Almost seventy percent of all adults on Earth love to read fairy tales. Reading fairy tales, you seem to be immersed in another magical world, moving away from real realities. Each storyteller had his own style of writing fairy tales: Charles Perrault wrote in a romantic style, Andersen wrote vitally about the life of ordinary people, and the Brothers Grimm had a slight mysticism in their fairy tales, and some of their fairy tales can confidently be called frightening. Let's talk today about the Brothers Grimm: folklorists, linguists, researchers of German folk culture, and then the storytellers from Germany Jacob and Wilhelm.
So, here are the most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm according to the website:
Briefly about the life and choice of profession of the Brothers Grimm
Brothers Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859) Grimm were born eight years apart ordinary family in the German city of Hanau. The brother storytellers' love for folklore manifested itself in childhood, when their mother told them old legends and tales, and in adolescence their interest grew first into a hobby, and then into the meaning of their lives. The strange brothers traveled all over the country in search of surviving witnesses of ancient folklore, collected eyewitnesses and recorded information valuable to them from their words. Throughout their lives and creative activity, Jacob and Wilhelm created and published several collections called “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm,” which very quickly became popular and reached our ears. Now let's remember the most famous, most interesting and most terrible fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm.
"The Tale of the Frog King, or Iron Henry"
This tale is the very first story in the first volume of their collection of fairy tales and legends. A story about an ungrateful princess and a kind frog, who took pity on the crying girl and believed her promises of eternal friendship, and took her golden ball from the bottom of a deep well. But as soon as the princess received her ball back, she immediately forgot her promise. The frog turned out to be a real enchanted prince, but this will become clear much later.
"White and Rosette"
I wanted to put this fairy tale at the very beginning of our list, since it is my favorite. A fairy tale about two sisters Belyanochka and Rozochka, with kind hearts, who fell in love with a bear and a falcon, not knowing that they were a prince and his friend bewitched by a formidable bearded forest sorcerer.
King Thrushbeard
One of the most instructive fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm is that pride and arrogance are bad allies and friends. The proud princess could not choose her betrothed and simply ridiculed all the contenders. And one day a real king came to the palace to ask for her hand, and in response he heard offensive speeches. And then the wise king decided to teach the cruel princess a lesson, pretending to be a poor musician.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
The most famous and popular fairy tale of the storyteller brothers, who knew how to tell life stories in a fairy-tale manner. The beautiful princess, nicknamed Snow White for her snow-white skin, was born too beautiful, which crossed the path of her evil stepmother and part-time witch, who wanted to be the most beautiful in the entire kingdom. The father king could not destroy his daughter, but also leave her in the palace, so he abandoned her in the forest, but here too kind heart Snow White found refuge and joy among the little gnomes - the inhabitants of this wonderful forest.
Bremen Town Musicians
This fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm can be called the most beloved and popular not only in the post-Soviet space, but throughout the world. Traveling animal musicians to the city of Bremen travel around the world singing songs and performing to open air for curious spectators and onlookers. But one day, a donkey, a rooster, a cat and a dog stumble upon the hut of bandits and with their singing force them to leave their house and run away wherever they look, and the cunning musician friends forever remain the masters of their house.
And about the best, read on our website by clicking on the link.
A magical tale about a king and his curious servant who poked his nose into everything. The king always ordered another dish to be brought after a long meal. No one could know what kind of dish this was, not even the servant. But one day curiosity overcame the guy so much that he could not resist and opened the lid of the dish. He was very surprised by what he saw; there was a white snake lying on the dish. The servant could not resist trying such a tasty morsel. As soon as he put it in his mouth, he heard not ordinary singing outside the window, but voices as thin as a ray of sunlight. He realized that the snake's meat was magical and now he could hear the voices of animals. From that day on, the servant no longer wanted to serve the king, he decided to wander the world in search of better life. And as happens in fairy tales, after many dangerous (and not so dangerous) adventures, he found his princess, married her and became king.
Very cautionary tale about the wanderings and dangerous adventures of a brother and sister who were betrayed by their parents and left to die in the forest. What helped two small children survive in terrible, impassable places where there are many wild animals and evil robbers? This, of course, is friendship and trust. And also the fearlessness of his older brother Hansel, whose goal and great desire was to protect his sister Gretel from the terrible hands of the evil sorceress. The fairy tale was created for children, but we, parents, should read it and rethink a lot and learn a lot from these persistent and not childishly sensible children, and most importantly, understand that there is no greater happiness and wealth in the world than our own children. And no sorrows or misfortunes should force us to abandon them in trouble.
