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Snow White, the Brothers Grimm, and Tolkien
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (the Brothers Grimm) were German academics who studied the history of the German language and collected and published folktales. They popularized these “Grimms’ Fairy Tales” through books that were translated into many languages. They also laid the groundwork for the study of folklore as an academic discipline.
Here’s an English translation of Grimm’s Snow-White: Snow-white – Grimm
Folktales evolve through a process of selection. Each storyteller reshapes the tale to appeal to his or her audience. The tales that make the deepest impression on that audience are then retold to the next generation. Although the Brothers Grimm were trying to create a decidedly German body of folklore, it is clear that these stories have crossed national boundaries over the course of thousands of years. This allows stories from many different cultural traditions to be classified, such as in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index (ATU Index). Snow White falls under ATU type 709.
This video suggests that the story of Snow-White was originally a story of real crimes that occurred in medieval Germany. (1) The Disturbing True Origins of Snow White – YouTube
Grimms’ fairy tales laid the groundwork on which Walt Disney built a huge empire. However, not everyone approved of the way in which Disney rendered these stories. J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was an authority on Anglo-Saxon literature, was offended that folktales were being infantilized.. The Movie Date That Solidified J.R.R. Tolkien’s Dislike of Walt Disney – Atlas Obscura
