Cool Links: The Brothers Grimm

The Brothers Grimm, Jacob (January 4, 1785 - September 20, 1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (February 24, 1786 - December 16, 1859), were German academics who were best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales, which became popular. Jacob also did academic work in linguistics, related to how the sounds in words shift over time (Grimm's law), and together they wrote a German dictionary.
They are among the best-known story tellers of folk tales from Europe, and their work popularized such tales as "Rumpelstiltskin", "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", "Rapunzel", "Cinderella", "Hansel and Gretel", and "The Frog Prince", some of them they took from the Italian Fairy Tale writers Giambattista Basile and Giovanni Francesco Straparola.
Jacob and Wilhelm were born in Hanau near Frankfurt. They were among a family of nine children, six of whom survived infancy. Their early childhood was spent in the countryside in what has been described as an "idyllic" state. When the eldest brother Jacob was eleven years old, their father, Philip Wilhelm, died and the family moved into a cramped urban residence. Two years later, the children's grandfather also died, leaving their mother to struggle to support them in reduced circumstances. It has been argued that this is the reason behind the Brothers' tendency to idealize and excuse fathers, leaving a predominance of female villains in the tales—the infamous wicked stepmothers, for example, the evil stepmother and stepsisters in "Cinderella". However this opinion ignores the fact that the brothers were collectors of folk tales, not their authors.
Their last years were spent in writing a definitive dictionary, the Deutsches Wörterbuch, the first volume being published in 1854. The work was carried on by future generations.
Jacob remained a bachelor until his death. On May 15, 1825, Wilhelm married Henriette Dorothea Wild (also known as Dortchen). She was a pharmacist's daughter and a childhood friend who had told the brothers the story of "Little Red Riding Hood". Wilhelm and Henriette had four children, of whom three survived infancy: Karl, Jacob, and Agnes. Even after Wilhelm's marriage, the brothers stayed close. They lived as an extended family under one roof with little conflict.

Did you know?

Some scholars have theorized that certain elements of the stories were "purified" for the brothers, who were devout Christians.

Cool Links

A very cool link with lots of info about the Grimms and their stories, a map and even an activity for kids!
The Grimm Brothers