Brothers Grimm

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Lore & Background

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in Hanau in the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, within the Holy Roman Empire, on 4 January 1785 and 24 February 1786, respectively. They were the second- and third-eldest surviving siblings in a family of nine children, three of whom died in infancy. In 1791 the family moved to Steinau when their father Philipp Wilhelm Grimm, a jurist, became district magistrate there. After Philipp died of pneumonia in 1796, the family fell into great poverty; Dorothea Grimm was forced to give up servants and the large house, relying on financial support from her father and sister. Jacob, at age 11, assumed adult responsibilities shared with Wilhelm for the next two years. In 1798 the brothers left Steinau to attend the Friedrichsgymnasium in Kassel, arranged and paid for by their aunt. They graduated at the head of their class—Jacob in 1803, Wilhelm in 1804 (Wilhelm missed a year due to scarlet fever). At Marburg University, they studied law but were inspired by professor Friedrich von Savigny to pursue medieval German literature and philology. Through Savigny they encountered the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder, who championed Volkspoesie (natural poetry) over Kunstpoesie (artistic poetry). Poverty forced Jacob to abandon his studies in 1805 to support the family; he took a job with the Hessian War Commission. In 1808 Jacob became court librarian to the King of Westphalia and later a librarian in Kassel. After their mother's death that year, Jacob became fully responsible for his younger siblings. The brothers began collecting folk tales in 1807 at Brentano's request. In 1812 they published the first volume of Children's and Household Tales (Kinder- und Hausmärchen), containing 86 stories gathered largely from educated, urban acquaintances. The collection grew to more than 200 stories through multiple editions and modifications up to 1857. They also published works on German and Scandinavian legends, medieval texts, and Norse mythology. In 1838 they began work on the German dictionary (Deutsches Wörterbuch), an ambitious historical dictionary that remained uncompleted at their deaths. Wilhelm married Henriette Dorothea 'Dortchen' Wild, a pharmacist's daughter and childhood friend who had given the brothers several tales, on 15 May 1825. Jacob never married but continued to live in the household with Wilhelm and Dortchen. In 1830 the brothers moved to Göttingen, where Jacob became a professor and head librarian and Wilhelm a professor at the University of Göttingen. In 1837 they lost their posts after joining the Göttingen Seven in protest against King Ernest Augustus, who dissolved parliament and demanded oaths of allegiance. For refusing to sign, the seven professors were dismissed; Jacob was among three deported from Hanover. He went to Kassel, later joined by Wilhelm, Dortchen, and their four children. Without income and in extreme financial difficulty in 1838, they began the German dictionary.

Reader's Guide

The Brothers Grimm's significance lies in their foundational role in modern folkloristics and the study of the German language. Their collection, Children's and Household Tales, became one of the most influential works in world folklore, translated widely and adapted in literature and film. The rise of romanticism in the 19th century revived interest in traditional folk stories, which the Grimms viewed as a pure form of national literature and culture. They established a methodology for collecting and recording folk stories that became the basis for studies in folklore. Their work has been examined in political, educational, and psychological contexts and continues to influence research in folklore and the history of the German language. The German dictionary they began in 1838 was an ambitious historical dictionary that remained uncompleted at their deaths, but their scholarship set lasting standards.

Did You Know?

• The first edition of Children's and Household Tales (1812) contained 86 stories; by the final edition of 1857 it had grown to more than 200.
• Wilhelm Grimm missed a year of school due to scarlet fever, but still graduated at the head of his class in 1804.
• The brothers were among the Göttingen Seven, professors dismissed in 1837 for refusing to swear an oath to King Ernest Augustus after he dissolved parliament.
• Wilhelm married Henriette Dorothea 'Dortchen' Wild on 15 May 1825; she was a childhood friend who had given the brothers several tales.
• The German dictionary (Deutsches Wörterbuch) was begun in 1838 and remained unfinished at the brothers' deaths.