It is one of the favorites fairy tales of children, raising generations and generations. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most famous fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, first published in 1812 under the title "The Little Snow White / Snow Maiden", while there have been several versions of it worldwide. It is also the first Disney princess to appear in his first feature-length animated film. Walt Disney the 1937.
The beautiful princess with the snow-white skin and the black hair, who paid the envy of her evil mother at the cost of her life, is the favorite of the girls. Her story, extremely moving but also instructive, with the classic happy end "and we lived well and they better".
Like all the Grimm brothers' tales, Snow White is believed to date back to the Middle Ages and was a word of mouth to be published in 1812. However, according to research, Snow White does not seem to have it was a fantastic story that lasted through the centuries, but real. And based on a real person, a noblewoman from Bavaria.
Fairytale
When the little princess was born she had white skin and her mother named her Snow White. But the Queen died and the King married another woman, vain and wicked. The king's second wife had a magic mirror and every day she asked him "who is the most beautiful in the world". And he always answered her: "You are my queen".
But when Snow White turned seven, the mirror replied that she was the most beautiful now. The queen ordered a hunter to take the child to the forest and after killing him, to bring back her lungs and liver. He, however, felt sorry for her and hesitated to kill her. He told her to run into the woods to escape the queen and so, instead of Snow White, she brought a pig's lungs and liver. When the hunter arrived at the palace he showed the loot to the queen, who cooked them and ate them.
Running, Snow White reached the house of seven dwarves. There he ate, lay down and slept. After a while, the dwarves arrived at their house and saw her sleeping. The night passed and the next day the girl woke up, and after she told them her story and asked the dwarves to stay with them, they told her that if she cleans, makes the beds, sews and knits, then she will stay with them and has what he wants. Snow White accepted and so she stayed.
One day, the queen looked in the mirror and asked him: "Mirror, my little mirror on the wall now, what is the most beautiful in the whole country?" and the mirror answered her: "Lady Queen, you are the most beautiful here, but beyond the mountains, along with the seven dwarfs, Snow White is a thousand times more beautiful than you, as I can see!"
So the queen disguised herself as a gyrologist and went to the dwarves' house to kill Snow White. After he managed to bargain and sell the girl some silk laces of the corset, he tied them very tightly to her and she fell unconscious.
When the dwarves came, they cut the strings and she came to life. But the mirror told the queen that Snow White was still alive. Then she returned to the house, dressed as an old woman, this time with a poisonous comb, which she put in Snow White's hair, making her faint.
The queen, learning again of her, made an apple, half white and pure, half red and poisoned. Then, in the form of a peasant, he went to the hut and offered it to the girl, who ate it and fell down dead. The dwarves, not being able to bear her, mourned her for three days and nights and then, because she remained beautiful, they locked her in a glass coffin and carved in gold letters the name and the origin of the princess.
The years passed and a prince who reached the mountains, saw the beautiful daughter now lying in the coffin. Then he asked and the dwarves gave him the coffin to take to his palace. On the way, one of the soldiers carrying the daughter stumbled and the coffin shook, causing the piece of apple to come off Snow White's neck and she to come to life. So, after explaining to her what had happened, the prince took her with him and married her.
Was Snow White Margarete von Waldeck?
In 1994, German historian Eckhard Sander published "Snow White: Is It a Fairy Tale?", Claiming that he had found some evidence that Snow White was a real person and that her story inspired them. Brothers Grimm.
According to Sander, Snow White's character was based on the life of Margarete von Waldeck, a German countess from Bavaria, who was born in 1533. When she turned 16, Hatzfeld's mother Katarina envied her for her incomparable beauty and sent to the Wildungen in Brussels to get rid of it. There, Margarete fell in love with a prince who later became Philip II of Spain.
Margarete's father and mother rejected the relationship as it was "politically disturbing". Margarete died mysteriously at the age of 21, although there were strong suspicions that she had been poisoned. According to historians, the king of Spain, who was also opposed to his son's marriage to the young countess, may have sent his men to assassinate Margarete.
The version for the 7 dwarves
If Snow White was indeed a real person, what about the 7 dwarves? Were they the same or are they the sole inspiration of the Grimm brothers?
Margarete's father, therefore, owned several copper mines, where many children worked as slaves. However, the harsh conditions prevailing in the mines caused many children to die prematurely. However, those who managed to survive, due to the harsh conditions, had serious problems in their development, while due to malnutrition and hard physical work, their limbs were deformed. These children were often referred to as "poor dwarfs"!
But the poisoned apple was probably not the sole inspiration of the Grimm storytellers. According to Sanders, they always "borrowed" it from a very popular German story, according to which an elderly man was arrested for giving poisoned apples to children who he believed were stealing their fruits.