Minature people. The male is dressed distinctively in a blue shirt with a broad belt, wearing a red pointy cap and sporting a white beard. We don’t usually come in contact with female gnomes because they almost always stay at home.
Some facts
Physical appearance
The Male wears a peaked red cap. He has a full beard, which becomes grey long before his hair does. He wears a blue smock with a Byronic collar or caftan neck (usually covered up by his beard). Then, brown-green pants with footwear consisting of felt boots or shoes of birch bark or wooden clogs depending on the area in which he lives in. Around his waist, he wears a leather belt with tool kit attached (contents usually = knife, hammer, drill, files…)
Facial colouring is fair, but with red apple cheeks, especially in old age. Then nose is straight or slightly upturned. The eyes are generally grey.
The Female wears gray or khaki clothing, also for the purpose of camouflage. Until she is married, she wears a green cap with her braids sticking out. After marriage, her hair disappears under a scarf and darker cap. No brassiere despite a substantial bosom. She wears a blouse with ankle length skirts and black-grey knee socks and high heels or slippers.
Weight
Adult male: 300 grams
Adult female: 250 – 275 grams
Height
Adult: 15 cm (without cap) at age 275 years old, which is considered to be in the prime of life
Life-span
Around 400 years. Courtship and marriage at about age 100 years.
Types of gnomes
Woodland gnomes – most common
Dune gnomes – slightly larger size than the woodland gnome
Garden gnomes – yes, “the common garden variety”, sometimes escapes to the woods to get away from surburbia
House gnomes – has the most knowledge of mankind, and speak man’s language
Farm gnomes – more conservative in nature than house gnomes
Siberian gnomes – associates freely with trolls!! Not to be trusted.
See Impartial's writeup below for a fuller description.
More information can be found in "Gnomes", by Wil Huygen, and beautifully and cheekily illustrated by Rein Poortvliet. It was originally published in
Dutch in
1976.