woods[note 5] searching for him and comes across his remote mountain cottage and watches, unseen, as he hops about his fire and sings. He reveals his name in his song's lyrics: "tonight tonight, my plans I make, tomorrow tomorrow, the baby I take. The queen will never win the game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name".

    When the imp comes to the queen on the third day, after first feigning ignorance, she reveals his name, Rumpelstiltskin, and he loses his temper at the loss of their bargain. Versions vary about whether he accuses the devil or witches of having revealed his name to the queen. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in an 1857 edition to a more gruesome ending wherein Rumpelstiltskin "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two". Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the Brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin flies out of the window on a cooking ladle.

    History

    [edit]

    According to researchers at Durham University and the NOVA University Lisbon, the origins of the story can be traced back to around 4,000 years ago.[3][4][undue weight?discuss] A possible early literary reference to the tale appears in Dionysius of Halicarnassus's Roman Antiquities, in the 1st century AD.[5]

    Variants

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    Stamp series on Rumpelstilzchen from the Deutsche Post of the GDR, 1976
    Grimms' fairytale stamp series of Rumpelstilzchen stamp set from the Deutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022
    Grimms' fairytale stamp series of Rumpelstilzchen stamp set front cover from the Deutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022
    Grimms' fairytale stamp series of Rumpelstilzchen stamp set inner cover from the Deutsche Post of the BRD by artist Michael Kunter, 2022, reciting the concise version of the story and the song Rumpelstilzchen sings

    The same story pattern appears in numerous other cultures: Tom Tit Tot[6] in the United Kingdom (from English Fairy Tales, 1890, by Joseph Jacobs); Whuppity Stoorie in Scotland (from Robert Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1826); Gilitrutt in Iceland;[7][8] and The Lazy Beauty and her Aunts in Ireland (from The Fireside Stories of Ireland, 1870 by Patrick Kennedy), though subsequent research [9] has revealed an earlier published version called The White Hen[10] by Ellen Fitzsimon.[11]

    The story also appears as جعيدان (Joaidane "He who talks too much") in Arabic; Хламушка (Khlamushka "Junker") in Russia; Rumplcimprcampr, Rampelník or Martin Zvonek in the Czech Republic; Martinko Klingáč in Slovakia; "Cvilidreta" in Croatia; Ruidoquedito ("Little noise") in South America; Pancimanci in Hungary (from 1862 folktale collection by László Arany[12]); Daiku to Oniroku (大工と鬼六 "The carpenter and the ogre") in Japan and Myrmidon in France.

    An earlier literary variant in French was penned by Mme. L'Héritier, titled Ricdin-Ricdon.[13] A version of it exists in the compilation Le Cabinet des Fées, Vol. XII. pp. 125–131.

    The Cornish tale of Duffy and the Devil plays out an essentially similar plot featuring a "devil" named Terry-top.[14]

    All these tales are classified in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index as tale type ATU 500, "The Name of the Supernatural Helper".[15][16] According to scholarship, it is popular in "Denmark, Finland, Germany and Ireland".[17]

    Name

    [edit]
    Illustration by Walter Crane from Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm (1886)

    "Rumpelstiltskin" is usually explained as literally meaning "little rattle stilt". The ending -chen in the German form Rumpelstiltschen is a diminutive cognate to English -kin.

    Rumpelstilzchen is regarded as containing Stilzchen, diminutive of Stelze "stilt".[18][20] This etymology seems endorsed by Hans-Jörg Uther's handbook on the Grimms Kinder- und Hausmärchen. Uther cites HdA [de] which gives the examples of Bachstelze, Wasserstelze (names of birds; stilt) as paralleling examples.[21][22] However, this was not the etymology hinted at by Jacob Grimm.[23]

    Harry Rand's book on this fairy suggests that Rumpel is not just a noise, but originally a crumpling noise, associated with shrunkenness and dwarfness, as apropos for the imp. So the name Rumpel-stilts is an oxymoronic juxtaposition, embodying the dichotomy of "shortness-tallness". Succinctly it may also be rendered as "crumpled stalk". [24]

