Kobold

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[[File:Evans (1895)-Nymphs-p033-kobold.jpg|thumb|alt=kobold of Hildesheim|The kobold of Hildesheim

This use does not directly support the notion of the kobold being regarded as a spirit or deity. The scenario conjectured by Grimm (seconded by Karl Simrock in 1855) was that home sprites used to be carved from wood or wax and set up in the house as objects of earnest veneration, but as the age progressed, they degraded into humorous or entertaining pieces of décor.