Well, Rumpel was collected by the Brothers Grimm back in 1812 & he wouldn't have been anything other than very traditional then. So why anyone would think he was 'only' a couple of centuries old is beyond me!

Steve - I just did a quick google. I am surprised to find that Half A Blanket is another one that was collected by the Grimms (not under that title)! It's sort of half & half between the Irish & Germanic versions I gave above. Again, that dates it to much older than 1812. It might well have gone round the world before multi-national ship crews did!