    Grimm suggested -stilt, -stiltchen from Old German stalt with some uncertainty,[23] and did not much elaborate. Graff's dictionary indicates that Rumpelstilts, or rather the form Rumpelstilz was corrupted phonetically towards Stolz 'haughtiness', but the correct etymology points to stalt as Grimm suggested, and this goes to "stal (1)" meaning "locus, location, place" and stellen meaning to "set, place".[25][note 6]

    The meaning is similar to rumpelgeist ("rattle-ghost") or poltergeist ("rumble-ghost"), a mischievous spirit that clatters and moves household objects. The name is believed to be derived from Johann Fischart's Geschichtklitterung, or Gargantua of 1577 (a loose adaptation of Rabelais' Gargantua and Pantagruel), which refers to an "amusement" for children, a children's game named "Rumpele stilt oder der Poppart". Thus a rumpelstilt or rumpelstilz was also known by such names as pophart or poppart,[22] that makes noises by rattling posts and rapping on planks. (Other related concepts are mummarts or boggarts and hobs, which are mischievous household spirits that disguise themselves.)

    Translations

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    Illustration for the tale of "Rumpel-stilt-skin" from The heart of oak books (Boston 1910).

    Translations of the original Grimm fairy tale (KHM 55) into various languages have generally substituted different names for the dwarf whose name is Rumpelstilzchen. For some languages, a name was chosen that comes close in sound to the German name: Rumpelstiltskin or Rumplestiltskin in English, Repelsteeltje in Dutch, Rumpelstichen in Brazilian Portuguese, Rumpelstinski, Rumpelestíjeles, Trasgolisto, Jasil el Trasgu, Barabay, Rompelimbrá, Barrabás, Ruidoquedito, Rompeltisquillo, Tiribilitín, Tremolín, El enano saltarín y el duende saltarín in Spanish, Rumplcimprcampr or Rampelník in Czech.

    In Japanese, it is transcribed as ルンペルシュティルツヒェン, Runperushutirutsuhyen. The Russian name is close to the original German, Румпельштильцхен, Rumpel'shtíl'tskhen.

    In other languages, the name was translated in a poetic and approximate way. Thus Rumpelstilzchen is known as Päronskaft (literally "Pear-stalk") or Bullerskaft (literally "Rumble-stalk") in Swedish,[27] where the sense of stilt or stalk of the second part is retained.

    Slovak translations use Martinko Klingáč. Polish translations use Titelitury (or Rumpelsztyk) and Finnish ones Tittelintuure, Rompanruoja or Hopskukkeli. The Hungarian name is Tűzmanócska and in Serbo-Croatian Cvilidreta ("Whine-screamer"). The Slovenian translation uses Špicparkeljc ("Pointy-Hoof").

    In Italian, the creature is usually called Tremotino, which is probably formed from the world tremoto, which means "earthquake" in Tuscan dialect, and the suffix "-ino", which generally indicates a small and/or sly character. The first Italian edition of the fables was published in 1897, and the books in those years were all written in Tuscan Italian.

    For Hebrew, the poet Avraham Shlonsky composed the name עוּץ־לִי גּוּץ־לִי Utz-li gutz-li, a compact and rhymy touch to the original sentence and meaning of the story, "My-Adviser My-Midget", from יוֹעֵץ, yo'etz, "adviser", and גּוּץ, gutz, "squat, dumpy, pudgy (about a person)"), when using the fairy-tale as the basis of a children's musical, now a classic among Hebrew children's plays.

    Greek translations have used Ρουμπελστίλτσκιν (from the English) or Κουτσοκαλιγέρης (Koutsokaliyéris), which could figure as a Greek surname, formed with the particle κούτσο- (koútso- "limping"), and is perhaps derived from the Hebrew name.

    Urdu versions of the tale used the name Tees Mar Khan for the imp.

    Rumpelstiltskin principle

    [edit]

    The value and power of using personal names and titles is well established in psychology, management, teaching and trial law. It is often referred to as the "Rumpelstiltskin principle". It derives from a very ancient belief that to give or know the true name of a being is to have power over it. See Adam's naming of the animals in Genesis 2:19-20 for an example.