By the way, on our website there is an interesting article about, which should be on every child’s shelf.
From the first lines of the fairy tale, we learn about the difficult fate of the little stepdaughter, about the evil stepmother and the lazy daughter, who was cherished and pitied when the stepdaughter got all the dirty and hard work. Once the stepdaughter dropped a spindle into the well, confessing this to her stepmother, she heard an angry answer: “Dropped it yourself and get it out.” The poor girl had no choice but to jump into the well. When she touched the bottom with her feet, she saw fairyland. Walking past the windows of a beautiful house, the stepdaughter saw Mrs. Metelitsa. She liked the girl so much and invited her to serve with her.
The stepdaughter stayed, she was hardworking and did her job conscientiously. When the time came to return home, Mrs. Metelitsa generously presented the girl with gifts. Seeing this, the stepmother burst into anger, envy overcame her heart. She sent her daughter into the well and ordered her to bring even more gifts. But the lazy and clumsy daughter only deserved a cauldron of tar that overturned on her. The stepmother was never able to wash it away from her daughter. Laziness and envy are bad travel companions, it is better to be kind and hardworking - this is the moral of this fairy tale.
Gusyatnitsa
A fairy tale about a beautiful princess who, by the will of fate, had to herd geese. Through the deception and slander of the evil maid who took her place, the princess was left in the castle out of pity and allowed to help the goosekeeper. Over time, they began to call her that - Goose Girl. But the girl was so beautiful, sophisticated and aristocratic that everyone who saw her did not believe that she was a commoner. The princess had a talking horse named Falada. The maid, who pretended to be the queen, was very afraid that Falada would expose her and ordered the horse to be slaughtered.
The princess was very upset, but there was nowhere to go, she asked the flayer to nail the horse’s head under the gate leading from the castle. So he did, and every morning the princess spoke to the horse's head as she drove the geese to pasture. Time passed, and the princess would have herded the geese like this for a long time, but the old king found out about it, and everything became clear to him. He took the real princess by the hand and led her to the prince, and ordered the maid to be executed. Good always defeats evil, if not in life, but at least in a fairy tale.
The most scary tale Brothers Grimm
One day, Lucifer himself came to the miller and demanded that for all the wealth that he had once given him, he now give him what he had behind the mill, and at that time the miller’s daughter was sitting there spinning yarn. When the miller's daughter refused to go with Satan, he ordered her father to cut off her hands and drive her out of the house. So, the poor girl wandered through the forest for a long time until the king met her and fell in love with her despite her injuries.
The most short story Brothers Grimm
"Three Spinners"
The plot of this tale is indeed quite laconic and short. One day, driving past a village, the queen heard a girl crying and stopped to ask about the reasons. The girl’s mother could not tell the queen that her daughter did not know how to spin and lied that she could not tear her daughter away from the spinning wheel; she spins so much, and since she cannot do what she loves, she cries bitterly. Then the queen wanted to take the girl with her, because she had enough yarn for the entire kingdom and if she spun all the flax in a short time, then the queen would marry her to her son. Three spinners came to the aid of the girl who did not know how to spin...
In conclusion
Each storyteller has his own style and manner of writing fairy tales. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm from old Germany, for some reason, all their stories and retellings turned out to be quite dark, mystical, and in some places even scary, but no less intriguing and interesting. Today we remembered the most beloved and famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm; each of their fairy tales, as you noticed, has its own morality and science. The editors of TopCafe are waiting for your answer: what favorite fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm have remained in your memory for a long time?
Even those who do not like fairy tales are familiar with the plots of Cinderella, Rapunzel and Thumb. All these and hundreds more fairy tales were recorded and revised by two linguist brothers. They are known to the whole world under the names Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
Family Affair
The sons of lawyer Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were born a year apart. Jacob was born in early January 1785. The second son in the Grimm family, Wilhelm, appeared a year later, on February 24, 1786.
The young men were orphaned early. Already in 1796, they came under the care of their aunt, who did her best to support their desire to study and new knowledge.
