Should I sue Prime Minister David Cameron for stealing my idea? It was meant to be a dumb idea, one so far-fetched that no “real-life” politician would imitate it.
Bad Parking © Neil Harrison
Back in 1999, when I was a freshman (or fresher) at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, I came up with an epiphany. This time, for Filmmaking 101 (or introduction to film making, or whatever they called it), we’d have something everyone could be involved in. Continue reading
I think I shall do something different this time, because I have more than one story waiting to be told. So, from this introduction, I shall link to those stories as they are ready. – The P.t.a.r.a. Cavy
The Brothers Grimm didn’t originally have the idea to publish folktales. No, they heard an appeal from another writer, who was looking for traditional tales.
Their first attempt was rejected. The publisher who the brothers sent the story too held on to it, and it wasn’t published until both Grimms were dead.
Years later, they went from town to town, collecting stories in Germany. Again, these stories were not their idea, they were meant to be folk tales that had existed for ages.
Other writers had some a similar thing, but embellished their stories, adding something personal. The Brothers Grimm didn’t believe in this, they were more of academics.
So, when on December 20, 1812, they finally got a group of tales published, those tales were meant to be purely as the Brothers heard them. No spicing things up to meet the demands of the market. They treated the tales as non-fiction.
Perhaps they’d be turning in their graves if they saw not only the Disney and other adaptations of the tales they collected, but also the recent fictional movie made about them.
Well, later editions appear to show that the Brothers slowly let go of their purist streak, and eventually gave in to market forces. No longer remembered as academics, we now see the Brothers are writers.
For another take on how the stories have gained a life of their own, check out this post by Nigel Lewis-Davidson. And through the work or Christie Birmingham we have us three Grimm tales in one poem.
Watch this space for more stories related to the Brothers Grimm first publication.
(image credits: © Chernov | Dreamstime.com )
In 1812, a luxurious hotel was opened in Dusseldorf by the name of Breidenbacher Hof. Once the most expensive hotel in Germany, it is still among the best known hotels in the world. Continue reading
Just as the prosecution’s case was brilliant if simple, so Daniel Isaac Eaton’s defense was as inept as it was informative.
First of all, Eaton was late for his trial. Continue reading
St Patrick’s day “a day always precious in the estimation of the Irishman, was celebrated yesterday at the Free Mason’s Tavern.” Reported the Morning Chronicle.
So the famous playright Sheridan, the Mayor of London, and a few other notables celebrated St. Patrick’s, so what? Well, unlike in previous years, British newspapers in 1812 saw trouble brewing in these celebrations.
Written by Nigel Lewis-Davidson
Can you see Cinderella? Look bottom right. © Loraks
One upon a time in a land far far away…
‘Once upon a 200 years ago…’, to be precise’…in a land far, far away…’ Germany is where our tale starts and dependant on 1, where you live in the world and 2, which mode of travel you are adopting, it can be far, far away.
So what happened 200 years ago, 1812, in Germany? The first ever collection of fairy tales was published by the Brothers Grimm. The collection was published in German as ‘Kinder- und Hausmärchen‘ which translates to ‘Children’s and Household Tales’, the German title supplying the ‘KHM’. It was the first such collection gathered together in one publication and the first volume contained 86 stories.
Each story was numbered KHM followed by a consecutive number, the ‘KHM’ number is the unique identifier given to each tale within the collection.
"Don't fall asleep when I read, it's a long drop." Grimm Brothers Monument at Hanau (Germany)
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were born in Hanau, Germany. Both grew up to be academics, linguists and authors. They published books together and individually, some fiction and some non-fiction academic books. The brothers published 7 editions of their fairy tales. The 7th, published in 1857, after their deaths, is seen as the definitive edition, and contains 200 stories.
‘Fairy Tales’ or ‘Fairy Stories’ tend to draw from folklore, myths and legends. They are rooted in verbal stories handed down from generation to generation and told by storytellers who use to wander the land. One thing there is no doubt over is that there needs to be no fairy in the tale for it to be a ‘Fairy Tale’.
There should be some kind of magic or mystical power or event to give it a twist and the obligatory ‘fairy tale ending’, but don’t count on that.
To put it bluntly, who knows. The Brothers Grimm first published 86, their final edition contained 200. When they gathered their published stories together in the late 18th and early 19th century there was no Internet to carry out research, so their ‘net’ could only be cast so far to catch their fish.
The brothers also published 2 volumes of the book ‘German Legends’ and the book ‘Irish Fairy Tales’ so their original publication of ‘Kinder- und Hausmärchen’ may have been definitive, but certainly was not extensive.
86 stories is far to many for one article to cover, so we will look at the most popular tales that are still at the forefront of children’s stories 200 years later.
The ones we are going to make some passing observations on are: -
and we will also visit ‘Snow White’ and ‘Hansel and Gretel’ on our short journey.
When ‘Fairy Tales’ first started life they were verbal tales recounted by family or village members and story tellers. The stories would have been passed down from generation to generation. Each story would contain a basic storyline and the expertise of the teller would embellish the story and build the excitement. Each telling of the tale would be different as details were forgotten or added. This would mean every reciting of the story would be its own unique experience.
When the stories were committed to paper, or possibly parchment, it seems in the majority of cases the story portrayed was only recorded in the basic story-line format. After the initial Grimm’s publication in 1812, the brothers continued to edit the stories, so the majority of the stories became more interesting. Whoever was telling the story became more reliant on the writer rather than their own ability to tell the tale.
(Part 2…)
manipulations © ptara.
Castle in Hanau: © Loraks | Dreamstime.com
Brothers Grimm monument: photo © Chernov | Dreamstime.com
This year, the Welsh people may be celebrating a recent Rugby triumph over England.
© Lucas Lopvet | Dreamstime.com
200 year ago, however, the Welsh in Liverpool gave “loyal toasts” to the Royal family and other British notables.
Daniel Isaac Eaton had been in trouble with the law before. (That is, before the blasphemy case.)
A 19th century cockerel or Chanticleer based on an image from John George Wood's "The illustrated natural history"
Once upon a time, in a little kingdom in far away Europe, there lived a cockerel by the name of Chanticleer, King Chanticleer. This rooster was a descendent of the Chanticleer in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Nun’s Priest’s Tale, and a distant uncle of the King Chanticleer which featured in 1911 song by Nat D. Ayer.
Only this Chanticleer was a gamecock which sprung from the imagination of John Thelwall in 1793. Continue reading
The prosecution mounted a brilliant case against Thomas Paine’s publisher. The first witness the attorney General called was Henry Ben Raven, who, as stated earlier, had purchased a copy of Thomas Paine’s book from Daniel Isaac Eaton’s shop. Continue reading
When Richard Dawkins recently claimed that Christians were “not really Christian at all”, he wasn’t breaking new ground.
Over 200 years ago, Thomas Paine, that oft-quoted American patriot, wrote a pamphlet that said basically the same thing.