    • Brodsky, Stanley (2013). "The Rumpelstiltskin Principle". APA.org. American Psychological Association.
    • Winston, Patrick (16 August 2009). "The Rumpelstiltskin Principle". MIT.
    • van der Geest, Sjak (2010). "Rumpelstiltskin: The magic of the right word". In Oderwald, Arko; van Tilburg, Willem; Neuvel, Koos (eds.). Unfamiliar knowledge: Psychiatric disorders in literature. Utrecht: De Tijdstroom.
    [edit]

    Literature adaptations

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    Film

    [edit]

    Ensemble media

    [edit]
    • The 1994 direct-to-video Muppet Classic Theater adapted the story, starring The Great Gonzo as the title character, Miss Piggy as the miller's daughter, and Kermit the Frog as the king. In this version of the story, Rumpelstiltskin reveals that his mother sent him to camp every summer until he was 18. The miller's daughter, who has her father, the king and the king's loyal royal advisor help her guess the name of the "weird, little man", recalls that "a good mother always sews her kid's name inside their clothes before sending them off to camp." Thus, the girl decides to check his clothing, and finds Rumpelstiltskin's name inside.
    • "Rumpelstiltskin", a 1995 episode from Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child.
    • Barney's Once Upon a Time involves the story told by Stella, with Shawn as the title character, Tosha as the miller's daughter, Carlos as the King, and Barney as the messenger.
    • Rumpelstiltskin appears as a figment of Chief O'Brien's imagination in the 15th episode "If Wishes Were Horses" of season 1 in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
    • Rumpelstiltskin appears as a villainous character in the Shrek franchise, first voiced by Conrad Vernon in a minor role in Shrek the Third. In Shrek Forever After, the character's appearance and persona are significantly altered to become the main villain of the film, now voiced by Walt Dohrn.
    • In Once Upon a Time, Rumplestiltskin is one of the integral characters, portrayed by Robert Carlyle. Within the interconnected fairy tale narrative, he acts as a composite character for the Crocodile from Peter Pan, the Beast of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella's fairy godfather.
    • Rumpelstiltskin appears in Ever After High as an infamous professor known for making students spin straw into gold as a form of extra credit and detention. He deliberately gives his students bad grades in such a way they are forced to ask for extra credit.
    • The cast of the children's TV series Rainbow acted out the story in a 1987 episode. Zippy played the title character, Geoffrey played the king, Rod played the miller, Bungle played the miller’s daughter, George played the baby, Jane played the maid, and Freddy played a peasant.
    • The video game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has a similar format with the character of Doopliss inspired by Rumpelstiltskin, in which the player has to guess his name correctly, but can only do so by finding the "p" in a chest underground. This reference is more direct in the original Japanese version and other translations, in which the character is named "Rumpel".

    Theater

    [edit]

    Notes

    [edit]
    1. ^ Some versions make the miller's daughter blonde and describe the "straw-into-gold" claim as a careless boast the miller makes about the way his daughter's straw-like blond hair takes on a gold-like lustre when sunshine strikes it.
    2. ^ Other versions have the king threatening to lock her up in a dungeon forever, or to punish her father for lying.
    3. ^ In some versions, the imp appears and begins to turn the straw into gold, paying no heed to the girl's protests that she has nothing to pay him with; when he finishes the task, he states that the price is her first child, and the horrified girl objects because she never agreed to this arrangement.
    4. ^ Some versions have the imp limiting the number of daily guesses to three and hence the total number of guesses allowed to a maximum of nine.
    5. ^ In some versions, she sends a servant into the woods instead of going herself, in order to keep the king's suspicions at bay.
    6. ^ Graff lists as parallel example the German word Hagestolz meaning 'confirmed bachelor', which seems also to contain the steim Stolz 'haughtiness' but is also actually rooted from stalt.[25] The explanatory on this Hagestolz word by Rudolf Steiner and Christopher Bamford is illuminating.[26]