The university for lawyers where they entered did not captivate their inquisitive minds. The Brothers Grimm became interested in linguistics, compiling a German dictionary, and from 1807 they began to write down tales they heard during their travels in Hesse and Westphalia. There was so much “fairytale” material that the Brothers Grimm decided to publish the stories they had recorded and revised.
Fairy tales not only made the brothers famous, but also gave one of the linguists family happiness. Thus, Dorothea Wild, from whose words the stories about Hansel and Gretel, Lady Snowstorm and the story about the magic table were written down, later became Wilhelm’s wife.
The tales turned out to be interesting to a wide range of readers. During the brothers’ lifetime alone, their collections of fairy tales were translated into more than a hundred languages. The success kept Jacob and Wilhelm interested in their work, and they enthusiastically looked for new storytellers.
How many fairy tales did the Brothers Grimm collect?
The initial publication of the collected material by the Brothers Grimm included 49 fairy tales. In the second edition, which consisted of two volumes, there were already 170 of them. Another Grimm brother, Ludwig, participated in the printing of the second part. However, he was not a collector of fairy tales, but skillfully illustrated what Jacob and Wilhelm revised.
After the first two editions of collections of fairy tales, 5 more editions followed. In the final, 7th edition, the Brothers Grimm chose 210 fairy tales and legends. Today they are called “Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm”.
The abundance of illustrations and closeness to the original source made fairy tales a subject for discussion and even debate. Some critics accused linguists of being too “childish” in the details of the published fairy tales.
To satisfy young readers' interest in their work, the Brothers Grimm published 50 edited fairy tales for children in 1825. Towards the middle XIX century This collection of fairy tales was reprinted 10 times.
Recognition of posterity and modern criticism
The legacy of the Grimm linguists was not forgotten even years later. They are read to children by parents all over the world, and performances are staged based on them for young spectators. The popularity of fairy tales has grown so much over the past century and a half that in 2005, UNESCO included the work of the Brothers Grimm in the Memory of the World list.
Screenwriters are playing with the plots of Grimm's fairy tales for new cartoons, films and even TV series.
However, like any grandiose work, the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are still subject to criticism and various interpretations. Thus, some religions call only a few fairy tales from the brothers’ heritage “useful for children’s souls,” and the Nazis at one time used their stories to promote their inhumane ideas.
Video on the topic
Our page contains all the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list - This full meeting all works. This list also includes fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, fairy tales about animals, and new fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm. The world of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm is amazing and magical, filled with a plot of good and evil. The best fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm can be read on the pages of our website. Reading fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm online is very exciting and comfortable.
Fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list
- (Der Froschk?nig oder der eiserne Heinrich)
- (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft)
- Child of Mary (Marienkind)
- The Tale of the One Who Went to Learn from Fear (M?rchen von einem, der auszog das F?rchten zu lernen)
- The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats (Der Wolf und die sieben jungen Gei?lein)
- Faithful Johannes (Der treue Johannes)
- Successful trade / Profitable business (Der gute Handel)
- The Extraordinary Musician / The Eccentric Musician (Der wunderliche Spielmann)
- Twelve Brothers (Die zw?lf Br?der)
- The Ragged Rabble (Das Lumpengesindel)
- Brother and Sister (Br?derchen und Schwesterchen)
- Rapunzel (Bell)
- Three men in the forest / Three little forest men (Die drei M?nnlein im Walde)
- Three spinners (Die drei Spinnerinnen)
- Hansel and Gretel
- Three snake leaves (Die drei Schlangenbl?tter)
- White snake (Die weisse Schlange)
- Straw, coal and bean (Strohhalm, Kohle und Bohne)
- About a fisherman and his wife (Vom Fischer und seiner Frau)
- The Brave Little Tailor (Das tapfere Schneiderlein)
- Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
- Riddle (Das R?tsel)
- About the mouse, the bird and the fried sausage (Von dem M?uschen, V?gelchen und der Bratwurst)
