Surely everyone knows the story of Snow White from the stories of the Brothers Grimm or the Walt Disney cartoon. The evil stepmother envied the beauty of the young stepdaughter and poisoned her with a poisonous apple. But the kiss of true love broke the spell, and then everyone lived happily ever after. But, as you know, there is some truth in every fairy tale. Some historians claim that they can tell the story of the real Snow White.
Countess Margaret von Waldeck is considered the prototype of the fabulous Snow White.
In 1994, the German historian Eckhard Sander published his research titled "Snow White: Myth or Reality?" (Schneewittchen: Märchen oder Wahrheit?), In which he claimed to have found an account in the archives of the Brothers Grimm that shed light on the prototype of the real Snow White.
We are talking about the young Countess Margaretha von Waldeck, who lived in the 15th century in the city of Bad Wildungen. The girl did have a stepmother (but not evil), and rumors about her beauty went far beyond the county.
The real Snow White lived in the 15th century.
At the age of 16, the girl moved to Brussels, where a few years later she fell in love with the future King of Spain, Philip II. The young man reciprocated her. But the relatives of the future monarch were not satisfied with such a party, and soon the countess died.
Zander believes she was poisoned, making the situation a mysterious disease. This is evidenced by the will, which the countess wrote shortly before her death. The handwriting shows that Margaret had a tremor, which is typical for poisoned people.
The prototypes of the gnomes from the fairy tale were children miners.
Promotional video:
The image of the seven dwarfs was also strongly associated with the von Waldeck family. Margaret's father owned several copper mines where the children worked. Because of malnutrition and harsh working conditions, many of them died, but those who survived looked like twisted dwarfs with deformed limbs.
The poisoned apple story actually happened.
As for the poison apple, Zander also found parallels in the history of the city of Bad Wildungen. It is about an old man who gave poisoned apples to children who, in his opinion, stole fruit from his garden.
The story of Snow White in the Brothers Grimm and in the cartoon had a happy ending.
The story of the beautiful countess has been passed down from mouth to mouth for several centuries, acquiring all sorts of details. And in 1812, the Brothers Grimm included the story of Snow White in their collection of fairy tales based on German folk tales.