    References

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    1. ^ Wells, John (3 April 2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3 ed.). Harlow: Pearson. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
    2. ^ a b c "Rumpelstiltskin". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
    3. ^ BBC (20 January 2016). "Fairy tale origins thousands of years old, researchers say". BBC. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
    4. ^ da Silva, Sara Graça; Tehrani, Jamshid J. (January 2016). "Comparative phylogenetic analyses uncover the ancient roots of Indo-European folktales". Royal Society Open Science. 3 (1): 150645. Bibcode:2016RSOS....350645D. doi:10.1098/rsos.150645. PMC 4736946. PMID 26909191.
    5. ^ Anderson, Graham (2000). Fairytale in the Ancient World. Routledge. ISBN 9780415237031.
    6. ^ ""The Story of Tom Tit Tot" | Stories from Around the World | Traditional | Lit2Go ETC". etc.usf.edu.
    7. ^ Grímsson, Magnús; Árnason, Jon. Íslensk ævintýri. Reykjavik: 1852. pp. 123-126. [1]
    8. ^ Simpson, Jacqueline (2004). Icelandic folktales & legends (2nd ed.). Stroud: Tempus. pp. 86–89. ISBN 0752430459.
    9. ^ "On the Trail of an Irish Rumpelstiltskin". www.kieranfanning.com. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
    10. ^ Duffy's Fireside Magazine. J. Duffy. 1852.
    11. ^ Ellen Fitzsimon
    12. ^ László Arany: Eredeti népmesék (folktale collection, Pest, 1862, in Hungarian)
    13. ^ Marie-Jeanne L'Héritier: La Tour ténébreuse et les Jours lumineux: Contes Anglois, 1705. In French
    14. ^ Hunt, Robert (1871). Popular Romances of the West of England; or, The Drolls, Traditions, and Superstitions of Old Cornwall. London: John Camden Hotten. pp. 239–247.
    15. ^ Uther, Hans-Jörg (2004). The Types of International Folktales: Animal tales, tales of magic, religious tales, and realistic tales, with an introduction. FF Communications. p. 285 - 286.
    16. ^ "Name of the Helper". D. L. Ashliman. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
    17. ^ Christiansen, Reidar Thorwalf. Folktales of Norway. Chicago: University of Chicago press by 1994 . pp. 5-6.
    18. ^ Bergeler, Edmunt (1961). "The Clinical Importance o 'Rumpelstiltskin' as Anti-male Manifesto". American Imago. 18: 66.
    19. ^ Rinsley, Donald B. (1983). "The Clinical Importance o 'Rumpelstiltskin' as Anti-male Manifesto". Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic. 47: 3.
    20. ^ Donald B. Rinsley's clinical paper cites Bergeler, but states that this association with "stilt" is mistaken.[19]
    21. ^ Uther, Hans-Jörg (2021) [2010]. "Handbuch zu den "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" der Brüder Grimm: Entstehung – Wirkung – Interpretation". American Imago. 18 (3 ed.). Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG: 132. ISBN 9783110747584.
    22. ^ a b Jacoby, Adolf (1927). "Boppelgebet". HdA, 1: 1479–1480
    23. ^ a b Grimm (1875) Deutsche Mythologie 1: 418 n1; Stallybrass tr. (1883) 2: 505n: Rumpelstilt, "stilt, stilz, the old stalt in compounds?"
    24. ^ Rand (2019), pp. 38–41.
    25. ^ a b Graff, Eberhard Gottlieb (1842) Althochdeutscher Sprachschatz 6, s.v. "Stolz (2)" cross-referenced to "Stal (1)"
    26. ^ Steiner, Rudolf; Bamford, Christopher (1995) [1920]. The Genius of Language: Observations for Teachers (CW 299). Translated by Ruth Pusch; Gertrude Teutsch. Dornach, Switzerland: Rudolf Steiner Ver;ag. ISBN 978-0-88010-916-1.
    27. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (2008). Bröderna Grimms sagovärld (in Swedish). Bonnier Carlsen. p. 72. ISBN 978-91-638-2435-7.
    28. ^ Baugher, Lacy (2 November 2021). "Marissa Meyer reimagines Rumpelstiltskin in haunting retelling Gilded". Culturess. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
    29. ^ Schnieders Lefever, Kelsey (20 April 2020). "'Spinning Silver,' a retelling of 'Rumpelstiltskin,' to be featured Big Read book". www.purdue.edu. Retrieved 16 July 2023.

    Selected bibliography

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    Further reading

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