Talk:Jack o' the bowl

"Jack o'the bowl"? Any way of finding out what kind of figure is behind this name? The name is more or less screaming for a glass of "Old Speckled Hen" a filling of good old black pudding, and a fox-hunt. In other words, being Swiss and very interested in folklore, I can't help imagining this imp as a very, very English fellow indeed. What is the Swiss fairy creature behind it? Trigaranus (talk) 17:12, 18 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The name is referenced at pantheon.org but no citation is given. It's also mentioned in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies‎ by Anna Franklin, on p. 138. Ebenezer Cobham Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1894) calls him "the most famous brownie or house-spirit of Switzerland" but again, gives no sources. Perhaps a search of one of the academic databases (e.g. Lexis/Nexis) would turn up something? --Bookgrrl ^holler/lookee here 02:43, 20 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Haven't found any reference in Swiss folk tales that would turn up a name like this (i.e. in German or French, in the style of "Jacques à / de la Cuvette" or sth like that). There are of course house spirits in Swiss folklore, even such as are happy to receive a bowl of milk, but I have never seen them named Jakob / Jacques or anything like that. Trigaranus (talk) 19:26, 14 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]