11 h 35 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Step into a Germany of legend, where folklore and myth offer another way to imagine a nation.
German Legends brings together German legends, folklore, and mythic tales in a collection by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm. Here, the invitation is to explore a nation through its stories. Read for the tales themselves, or for the ways they invite you to imagine the world they belong to.
First published in 1816, this collection places German storytelling at its heart. Its focus offers a path for anyone curious about myths and legends: not a single continuous story, but a gathering of tales to explore, one after another, with room to pause and let each one linger.
What you’ll discover
- A world of legends Explore German legends and the possibilities they open for the curious reader.
- Folklore at the heart Make room for stories that place German folklore at the centre of your reading.
- An invitation to myth Follow mythic tales into a different way of imagining a nation's world.
- The Brothers Grimm Discover a collection by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm devoted to German legends.
- One tale at a time Enjoy a collection you can explore story by story, at your own pace.
Who will love it
Readers who love folklore, ghost stories and old tales, who enjoy mountains, rivers and ruined castles, and who like short stories tied to real places that they can sample in any order.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Miners meet the spirits under the mountain
- Lady Holle rules the hills of Hesse
- Giants and sleeping emperors wait in the rock
- Dwarfs and little folk bargain with humans
- Water folk, midwives and the price of a gift
- House spirits who work, joke and take offense
- The Devil, builders and fools who strike bargains
- Curses, omens, dragons and the Wild Hunt
- What the legends mean and how they are told
Who’s who
- Lady HolleA spirit of the Meißner mountain who rewards diligent spinners, punishes lazy ones, helps newborn children and rides through the land at Christmas.
- Faithful EckartAn old guide who walks at the head of Lady Holle's company and warns people to get out of the way before harm comes.
- Frederick RedbeardThe emperor who sleeps at a stone table inside the Kyffhäuser, waiting for the day when he will come out and better times will follow.
- Wilhelm von ScherfenbergA brave knight who agrees to help a dwarf king in a coming fight and is told to keep the promise secret.
- The Water ManA river and lake spirit with green teeth and a green hat who walks among people, trades in towns and keeps the souls of the drowned.
- HütchenA felt-hatted spirit at the court of Bishop Bernhard of Hildesheim who warns, helps and carries messages but never forgets an insult.
- HinzelmannA house spirit with a boyish voice at Hudemühlen who works in kitchen and stable, plays pranks and insists he is a Christian.
- TannhäuserA German knight who leaves Lady Venus's mountain, troubled by conscience, and goes to Rome to seek forgiveness from the pope.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 35 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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German Legends
by Jacob Grimm; Wilhelm Grimm · 1816
A giant's daughter scoops up a farmer, his plow and his horses as toys, and her father is not pleased.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
German Legends is a gathering of well over three hundred short tales, put together by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the early nineteenth century. They were scholars of language and old stories, and they dedicated the book to their brother Ludwig Emil.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Miners meet the spirits under the mountain
The book opens underground. In Bohemia, three miners of Kuttenberg go into the mountain each morning with their prayer books, lamps holding one day of oil and a little bread. They pray for safety and then work. One evening the mountain collapses in front of them and seals the entrance. They expect to starve, yet they keep digging and praying, and the lamp and the bread seem never to run down.
Above ground, the years pass. The miners' hair and beards grow an ell long, and their wives, sure that they are dead, begin to think of other husbands. Each miner makes a wish about what he would like to enjoy before he dies. What the mountain does with those wishes gives the tale its edge, and it sets the tone for much that follows. In these stories wishes are heard, and gifts come with a price.
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What is German Legends about?
It is a collection of more than three hundred short legends from German-speaking lands. The tales tell of miners and mountain spirits, giants, dwarfs, water folk, house spirits, ghosts, sleeping emperors and the Devil, many linked to a real place.
Who were the Brothers Grimm and how did they collect these stories?
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German scholars of language and folklore. They gathered the legends from spoken accounts in regions such as Hesse and the Harz and from older chronicles and curiosity books, and many chapters name their sources.
Who is Lady Holle in German Legends?
Lady Holle is a spirit of the Hessian mountain Meißner and its pond. She rewards diligent spinners, punishes lazy ones, brings children from her well and travels the land from Christmas to Twelfth Day, sometimes at the head of a wild host.
The author
Jacob Grimm
1785–1863 · German folklorist and philologist
Jacob Grimm was born in Hanau, Germany, in 1785 and died in Berlin in 1863. He was a linguist, jurist and mythologist. With his brother Wilhelm, he published fairy tales from 1812 and German Legends in 1816–1818. He also wrote German Grammar and worked on a German dictionary.
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