- Mrs. Blizzard (Frau Holle)
- The Seven Ravens (Die sieben Raben)
- Little Red Riding Hood (Rotk?ppchen)
- Bremen Town Musicians(Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
- The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen)
- The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs (Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren)
- Louse and flea beetle (L?uschen und Fl?hchen)
- The Girl Without Arms (Das M?dchen ohne H?nde)
- Intelligent Hans / Clever Hans (Der gescheite Hans)
- Three languages (Die drei Sprachen)
- Smart Elsa (Die kluge Else)
- The Tailor in Paradise (Der Schneider im Himmel)
- Set yourself a table, a golden donkey and a club from a sack (Tischchen deck dich, Goldesel und Kn?ppel aus dem Sack)
- Thumb Boy (Daumesdick)
- The Wedding of the Lady Fox (Die Hochzeit der Frau F?chsin)
- Brownies (Die Wichtelm?nner)
- The Robber Groom (Der Rüberbrüutigam)
- Mr. Korbes
- Mr Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter)
- Mrs. Trude / Frau Trude
- Death of the godfather / Death in the godfathers (Der Gevatter Tod)
- Thumb Boy's Journey (Daumerlings Wanderschaft)
- Strange Bird (Fitchers Vogel)
- About the Enchanted Tree (Von dem Machandelboom)
- Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan)
- Six swans (Die sechs Schw?ne)
- Briar Rose / Sleeping Beauty (Dornr?schen)
- Foundling / Foundbird (Fundevogel)
- King Thrushbeard (K?nig Drosselbart)
- Snow Maiden / Snow White (Schneewittchen)
- Knapsack, hat and horn (Der Ranzen, das H?tlein und das H?rnlein)
- Junk (Rumpelstilzchen)
- Dear Roland (Der liebste Roland)
- Golden Bird (Der goldene Vogel)
- The Dog and the Sparrow / The Dog and the Sparrow (Der Hund und der Sperling)
- Frieder and Katherlieschen
- Two Brothers (Die zwei Br?der)
- Little Man (Das B?rle)
- Queen Bee / Queen Bee (Die Bienenk?nigin)
- Three feathers (Die drei Federn)
- Golden Goose (Die goldene Gans)
- Speckled Pelt (Allerleirauh)
- Bunny's Bride/Hare's Bride (H?sichenbraut)
- Twelve Hunters (Die zw?lf J?ger)
- The Thief and His Teacher (De Gaudeif un sien Meester)
- Jorinda and Joringel
- Three lucky ones / Three lucky ones
- Six of us will go around the whole world / Six of us, we will go around the whole world (Sechse kommen durch die ganze Welt)
- The Wolf and the Man (Der Wolf und der Mensch)
- The Wolf and the Fox (Der Wolf und der Fuchs)
- The Fox and the Lady Godmother (Der Fuchs und die Frau Gevatterin)
- The Fox and the Cat (Der Fuchs und die Katze)
- Carnation (Die Nelke)
- Resourceful Gretel (Die kluge Gretel)
- Old grandfather and granddaughter (Der alte Gro?vater und der Enkel)
- The Little Mermaid / Ondine (Die Wassernixe)
- About the death of a chicken (Von dem Tode des H?hnchens)
- Brother Veselchak (Bruder Lustig)
- Hansl the Player (De Spielhansl)
- Lucky Hans (Hans im Gl?ck)
- Hans gets married (Hans heiratet)
- Golden Children (Die Goldkinder)
- The Fox and the Geese (Der Fuchs und die G?nse)
- The poor man and the rich man (Der Arme und der Reiche)
- The whining and leaping lion lark (Das singende springende L?weneckerchen)
- Goose house (Die G?nsemagd)
- The Young Giant (Der junge Riese)
- Underground Man (Dat Erdm?nneken)
- The King from the Golden Mountain (Der K?nig vom goldenen Berg)
- Crow (Die Rabe)
- The Clever Daughter of a Peasant (Die kluge Bauerntochter)
- Three birds (De drei V?gelkens)
- Living Water (Das Wasser des Lebens)
- Doctor Allwissend
- The Spirit in a Bottle (Der Geist im Glas)
- The devil's grimy brother (Des Teufels ru?iger Bruder)
- The Bugbear (Der B?renh?uter)
- The Kinglet and the Bear (Der Zaunk?nig und der B?r)
- Smart people (Die klugen Leute)
- Tales of already / M?rchen von der Unke (M?rchen von der Unke)
- The poor farmhand at the mill and the cat (Der arme M?llersbursch und das K?tzchen)
- Two Wanderers (Die beiden Wanderer)
- Hans is my hedgehog (Hans mein Igel)
- Small Shroud (Das Totenhemdchen)
- The Jew in the Thorn Bush (Der Jude im Dorn)
- The learned huntsman (Der gelernte J?ger)
- The Flail from Heaven / The Flail from Heaven (Der Dreschflegel vom Himmel)
- Two Royal Children (De beiden K?nigeskinner)
- About the resourceful little tailor (Vom klugen Schneiderlein)
- The clear sun will reveal the whole truth (Die klare Sonne bringt’s an den Tag)
- Blue candle (Das blaue Licht)
- Three paramedics (Die drei Feldscherer)
- The Seven Brave Men (Die sieben Schwaben)
- Three apprentices (Die drei Handwerksburschen)
- The king's son, who was not afraid of anything (Der K?nigssohn, der sich vor nichts f?rchtete)
- Were-Donkey (Der Krautesel)
- The Old Lady in the Forest (Die Alte im Wald)
- Three Brothers (Die drei Br?der)
- The Devil and His Grandmother (Der Teufel und seine Gro?mutter)
- Ferenand the Faithful and Ferenand the Unfaithful (Ferenand getr? und Ferenand ungetr?)
