Grimm Brothers' Home Page
Grimm Brothers' Home Page
compiled by
D. L. Ashliman
© 1999-2013
- Chronology of their life.
- What they wrote.
- The Grimms'
Children's and Household Tales (Grimms Fairy Tales)
compiled, translated, and classified by D. L. Ashliman.
(This is a separate file, and opens in a new window.)
- Grimms' Fairy Tales in English, an Internet bibliography. (This is a separate file, and opens in a new window.)
- Links to external sites relating to the Brothers
Grimm
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1785. Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm is born January 4, 1785, in Hanau,
Germany, son of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm (a lawyer and court official) and
his wife Dorothea Grimm, née Zimmer.
1786. Wilhelm Carl Grimm is born February 24, 1786, in Hanau,
Germany, son of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and Dorothea Grimm.
The children of Philipp Wilhelm Grimm and Dorothea Grimm
- Friedrich Hermann Georg Grimm (1783-1784)
- Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (1785-1863)
- Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786-1859)
- Carl Friedrich Grimm (1787-1852)
- Ferdinand Philipp Grimm (1788-1844)
- Ludwig Emil Grimm (1790-1863)
- Friedrich Grimm (1791-1792)
- Charlotte (Lotte) Amalie Hassenpflug, neé Grimm (1793-1833)
- Georg Eduard Grimm (1794-1795)
1791. The Grimm family moves to Steinau.
1796. Philipp Wilhelm Grimm, father of eight Grimm brothers and
one Grimm sister, dies January 10, 1796, at the age of 44. Three of his
nine children have preceded him in death. His oldest surviving child,
Jacob, is 11 years old.
1798. Jacob and Wilhelm move to Kassel, their mother's home
city, to enter secondary school. The 13 and 14 year old boys will live
with an aunt.
1802. Jacob begins his study of law at the University of
Marburg.
1803. Wilhelm begins his study of law at the University of
Marburg.
1806. Jacob and Wilhelm, influenced by the folk poetry
collection of Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim, Des Knaben
Wunderhorn, begin to collect folktales (Märchen).
1808. Dorothea Grimm, mother of eight Grimm brothers and one
Grimm sister, dies May 27, 1808, at the age of 52. In order to support his
younger brothers and sister, Jacob takes a position as a librarian at
Kassel. Wilhelm will follow soon.
1812. The Grimm brothers publish volume one of Kinder- und
Hausmärchen (Children' and Household Tales -- commonly known as Grimms' Fairy Tales), an
unpretentious book containing 86 numbered folktales.
1814. Volume two of Kinder- und Hausmärchen appears
in print, pre-dated 1815, adding 70 stories to the previous collection.
This famous work will see six additional editions during the Grimms'
lifetime. In its final version it will contain 200 numbered stories plus
10 "Children's Legends." It is destined to become the best known and most
influential book ever created in the German language.
1816, 1818. The Grimms publish two volumes of Deutsche
Sagen, a collection totalling 585 German legends.
1819. Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm receive honorary doctorates from
the University of Marburg. Their scholarly work on linguistics, folklore,
and medieval studies continues, resulting in many publications.
1825. Wilhelm Grimm marries Henriette Dorothea (Dortchen) Wild,
who -- together with other members of her family -- had provided the Jacob
and Wilhelm with many of their best folktale texts.
1829-1830. The Grimms resign their positions as librarians in
Kassel and accept positions at the University of Göttingen as
librarians and professors.
1837-1841. Professors Grimm join five of their university
colleagues in a formal protest against a constitutional violation of Ernst
August, King of Hannover. The seven professors (Die Göttinger Sieben)
are fired. The Grimm brothers receive many offers for new positions, and
finally accept appointments at the University of Berlin.
1842-1852. The Grimms continue their scholarly work and
political activities, but finally give up their formal appointments at the
University of Berlin (Jacob in 1848, Wilhelm in 1852) in order to dedicate
themselves to their own studies and research.
1859. Wilhelm Grimm dies December 16, 1859, at the age of
73.
1863. Jacob Grimm dies September 20, 1863, at the age of 78.
Return to the table of contents.
In addition to the works listed below, the Grimms (especially Jacob)
wrote many substantive articles, reviews, forewords, and chapters, and
published numerous editions and translations. Their achievements as
pioneering folklorists, linguists, and medievalists are astounding by any
measure.
- The Grimms' first collection of folktales was not published
during their lifetime. It was a manuscript containing 53 stories, some
written out in detail, others sketched in brief outline form. In December
1810 they submitted this collection to Clemens Brentano and Achim von
Arnim for inclusion in a planned third volume to their successful
collection of folk poetry entitled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy's
Magic Horn, 3 volumes, 1806, 1808, 1808), which was to be dedicated to
folktales. This fairy-tale volume never materialized, and the manuscript
was not returned to its authors, but the Grimms' interest in collecting
and editing folklore did not die. In 1812 they came out with their own
fairy-tale collection.
- Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children's and Household Tales),
vol. 1, 1812; vol. 2, 1814 (pre-dated 1815). The standard abbreviation for the
collection is KHM, from the German title.
2nd edition, 1819.
volume 3, Anmerkungen (Commentary), 1822.
3rd edition, 1837.
4th edition, 1840.
5th edition, 1843.
6th edition, 1850.
7th edition, 1857. This final version is the basis for most editions and
translations published after the Grimms' death.
