Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859) Grimm were born in Hanau, near Frankfurt. They were bright German teenage students at the University of Marburg in 1802-6, following their lawyer father. But they were faced with financial issues and caring for their four younger siblings, for years after their parents died.
Their situation was aggravated by the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15). Wilhelm passed his law exams and found work as a librarian in the royal library, but Jacob interrupted his studies to serve the Hessian War Commission. And when the French occupied Kassel in 1807, Jacob lost his War Commission position and was hired as a librarian for Napoleon’s brother Jerome, Westphalia’s new ruler.
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The 2nd volume followed in 1815 with famous stories that repeated Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, The Golden Goose, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. But now the brothers had made the collection more suitable to children by altering the language of the stories. Wilhelm took over as editor on all future editions of Tales.
Certain tales were deleted or downgraded. Death and the Goose Boy was omitted because of its baroque literary quality; The Stepmother, because of its cruelty; Puss in Boots because the story was considered too French to be included in a German collection and Faithful Animals, because it came from a collection of Mongolian tales. The stories in the first edition were therefore closer to Germany’s oral tradition than the later editions.
By 1830 the brothers worked at Göttingen Uni, teaching Germanic Studies. Sadly King Ernest Augustus of Hanover demanded oaths of allegiance from all Gottingen professors. The brothers refused to pledge to the king and, together with five other professors, the Gottingen Seven were made to leave the city, facing deportation and bankruptcy.
Their situation was aggravated by the Napoleonic Wars (1803–15). Wilhelm passed his law exams and found work as a librarian in the royal library, but Jacob interrupted his studies to serve the Hessian War Commission. And when the French occupied Kassel in 1807, Jacob lost his War Commission position and was hired as a librarian for Napoleon’s brother Jerome, Westphalia’s new ruler.
Jacob (standing) and Wilhelm Grimm, c1850.
Ironically the brothers were inspired by the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). Amid the political and social turbulence, as France conquered Germanic lands, German speakers had to now live under French control. Only then were the Grimms driven to pursue their own national heritage.
The brothers were also inspired by German Romantic authors and philosophers who believed that the purest forms of culture could be found in stories shared between parents and children. Since storytelling expressed the authentic essence of German culture, they had to reach as far back as possible to discover its true origins.
University of Marburg Prof Friedrich Karl von Savigny sparked the Grimms’ interest in German history, literature and philology i.e study of historical language. Savigny introduced the brothers to his scholarly circle of Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim who also wanted to rediscover and preserve Volks poetry.
The Grimms published articles and books on medieval literature, linguistics and librarianship. Trained in historical texts, they also wrote books about mythology. In 1808, Clemens Brentano asked them to collect all types of folk tales, to use them in a book of literary fairy tales. In 1810 they sent him 54 texts which they copied; alas Brentano then lost the manuscript in Alsace’s Ölenberg Monastery.
As industrialisation emerged in Central Europe, local traditions changed. So the brothers decided to publish their own collection, recording whatever tales they could, sometimes embellishing them, but NOT writing them de novo. In 1812 they published the 86 stories in a collection titled Nursery and Household Tales, now Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812).
The most famous collection of children's stories actually began as an academic study for adults, NOT meant for children. The stories often included sex, incest, violence and other dark elements. And they did not have any illustrations. The early editions, for example, contained a Rapunzel who became pregnant by a prince after a casual fling. In fact the first stories such as The Children of Famine, had nothing to do with happy endings. Rather they were stark narratives about brutal living conditions in the early C19th!
Brentano again asked the Grimms for their help in combing library shelves for folk tales. The brothers found some texts in books, but they also focused on oral traditions, seeking storytellers from their friends. Most of them were women, including Dorothea Wild who later married Wilhelm and had four children.
The Grimm brothers didn’t actually create their own famous stories. There were many different accounts of the same story. Cinderella, for example, appeared in ancient China, ancient Egypt and modern West Indies, although the details changed according to cultural origins. In the Grimm version, the step-sisters reacted very brutally when the prince came to find the dainty foot to fit his slipper.
Modern literature could not express the genuine essence of Volk culture that emanated naturally from German history. So the Grimms intended to trace cultural evolution and to demonstrate how natural language, stemming from the needs, customs and rituals of the common people, helped forge civilised communities. Their resulting Educational Manual recalled the basic values of the Germanic people and bequeathed their oral tales, creating German nationalism.