- Iron stove (Der Eisenofen)
- The lazy spinner (Die faule spinnerin)
- The Four Skillful Brothers (Die vier kunstreichen Br?der)
- One-Eyed, Two-Eyed and Three-Eyed (Ein?uglein, Zwei?uglein und Drei?uglein)
- Beautiful Katrinel and Nif-Nasr-Podtri (Die sch?ne Katrinelje und Pif Paf Poltrie)
- The Fox and the Horse (Der Fuchs und das Pferd)
- Shoes trampled in dancing (Die zertanzten Schuhe)
- Six Servants (Die sechs Diener)
- White and black brides (Die wei?e und die schwarze Braut)
- Iron Hans (Der Eisenhans)
- Three Black Princesses (De drei schwatten Prinzessinnen)
- Lamb and Fish (Das L?mmchen und Fischchen)
- Mount Simeliberg
- On the way (Up Reisen gohn)
- Donkey (Das Eselein)
- The Ungrateful Son (Der undankbare Sohn)
- Turnip (Die R?be)
- The Newly Forged Man (Das junggegl?hte M?nnlein)
- Cock's Log (Der Hahnenbalken)
- The Old Beggar Woman
- Three Lazy Men (Die drei Faulen)
- The Twelve Lazy Servants (Die zw?lf faulen Knechte)
- The Shepherd Boy (Das Hirtenb?blein)
- Thaler stars (Die Sterntaler)
- The Hidden Heller (Der gestohlene Heller)
- Bride (Die Brautschau)
- Garbage (Die Schlickerlinge)
- Sparrow and his four children (Der Sperling und seine vier Kinder)
- The Tale of an Unprecedented Land (Das M?rchen vom Schlaraffenland)
- Dietmar's fairy tale (Das dietmarsische L?genm?rchen)
- Tale-riddle (R?tselm?rchen)
- Snow White and Little Red (Schneewei?chen und Rosenrot)
- The Clever Servant (Der kluge Knecht)
- Glass coffin (Der gl?serne Sarg)
- Lazy Heinz (Der faule Heinz)
- Bird vulture (Der Vogel Greif)
- Mighty Hans (Der starke Hans)
- Skinny Lisa (Die hagere Liese)
- Forest House (Das Waldhaus)
- Joy and sorrow in half (Lieb und Leid teilen)
- Kinglet (Der Zaunk?nig)
- Flounder (Die Scholle)
- Bittern and Hoopoe (Rohrdommel und Wiedehopf)
- Owl (Die Eule)
- Lifetime (Die Lebenszeit)
- Harbingers of Death (Die Boten des Todes)
- Goose house at the well (Die G?nsehirtin am Brunnen)
- The Unequal Children of Eve (Die ungleichen Kinder Evas)
- The Mermaid in the Pond (Die Nixe im Teich)
- Gifts from Little People (Die Geschenke des kleinen Volkes)
- The Giant and the Tailor (Der Riese und der Schneider)
- Nail (Der Nagel)
- The poor boy in the grave (Der arme Junge im Grab)
- The Real Bride (Die wahre Braut)
- The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel)
- Spindle, weaving shuttle and needle (Spindel, Weberschiffchen und Nadel)
- The Man and the Devil (Der Bauer und der Teufel)
- Guinea pig (Das Meerh?schen)
- The Master Thief (Der Meisterdieb)
- Drummer (Der Trommler)
- Ear of bread (Die Korn?hre)
- Grave Hill (Der Grabh?gel)
- Old Rinkrank
- Crystal ball (Die Kristallkugel)
- Maid Maleen (Jungfrau Maleen)
- Buffalo Boot (Der Stiefel von B?ffelleder)
- The Golden Key (Der goldene Schl?ssel)
The Brothers Grimm were born into the family of an official in the city of Hanau (Hanau). Their father was first a lawyer in Hanau, and then dealt with legal issues for the Prince of Hanau. The elder brother, Jacob Grimm (01/04/1785 - 09/20/1863), was born on January 4, 1785, and the younger brother - Wilhelm Grimm (02/24/1786 - 12/16/1859) - on February 24, 1786. As linguists, they were one of the founders of scientific German studies and compiled the etymological “German Dictionary” (in fact, all-German). The publication of the German Dictionary, which began in 1852, was completed only in 1961, but has since been regularly revised.
From the very early childhood The Brothers Grimm were united by a friendship that lasted to the grave. After the death of their father, in 1796, they had to go into the care of their aunt on their mother’s side and only thanks to her, they graduated from the educational institution. Perhaps it was precisely being left without parents early that brought them together into brotherly bonds for the rest of their lives.
The Brothers Grimm were always distinguished by their desire to study, they even entered the University of Marburg to study law, following the example of their father. But fate decreed otherwise and she truly found her calling in the study of literature.
