Nome King
From Oz Wiki
| Species | Nome |
| Place of origin | |
| Current residence | |
| Title | The Nome King, Metal Monarch |
| First appearance | The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus |
The Nome King is the ruler of the Nomes (sometimes spelled "Gnomes"), immortals who dwell underground. They hide jewels and precious metals in the earth, and resent the "upstairs people" who dig down for those valuables.
Contents |
Description
Roquat the Nome King is a fat little man clothed in gray-brown garments which match his throne. His face and his bushy hair and flowing beard are colored like the rocks. He smokes a pipe on occasion. When Dorothy Gale first met him he wore no crown, but only a jewel-studded belt around his fat little body which gave him much magical power. He seemed at first kindly and good-humored, but later showed his true nature as a wicked, disagreeable person. (Ozma of Oz)
History
Long ago, the Gnome King provided Santa Claus with steel runners for his sleigh, and sleigh-bells for his reindeer. In return he received a collection of toys for his children. He was part of the Council of Immortals who bestowed upon Santa Claus the Mantle of Immortality and was the first to cast his vote. (The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus)
Roquat of the Rocks later purchased the Royal Family of Ev from King Evoldo in exchange for a long life, and turned them into pieces of bric-a-brac to decorate his home. Princess Ozma, Dorothy Gale, and a party from the Emerald City freed the royal family from his enslavement and, for good measure, took away his Magic Belt. (Ozma of Oz)
Roquat became so angry that he plotted revenge. He had his subjects dig a tunnel under the Deadly Desert while his general, Guph, recruited a host of evil spirits to conquer Oz. Fortunately, at the moment of invasion Roquat tasted the Water of Oblivion and forgot everything, including his enmity and his name. (The Emerald City of Oz)
He returned to the Nome Kingdom and took a new name, Ruggedo. Using some personal magic, he has enslaved the Shaggy Man's brother, a miner from Colorado. Shaggy, with the help of Betsy Bobbin, the Oogaboo army, some of Dorothy's old friends, and Quox the dragon, conquered Ruggedo again and forced him into exile, setting up his former chamberlain, Kaliko, as the new king. (Tik-Tok of Oz)
Background
He is an enduring enemy of the characters of L. Frank Baum's Oz books. Although the Wicked Witch of the West is the most famous of Oz's villains (thanks to the popular 1939 film The Wizard of Oz), the Nome King is the closest the book series has to a main antagonist. He appears again and again to cause trouble for the Land of Oz.
In Rinkitink in Oz the king of the Nomes is Kaliko, Ruggedo's chamberlain; he behaves much like his former master, at least in this book, which is a revision of a lost 1905 novel titled King Rinkitink, which, had it been published, would have been the original character's debut.
The character called the Nome King was originally named Roquat of the Rocks in Ozma of Oz, then Roquat the Red in The Emerald City of Oz. Later he took the name Ruggedo, which Baum first used in a stage adaptation. Even after Ruggedo lost his throne, he continued to think of himself as king, and the Royal Historians politely refer to him that way. Authors Ruth Plumly Thompson and John R. Neill used the traditional spelling "gnome," so Ruggedo is the title character in Thompson's The Gnome King of Oz.
Book Appearances
- Ozma of Oz (first appearance)
- The Emerald City of Oz
- Tik-Tok of Oz
- The Magic of Oz
- Kabumpo in Oz
- The Hungry Tiger of Oz
- The Gnome King of Oz
- Pirates in Oz
- Handy Mandy in Oz
In Other Media
The Nome King was portrayed on film by Nicol Williamson in 1985's Return to Oz which was based loosely on the books Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz.
