Jacob Grimm

Ruth B. Bottigheimer (SUNY, Stony Brook)
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Childhood and Adolescence 1785-1802

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was born on 4 January 1785 in Hanau to Dorothea Zimmer Grimm and Philipp Wilhelm Grimm. Both Reformed Protestants (rather than Lutheran), they belonged to the confession that dominated the German principalities, such as the County of Hanau, the Margravate of Kassel, and the Kingdom of Prussia, in which locations Jacob Grimm spent most of his life. Jacob Grimm's great-grandfather and grandfather had both been Reformed pastors, his father a lawyer for the Count of Hanau, first in Hanau and then in Steinau. A precocious youngster, Jacob had learned to read and write at an early age from his father's sister. The family's local prominence, financial comfort, and capacious official residence assured a stable childhood. Jacob had

2226 words

Citation: Bottigheimer, Ruth B.. "Jacob Grimm". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 August 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1890, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1890 Jacob Grimm 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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