The most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm are “The Town Musicians of Bremen”, “Tom Thumb”, “The Brave Tailor”, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm list will provide you with a complete collection of all fairy tales. Each of us worried about the difficult fate of the boys, left alone in the forest, looking for their way home. And “smart Elsa” - all the girls wanted to be like her.
Many years have passed since the Brothers Grimm's "Children's and Household Fairy Tales" were first published. The publication was the most modest both in appearance and in volume: the book contained only 83 fairy tales instead of the 200 currently published. The preface introduced to the collection by the Brothers Grimm was signed on October 18, ever-memorable 1812. The book was appreciated in this era of German self-awareness, in this era of the awakening of ardent nationalist aspirations and the magnificent flowering of romance. Even during the life of the Grimm brothers, their collection, constantly supplemented by them, had already gone through 5 or 6 editions and was translated into almost all European languages.
This collection of fairy tales was almost the first, youthful work of the Brothers Grimm, their first attempt on the path of scientific collection and scientific processing of ancient monuments. German literature and nationalities. Following this path, the Grimm brothers later achieved great fame as luminaries of European science and, having devoted their entire lives to their enormous, truly immortal works, indirectly had a very strong influence on Russian science and on the study of the Russian language, antiquity and nationality. Their name also enjoys loud, well-deserved fame in Russia, and is pronounced by our scientists with deep respect... In view of this, we recognize that here it would not be superfluous to include a short, concise biographical sketch of the life and work of the famous brothers Grimm, whom the Germans rightly call “the fathers of and the founders of German philology."
By origin, the Brothers Grimm belonged to the middle class of society. Their father was first a lawyer in Hanau, and then entered the legal service of the Prince of Hanau. The Brothers Grimm were born in Hanau: Jacob - January 4, 1785, Wilhelm - February 24, 1786. From their earliest youth they were bound by the closest bonds of friendship, which did not stop until their death. Moreover, both of them, even by their very nature, seemed to complement each other: Jacob, as the eldest, was physically stronger than his brother Wilhelm, who was constantly very sick from a young age and only became stronger in health in old age. Their father died in 1796 and left his family in a very cramped situation, so that only thanks to the generosity of their aunt on their mother’s side, the Grimm brothers were able to complete their studies, for which they had already shown brilliant abilities very early on. They first studied at the Kassel Lyceum, then entered the University of Marburg, with the firm intention of studying legal sciences for practical work, following the example of their father. They actually listened to lectures at the Faculty of Law and studied law, but their natural inclinations began to tell and pulled them in a completely different direction. Even at the university, they began to devote all their leisure time to the study of domestic German and foreign literature, and when in 1803 the famous romantic Tieck published his “Songs of the Minnesingers,” to which he prefaced with a passionate, heartfelt preface, the Grimm brothers immediately felt a strong attraction to the study of German antiquity and nationalities and decided to get acquainted with the ancient German handwritten literature according to the originals. Having embarked on this path soon after leaving university, the Grimm brothers never left it until the end of their lives.
