King Goldemar is a dwarf or kobold

Kobold

The kobold is a sprite stemming from Germanic mythology and surviving into modern times in German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a candle. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size...

 from Germanic mythology

Germanic mythology

Germanic mythology is a comprehensive term for myths associated with historical Germanic paganism, including Norse mythology, Anglo-Saxon mythology, Continental Germanic mythology, and other versions of the mythologies of the Germanic peoples...

 and folklore

German folklore

German folklore shares many characteristics with Scandinavian folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters associated...

. By the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

, Goldemar had become the king of the dwarfs in German belief. In the fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

 "The Friendship of the Dwarfs", the author Villamaria depicts Goldemar as a "mighty dwarf king" with a queen and a court of dwarf nobles at his service. He has long, silver hair and beard and wears a crown and a purple mantle. In one tale, he runs away with the daughter of a human king. Fragments of an epic poem by Albrecht von Kemenaten called Goldemar survive. The poem tells of Dietrich's encounter with the dwarf king. The king also features in "Der junge König und die Schafërin" ("The Prince and the Shepherdess") by German poet Ludwig Uhland

Ludwig Uhland

Johann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...

. Goldemar's brothers, Alberich

Alberich

Alberich was a legendary sorcerer who originated in the mythology or epic sagas of the Frankish Merovingian Dynasty of the 5th to 8th century AD, and whose name means king of the elves , who possessed the ability to become invisible...

 or Elberich and Elbegast, feature in other poems.

According to a legend recorded by Thomas Keightley in 1850, King Goldemar was a kobold

Kobold

The kobold is a sprite stemming from Germanic mythology and surviving into modern times in German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a candle. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size...

, a type of house spirit in Germanic belief. Goldemar lived with Neveling von Hardenberg at Castle Hardenstein

Castle Hardenstein

Hardenstein Castle is a ruined castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The remains lie east of Herbede on the Ruhr River, surrounded by mountains, and are not easily accessible. Nearby ruins show that the castle was once part of an important mining centre, probably dating to the Middle Ages;...

 at the Ruhr River. Goldemar frequently interacted with mortals. He called Neveling his "brother-in-law" and often slept in the same bed with him. He skillfully played the harp, and he enjoyed gambling and throwing dice. He also exposed the misdeeds of the clergy. Goldemar brought good fortune to Neveling's household, demanding only a seat at the table, a stable for his horse, and food for himself and his animal. The spirit refused to be seen, but he would allow mortals to feel him; Keightley says that "[h]is hands were thin like those of a frog, cold and soft to the feel." After King Goldemar had lived with Neveling for three years, a curious person strewed ashes and tares about to try to see the kobold's footprints. Goldemar cut the man to pieces, put them on the fire to roast, and put the head and legs in a pot to boil. He then took the cooked meat to his chambers and ate it with glee. The next day, Goldemar was gone. He left a note over his door saying that the house would be as unlucky as it had been lucky while he lived there. Hardenstein lay in a rich mining area during the Middle Ages, which may account for why the castle became associated with a subterranean sprite like Goldemar.