Jacob (1785–1863) and Wilhelm (1786–1859) Grimm, generally known as the Brothers Grimm. drew inspiration for gathering oral traditions in part from the dynamics of a changing society. At the risk of over-simplification, rural, agriculturally-based western Europe was transforming into a landscape filled with growing cities that employed factory workers and the multitudes required to serve the needs of urban life. The old ways seemed to be fading. But they were not the first: although the French collector, Charles Perrault (1628–1703), was a leader in the field during the seventeenth century, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm are credited with founding the modern discipline of folklore.

The three things we can credit to the Brothers Grimm is 1. the collection of a large amount of oral tradition; 2. the founding of a discipline and a means of analysis of oral tradition; and 3. the inspiration of international counterparts who took to the the task of recording their own oral traditions.

The stories that the Brothers Grimm recorded appear elsewhere - they were migratory tale types that had diffused and adapted to many places. Thanks largely to the Brothers Grimm, the stories appear in other folklore collections, because the brothers inspired others to do what they had done.