Five fascinating facts about the Brothers Grimm: what is known about German scientists and folklorists

SSPDaily has prepared five facts about the Brothers Grimm. Find out about their life and work that deserve to be recognized.

Brothers, sisters and success

Speaking of the Grimm brothers, most people think of Jacob and Wilhelm. However, in fact, there were nine children in their family, and eight of them were boys. Two of the children died. Ludwig Emil Grimm became famous as a painter and engraver.

Early responsibilities

The Grimm family suffered a tragedy when their father died, and Jakob was only 11 years old. The family's financial situation deteriorated, but their maternal aunt showed kindness, and the boys were able to study. Jacob and Wilhelm had a sense of great responsibility for their mother and siblings, whom they always helped.

Jacob Grimm decided to follow in his father's footsteps and get a law degree. However, in the end, he showed devotion to his philological vocation.

Folk tales in their purest form

The Brothers Grimm were not the first to turn to German fairy tales. However, their innovation was that they published these tales exactly as they were collected by the people, without any changes.

Natural and artificial poetry

The brothers introduced the concept of dividing poetry into two categories: natural and artificial. They believed that natural poetry was created by the people, while artificial poetry was created by man. In their opinion, natural poetry has always been superior to artificial poetry and has a divine essence.

Dedication to language

Toward the end of their lives, the Grimm brothers devoted their efforts to creating the first dictionary of the German language. Wilhelm died in December 1859, having managed to write a section on the letter "D", and Jacob, who outlived his brother by four years, finished the sections with words for the letters A, B, C, E and stopped at the article on the word "Frucht" (fruit).