"Once upon a time…"— The Brothers Grimm (the most famous opening in storytelling)
The Brothers Grimm
The collectors of the fairy tales
Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm were two German brothers who were inseparable. They went to the same schools, studied at the same university, took the same jobs, and lived in the same house most of their adult lives. Even after Wilhelm married, Jakob moved right in with them.
They studied old languages and folklore for their jobs. In the early 1800s, parts of Germany were being changed by wars and politics. The brothers worried that old village fairy tales, passed down by grandmothers for hundreds of years, would be lost.
Quick Facts
- Born: Jakob: 1785 · Wilhelm: 1786
- From: Hanau, Germany
- Job: Linguists, professors, fairy-tale collectors
- Famous for: Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel & Gretel, Rapunzel + 200 more
The original Grimm fairy tales were MUCH darker than the Disney versions. In the original Cinderella, the stepsisters cut off pieces of their feet to fit in the slipper. The brothers softened the tales in later editions, but a lot still got cut for kids.
Their Famous Tales
Read Grimm fairy tales on Worldly
The Grimm tales are the bedrock of Western fairy tales. On Worldly, the wildest parts are gently softened and the language is updated for young readers.
Their Life, Year by Year
Two brothers, one bookshelf
The Brothers Grimm did everything together. Their fairy tale collection grew over decades, and their friendship lasted their whole lives.
Jakob is born
Jakob Grimm is born in Hanau, Germany, the first of nine children in a comfortable family.
Wilhelm is born
Wilhelm arrives a year later. From the moment Wilhelm can walk, he and Jakob are inseparable.
Their father dies
The boys' father dies when Jakob is 11. The family loses its money. Jakob and Wilhelm have to grow up fast, but they keep studying hard.
Off to university
Jakob enrolls at the University of Marburg. Wilhelm follows the next year. They study law together. They share a single bedroom.
They begin collecting
The brothers start collecting old German folktales from villagers and storytellers. They want to preserve oral traditions before they disappear.
First Grimm collection published
The brothers publish Children's and Household Tales (often called the Grimm's Fairy Tales). It includes 86 stories. It's an instant hit.
Wilhelm marries
Wilhelm marries Dorothea Wild. Jakob, who never marries, moves in with them. The three live together happily for the rest of their lives.
The German Dictionary
The brothers start work on a giant German dictionary that will eventually include EVERY word in the German language. They work on it for the rest of their lives, and it takes a hundred more years to finish after they're gone.
Wilhelm dies
Wilhelm dies in Berlin at 73. Jakob is heartbroken. He keeps working on the dictionary alone, then dies four years later.
Jakob dies
Jakob dies four years after Wilhelm. They are buried together. Their fairy tale collection has by then been translated into dozens of languages and is being read in homes all over the world.
Their Famous Fairy Tales
Stories every kid knows
The Grimms didn't invent most of these stories, but they wrote them down so well that THEIR versions became the famous ones.
Fairy Tale
Cinderella
A girl whose stepfamily mistreats her gets help from magic, goes to a ball, and finds her true happiness. The Grimm version is darker than Disney's, but it's the same core story.
Fairy Tale
Snow White
A jealous queen tries to kill her stepdaughter, who finds shelter with seven dwarves. Apples, glass coffins, mirrors that talk. The Grimms preserved it.
Fairy Tale
Hansel & Gretel
Two children, lost in the woods, find a candy house belonging to a witch. They have to outsmart her to get back home. The original is pretty scary, but the kids win.
Wait… really?!
Six surprising things about the Brothers Grimm
They lived together their whole lives
Jakob and Wilhelm shared a room as kids, a dorm in college, and a household as adults. Even after Wilhelm married, Jakob moved in with them. The three lived together happily until Wilhelm died.
The first edition wasn't for kids
The Brothers Grimm originally published their fairy tales for SCHOLARS, people who studied folklore. The stories were too violent and dark for kids. Later editions softened things up.
Most of the storytellers were women
Many of the Grimms' sources were women, especially older women in villages who'd been telling these tales for generations. Some, like Dorothea Viehmann, became famous for the tales they shared.
They had famous brothers too
Jakob and Wilhelm had a brother named Ludwig Emil Grimm who became a successful painter. He illustrated some of the brothers' fairy tale editions.
Their dictionary took 100 more years to finish
The German Dictionary the brothers started in 1838 wasn't finished until 1961, over 120 years and many writers later. It's the most complete dictionary of German ever made.
Disney based MANY movies on them
Snow White, Cinderella, Tangled (Rapunzel), Sleeping Beauty, and more came from Grimm tales, though Disney softened them significantly. The originals are wilder.
Good questions, answered
The Grimms FAQ
Did the Brothers Grimm write the fairy tales?+
Not exactly! Most Grimm fairy tales are based on OLDER stories that German villagers had been telling for hundreds of years. The Grimms COLLECTED them, visiting villages, listening to storytellers, and writing the tales down. Their versions became the famous ones.
Are the originals scary?+
Some of them, yes. The first editions of Grimm's tales had things like wicked stepsisters cutting off their toes, witches being burned alive, and lots of death. Later editions softened many tales. The Worldly versions soften them more for young readers.
What age are the Grimm tales good for?+
It depends on the version. The Worldly adapted versions are aimed at ages 5+. The original German texts are not really for kids, they're folklore study materials.
How many fairy tales did they collect?+
The final edition of their collection (1857) had 200+ tales. Many of them, like Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, and Hansel & Gretel, became universally famous. Others are still pretty obscure.
Were Jakob and Wilhelm different writers?+
Yes, though they collaborated closely. Wilhelm did most of the actual writing for the fairy tales (the prose style is his). Jakob focused more on the linguistics and the older versions. They worked side-by-side their whole lives.
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