The brothers were also inspired by German Romantic authors and philosophers who believed that the purest forms of culture could be found in stories shared between parents and children. Since storytelling expressed the authentic essence of German culture, they had to reach as far back as possible to discover its true origins.
University of Marburg Prof Friedrich Karl von Savigny sparked the Grimms’ interest in German history, literature and philology i.e study of historical language. Savigny introduced the brothers to his scholarly circle of Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim who also wanted to rediscover and preserve Volks poetry.
The Grimms published articles and books on medieval literature, linguistics and librarianship. Trained in historical texts, they also wrote books about mythology. In 1808, Clemens Brentano asked them to collect all types of folk tales, to use them in a book of literary fairy tales. In 1810 they sent him 54 texts which they copied; alas Brentano then lost the manuscript in Alsace’s Ölenberg Monastery.
As industrialisation emerged in Central Europe, local traditions changed. So the brothers decided to publish their own collection, recording whatever tales they could, sometimes embellishing them, but NOT writing them de novo. In 1812 they published the 86 stories in a collection titled Nursery and Household Tales, now Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812).
The most famous collection of children's stories actually began as an academic study for adults, NOT meant for children. The stories often included sex, incest, violence and other dark elements. And they did not have any illustrations. The early editions, for example, contained a Rapunzel who became pregnant by a prince after a casual fling. In fact the first stories such as The Children of Famine, had nothing to do with happy endings. Rather they were stark narratives about brutal living conditions in the early C19th!
Brentano again asked the Grimms for their help in combing library shelves for folk tales. The brothers found some texts in books, but they also focused on oral traditions, seeking storytellers from their friends. Most of them were women, including Dorothea Wild who later married Wilhelm and had four children.
The Grimm brothers didn’t actually create their own famous stories. There were many different accounts of the same story. Cinderella, for example, appeared in ancient China, ancient Egypt and modern West Indies, although the details changed according to cultural origins. In the Grimm version, the step-sisters reacted very brutally when the prince came to find the dainty foot to fit his slipper.
Modern literature could not express the genuine essence of Volk culture that emanated naturally from German history. So the Grimms intended to trace cultural evolution and to demonstrate how natural language, stemming from the needs, customs and rituals of the common people, helped forge civilised communities. Their resulting Educational Manual recalled the basic values of the Germanic people and bequeathed their oral tales, creating German nationalism.
Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm
Certain tales were deleted or downgraded. Death and the Goose Boy was omitted because of its baroque literary quality; The Stepmother, because of its cruelty; Puss in Boots because the story was considered too French to be included in a German collection and Faithful Animals, because it came from a collection of Mongolian tales. The stories in the first edition were therefore closer to Germany’s oral tradition than the later editions.
By 1830 the brothers worked at Göttingen Uni, teaching Germanic Studies. Sadly King Ernest Augustus of Hanover demanded oaths of allegiance from all Gottingen professors. The brothers refused to pledge to the king and, together with five other professors, the Gottingen Seven were made to leave the city, facing deportation and bankruptcy.
In 1840, the brothers decided to settle in Berlin where they became members of the Royal Academy of Science. They soon accepted an ambitious project, a comprehensive dictionary of the German language.
Their collection was reaching its 7th edition in 1859 when Wilhelm died. By that point, the collection had grown to 211 stories and intricate illustrations were now added to the books. Jacob, who had lived with Wilhelm and his wife, was heartbroken after the death of his beloved brother. Jacob died in 1863 and the brothers were buried next to each other in St Matthäus Kirchhof Cemetery in Berlin-Schöneberg. As were two of Wilhem's sons.
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Their collection was reaching its 7th edition in 1859 when Wilhelm died. By that point, the collection had grown to 211 stories and intricate illustrations were now added to the books. Jacob, who had lived with Wilhelm and his wife, was heartbroken after the death of his beloved brother. Jacob died in 1863 and the brothers were buried next to each other in St Matthäus Kirchhof Cemetery in Berlin-Schöneberg. As were two of Wilhem's sons.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm lived from 1791-8 in Steinau.
Their former home is now a museum that presents their life and work.
Over 40-years, 7 editions of the folktales were published, the final 1857 edition being the best known. By then they’d expanded the prose and modified the plots to make parts of the tragic stories more accessible to children. Marking the bicentenary in 2012, the special events included the release of The Annotated Brothers Grimm (Maria Tatar ed).
Thanks to National Endowment for the Humanities, 2015
Thanks to National Endowment for the Humanities, 2015