B is for...Brothers Grimm!
In today's post, I'm going to talk about two of the most famous people of the fairy tale world: The Brothers Grimm!
These brothers are responsible for one of the greatest fairy tale collections today: "Grimms' Fairy Tales", or "Children's and Household Tales" in Germany.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German brothers who collected folk tales from Germany because of their interest in folklore. They wanted to preserve stories which has been handed down through generations, because they believed that folk tales were an important part of national identity. So they spent their lives collecting folk tales, modifying them, and putting them into books! If it weren't for the Brothers Grimm, fairy tales such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White would probably not be as popular as they are today, or they might not even have been written down!
Their first edition was published in 1812, and only had 86 fairy tales in it! In the second edition they included 70 additional fairy tales, and the final edition contained 211 in total. In the first editions, the brothers transcribed the stories as they were told to them, with very little changes. There was a 'parental guidance' warning at the beginning of the book, to warn parents of the content that was possibly unsuitable for children. Tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood were known as 'warning tales' for children, because of the things that happen to children in the tales.
However, in later editions they began to edit out references to sex and violence, to make the tales more suitable for children. Morals were also added to these later versions, to encourage children to learn from the tales. This was the turning point when fairy tales began to be considered more for children than for adults.
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German brothers who collected folk tales from Germany because of their interest in folklore. They wanted to preserve stories which has been handed down through generations, because they believed that folk tales were an important part of national identity. So they spent their lives collecting folk tales, modifying them, and putting them into books! If it weren't for the Brothers Grimm, fairy tales such as Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin and Snow White would probably not be as popular as they are today, or they might not even have been written down!
Their first edition was published in 1812, and only had 86 fairy tales in it! In the second edition they included 70 additional fairy tales, and the final edition contained 211 in total. In the first editions, the brothers transcribed the stories as they were told to them, with very little changes. There was a 'parental guidance' warning at the beginning of the book, to warn parents of the content that was possibly unsuitable for children. Tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood were known as 'warning tales' for children, because of the things that happen to children in the tales.
However, in later editions they began to edit out references to sex and violence, to make the tales more suitable for children. Morals were also added to these later versions, to encourage children to learn from the tales. This was the turning point when fairy tales began to be considered more for children than for adults.
great post for the letter B. The Grimm Brothers are what I think of first when it comes the children's tales. It is interesting to see that some of these stories are rated either PG to PG-13.
ReplyDeleteI was actually reading Hansel and Gretel to my daughter the other day.I think I may need to get my hands on early editions of the tales.
I love you theme.
Thanks! I had a book of Grimms Fairy tales when I was little, and I loved it!
DeleteI love your theme too, I like Star Wars :)
Do you know if its possible to read the earlier versions somewhere? Would love to get hold of those!:)
ReplyDeleteWhen I found the ones that I read, it was from googling them! They must all be floating around the internet somewhere...I hope so anyway, because I'll be needing them soon!
DeleteI love the Grimm brothers! I grow up with there tales and love them all. Even the twisted ones!
ReplyDeleteMe too, they're my favourite fairy tales! :)
DeleteLove them! Just recently sent a collection to my new grandson.
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I hope he likes it! :)
DeleteI was wondering if the original versions were available too lol! I've actually been planning on buying Grimms fairytales book :)
ReplyDeleteYou should, they're my favourite fairy tales :)
DeleteI downloaded the Grimms fairytales for my kindle so its sitting on there now waiting to be read! :) Great post! Loving the little facts I'm learning!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm loving writing about them :)
DeleteI have the Grimms fairytales book on my Nook, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
ReplyDeleteYou should read it, Grimms fairy tales are my favourite versions :)
DeleteInteresting history. I've always thought their take on fairy tales was a bit less sugar coated than Disney's.
ReplyDeleteMe too, that's why I like them better! :)
DeleteI'm a sucker for The Brothers Grimm movie with Heath Ledger and Matt Damon. While some of the special effects were not so great, I love the two actors together.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen it! I may have to watch it, because I love movies with Heath Ledger in them!
DeleteI don't think I've ever read a Brothers Grimm story properly. I've heard condensed versions, sure, but never the original story itself. That'd be pretty cool to read.
ReplyDeleteJamie Gibbs
Fellow A-Z Buddy
Mithril Wisdom
You should read one, I love Grimms' fairy tales :)
DeleteHave read, liked and will see you at C
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteMy favourite is the Town Musicians of Bremen, because it has a donkey in it. And I love donkeys.
ReplyDeleteOoh I've never read that one, I'll have to find it! :)
DeleteGlad to see you have a theme for the month. I don't think I've read any of the original Grimm tales, just the watered down versions for today's kids. Guess I'm going to have to find some to read.
ReplyDeleteYou should, I love seeing what's different between the original tales and the ones that have been changed for kids :)
DeleteI adore these dark brothers! Do want to hear something? On one of my better nanny days, I decided to bring my Bros. Grimm collection to my little charge's house to read to him. He was about 7 or 8 months old. It took all of like 1.5 pages until he was screaming bloody murder.
ReplyDeleteNever did that again!
Haahaa.
Violet @ Revolution ~ Evolution
Oh no! That's too bad, maybe you should have started out with a Disney version! Bless :)
DeleteThis was such a nice post! You're making me want to just sit inside and read fairytales all day long! Have you heard of Asbjørnsen and Moe? They were sort of the Norwegian equivalent :) Have you been watching that TV show Grimm? It looks kind of scary :(
ReplyDeleteI'm loving writing these posts, because it's really interesting researching fairy tales! I've never heard of them, maybe I'll include them in one of my posts, so I can research them and their stories :) No I've never seen it, I remember seeing an advert for it but you're right, it does look a bit scary!
DeleteLove the books! I wish my son would have my love of reading, but he never did.
DeleteGreat theme!
Thanks! I love reading, I'm surrounded by avid readers, which is sometimes a bad thing when we all fight over the same book! :)
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