Jacob Grimm and his brother Wilhelm are rightly referred to as the greatest minds of their time. Popular fairy tale collectors and linguistic scholars delight readers of all ages. Jacob's life was a continuous creative search, according to the results of which the German writer can be considered the “father of German philology”.
From the biography of Jacob Grimm
The future writer was born on January 4, 1785 in the city of Hanau (Germany). He came from the so-called middle class. The father of Jacob and Wilhelm, who was born a year later than his brother, was a lawyer. From a young age, the Brothers Grimm were bound by bonds of strong friendship, which did not break throughout their lives.
In 1796 the brothers' father died. The family found itself in a difficult financial situation. The generosity of my aunt helped me to complete my initial studies and get an education. At first, Jacob studied at the Lyceum, then entered the University of Marburg. He decided to follow in his father's footsteps and become a lawyer. However, Jacob soon realized that he was more attracted to philology.
After graduating from the university in 1804, Jacob went to Paris. Here he helps his teacher, Professor Savigny, to collect old manuscripts. During the same period, Grimm became interested in folk tales and legends.
Soon, Jacob becomes the curator of the personal library of Jerome Bonaparte, brother of the Emperor Napoleon. Grimm got the opportunity to engage in scientific activities.
Creativity of Jacob Grimm
The brothers Grimm published the first volume of their children's fairy tales in 1812. Three years later, the next volume appeared. Then their "German Legends" were published in two volumes.
After 1815, when Napoleon was defeated, the opportunity opened up for Jacob to pursue a career as a diplomat. But the writer felt disgust at the service - it would prevent him from doing what he loved. As a result, the elder Grimm retired from service, refused large salaries and took the place of librarian in Kassel. Here both brothers were engaged in philological research without haste.
In 1835, Jacob published a solid study on Germanic mythology. Until now, his voluminous work belongs to the classics of philological science. Jacob became one of the founders of the "mythological school" in folklore.
Outstanding philologist
In 1840, the Prussian ruler Friedrich Wilhelm protected the brothers Grimm and invited them to Berlin. Jacob and Wilhelm became members of the Academy of Sciences and earned the right to teach at the University of Berlin. For a number of years, Jacob has combined scientific research with lecturing. In 1952, he undertook extremely hard work to compile a dictionary of his native language.
Jacob entered the history of philology primarily not as the creator of delightful fairy tales, but as the author of the German Grammar, which compiled four volumes. This fundamental study is based on a comparison of the Germanic languages. The author managed to cover a huge amount of material, starting from ancient written sources.
The scientific research of Jacob Grimm became a significant contribution to science and had a huge impact on the formation of German philology. He passed away on September 20, 1863.