In 1805, when Jacob Grimm had to go to Paris for a while for scientific purposes, the brothers, accustomed to living and working together, felt the burden of this separation to such an extent that they decided never to separate again for any purpose - to live together and share everything in half with each other.
Between 1805 and 1809, Jacob Grimm was in the service: for some time he was the librarian of Jerome Bonaparte in Wilhelmsgeg, and then even a state auditor. After the end of the war with France, Jacob Grimm received an order from the Elector of Kassel to go to Paris and return to the Kassel Library those manuscripts that were taken from it by the French. In 1815, he was sent along with a representative of the Electorate of Kassel to the Congress of Vienna, and a profitable diplomatic career even opened up for him. But Jacob Grimm felt complete disgust for her, and in general, in his official activities he saw only an obstacle to the pursuit of science, to which he was devoted with all his soul. That is why in 1816 he left the service, rejected the professorship offered to him in Bonn, refused large salaries and preferred over everything a modest position as a librarian in Kassel, where his brother had already been secretary of the library since 1814. Both brothers maintained this humble position until 1820, during which time they diligently devoted themselves to their scientific research, and this period of their lives was most fruitful in relation to their scientific activity. In 1825, Wilhelm Grimm married; but the brothers still did not separate and continued to live and work together.
In 1829, the director of the Kassel Library died; his place, of course, by all rights and justice should have gone to Jacob Grimm; but a stranger was preferred to him, who had not declared himself to be of any merit, and both brothers Grimm, offended by this blatant injustice, found themselves forced to resign. It goes without saying that the Brothers Grimm, who at that time had already become very famous for their works, did not remain idle. Jacob Grimm was invited to Göttingen in 1830 as a professor of German literature and senior librarian at the university there. Wilhelm entered the same place as a junior librarian and in 1831 was elevated to extraordinary, and in 1835 to ordinary professor. Both learned brothers had a good life here, especially because here they met a friendly circle that included the first luminaries of modern German science. But their stay in Gottingen was short-lived. New King Hanoverian, who ascended the throne in 1837, conceived with one stroke of the pen to destroy the constitution given to Hanover by his predecessor, which, of course, aroused general displeasure against himself throughout the country; but only seven Göttingen professors had enough civic courage to publicly protest against such an unauthorized violation of the fundamental state law. Among these seven daredevils were the Brothers Grimm. King Ernst August responded to this protest by immediately dismissing all seven professors from their positions and expelling from Hanoverian borders those of them who were not Hanoverian natives. Within three days, the Grimm brothers had to leave Hanover and temporarily settled in Kassel. But public opinion in Germany stood up for the famous scientists: a general subscription was opened to provide for the Brothers Grimm from want, and two large German booksellers and publishers (Reimer and Hirtzel) approached them with a proposal to jointly compile a German dictionary on the broadest scientific basis. The Brothers Grimm accepted this offer with the greatest readiness and, after the necessary, rather lengthy preparations, set to work. But they did not have to stay in Kassel for long: their friends took care of them and found them an enlightened patron in the person of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, and when he ascended the throne in 1840, he immediately summoned the learned brothers to Berlin. They were elected members of the Berlin Academy of Sciences and, as academicians, received the right to lecture at the University of Berlin. Soon, both Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm began lecturing at the university and from then on lived in Berlin continuously until their death. Wilhelm died December 16, 1859; Jacob followed him on September 20, 1863, in the 79th year of his arduous and fruitful life.
As for the significance of the scientific activity of the Grimm brothers, it, of course, is not subject to our assessment in this short biographical note. We can limit ourselves here to only listing their most important works, which brought them great fame as European scientists, and point out the differences that existed in the activities of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and to some extent characterized their personal attitude to science.