- Altdeutsche Wälder (Old German Forests), 3 volumes, 1813,
1815, 1816. Miscellaneous writings on linguistics, folklore, and medieval
studies.
- Der arme Heinrich von Hartmann von der Aue (Poor Heinrich by
Harmann von der Aue), 1815. An edition with commentary of an important
medieval German epic.
- Lieder der alten Edda (Lays from the Elder Edda), 1815.
- Deutsche Sagen (German Legends), 2 volumes, 1816, 1818.
- Irische Elfenmärchen (Irish Fairy Tales), 1826. This is a
translation, with a long and insightful introductory essay, of Thomas
Crofton Croker's book Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of
Ireland (London, 1825).
- Deutsches Wörterbuch (German Dictionary), 32 volumes,
1852-1960. The Grimms themselves saw only the entries A through Forsche of
this monumental historical dictionary published during their lifetime. The
remaining parts were published by several generations of scholars over a
100 year span.
Return to the table of contents.
- Deutsche Grammatik (German Grammar), 4 volumes, 1819, 1826,
1831, 1837.
- Deutsche Rechtsaltertümer (German Legal Antiquities),
1828.
2nd edition, 1854.
- Deutsche Mythologie (German Mythology -- also translated as
Teutonic Mythology), 1835.
2nd edition, 2 volumes, 1844.
3rd edition, 1854.
- Geschichte der deutschen Sprache (History of the German
Language), 2 volumes, 1848.
2nd edition, 1853.
Return to the table of contents.
- Altdänische Heldenlieder, Balladen und Märchen (Old
Danish Heroic Lays, Ballads, and Folktales), 1811. A translation.
- Über deutsche Runen (On German Runes), 1821.
- Die deutsche Heldensage (The German Heroic Legend), 1829.
Return to the table of contents.
English-language sites
German-language sites
Return to the table of contents.
The number preceding each title represents the tale's KHM number, i.e.,
the tale's number in the Grimms' final edition (1857) of their Kinder-
und Hausmärchen.
1. The Frog King; or, Iron Henry (Der
Froschkönig oder der eiserne Heinrich)
2. Cat and Mouse in Partnership (Katze und Maus in Gesellschaft)
21. Cinderella (Aschenputtel)
- Cinderella.
Aarne-Thompson-Uther folktale type 510A and related stories of persecuted
heroines translated.
- Cinderella
Stories. From the Children's Literature Web Guide of David K. Brown,
University of Calgary.
26. Little Red-Cap (Rotkäppchen)
27. The Bremen Town Musicians (Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten)
28. The Singing Bone (Der singende Knochen)
38. Mrs. Fox's Wedding (Die Hochzeit der Frau Füchsin)
39. The Elves (Die Wichtelmänner)
42. The Godfather (Der Herr Gevatter)
43. Frau Trude
44. Godfather Death (Der Gevatter Tod)
46. Fitcher's Bird (Fitchers Vogel)
48. Old Sultan (Der alte Sultan)
50. Little Briar-Rose (Dornröschen)
52. King Thrushbeard (König Drosselbart)
53. Little Snow-White (Sneewittchen)
55. Rumpelstiltskin (Rumpelstilzchen)
- Rumpelstilzchen,
ein Vergleich der Fassungen von 1810, 1812 und 1819.
- The Name of the
Helper.
Folktales of type 500, and related tales, in which a mysterious and
threatening helper is defeated when the hero or heroine discovers his
name.
63. The Three Feathers (Die drei Federn)
65. All-Kinds-of-Fur (Allerleirauh)
66. The Hare's Bride (Häsichenbraut)
88. The Singing, Springing Lark (Das singende springende
Löweneckerchen)
101. Bearskin (Der Bärenhäuter)
106. The Poor Miller's Boy and the Cat (Der arme Müllerbursch
und das Kätzchen)
108. Hans-My-Hedgehog (Hans mein Igel)
- Hog
Bridegrooms.
Tales of type 441, in which a beautiful maiden is forced to
marry a hog or a hedgehog.
110. The Jew in the Thorns (Der Jude im Dorn)
116. The Blue Light (Das blaue Licht)
117. The Willful Child (Das eigensinnige Kind)
179. The Goose-Girl at the Well (Die Gänsehirtin am Brunnen)
182. The Little Folks' Presents (Die Geschenke des kleinen
Volkes)
187. The Hare and the Hedgehog (Der Hase und der Igel)
Return to the table of
contents.
Electronic texts of the Grimms' tales and
legends
English-language sites
- The Grimm Brothers'
Children's and Household Tales
(Grimms' Fairy Tales),
compiled, translated, and classified by
D.L. Ashliman, University of Pittsburgh.
- Tales
Collected by the Brothers Grimm, based on Margaret Hunt's translation.
A project directed by William Barker, Memorial University of Newfoundland.
- Fairy
Tales by
the Grimm Brothers. This site includes both German and English
versions of selected fairy tales, along with illustrations from
19th-century editions. Presented by Robert Godwin-Jones, Virginia
Commonwealth University.
- Household
Tales. A
selection of 42 tales from the Harvard Classics, vol. 17, part 2. This
site is part of Great Books Online
from bartleby.com.
German-language sites
The following journals and reference works often include articles about
the Grimm brothers.
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Revised October 1, 2013.
