We all know the classic Disney Princess stories we were introduced to as kids. The Animated movies like Snow White and Cinderella by Walt Disney Pictures, that has inspired young children and adults for years.
Before the animated movies were even made, stories like Snow White, Cinderella and Rapunzel were already stories told for hundreds of years through various different writers. The Brothers Grimm being the most well known for their gruesome take on some of children’s most beloved fairy-tales.
But what if the writers had real life inspiration from real life events taking place in our history?
Here are Five Fairy-Tale Stories that might have been inspired by true events.
1) SNOW WHITE
The Movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs came out in the year of June 1938 by Walt Disney productions.
The classic story about an evil queen, the poison apple and true loves first kiss are all elements played out in the film.
Many years before that snow white had a much darker tale.
Written by the brothers Grimm in 1812. Snow white was still the fairest princess we all know her to be, but the events that take place in the Brothers Grimm tale is not how we imagine true love.
In the story, Snow White never Meets Prince Charming until After she has been cursed.
He rides by the Glass coffin and insists to the dwarfs that he must bury her. When the Prince’s Guards try to move the coffin, the Apple piece lodged in her throat is unclogged when the guards drop the coffin.
Snow White wakes up and falls in love with the Prince.
The Brothers Grimm however could have based their story on a real life person called Margarete Von Waldeck. A German Countess born to Phillip IV in 1533.
( the very year Anne Boleyn became Queen of England)
At aged 16 Margarete was shipped off to Brussels by her step mother.
There Margarete fell in love with a Prince who would later become Phillip II of Spain.
Margarete’s Father and the Princes Father disapproved of the match.
At aged 21 Margarete Mysteriously died. Rumors spread that the King of Spain had Sent Spanish assassins to Kill the poor young Girl.
Margarete’s father owned copper mines that employed children.This type of work led to many children dying. The ones that did survive had severely stunted growth and often referred to as Dwarfs.
Another True Life Event that could Have Inspired the Brothers Grimm
Is the story of Maria Sophia Von Erthal born 1729. Daughter of Prince Phillip Christoph.Maria’s step mother was said to carry around a magic mirror from castle to castle.
The mirror actually Talked and made sounds it is now housed in the Spessart Museum.
2) Cinderella.
Cinderella, the classic tale of a women who rises from her social station to the throne.
Its been done time and time again, you could even place Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth of Woodville in this same category as Cinderella. The only thing missing is the glass slipper.
The real tale of our “Cindy” came well before She saved Walt Disney productions from going out of money. The story is even older than the man whom is credited to inventing the Fairy-Tale, Charles Perrault.
Charles Perrault is said to be the main writer of the more wholesome Fairy-Tales that we know today, but once again it seems as though the inspiration was taken from something far older and possibly a true event.
In the Sixth century a courtesan named Rhodopis had a shoe stolen by an eagle.
The Eagle flew all the way across the Mediterranean sea, where the eagle finally releases the shoe at an Egyptian Kings feet.
The Egyptian King took this as a sign and goes out on a quest to find the owner of the shoe. when he finds her, He Married her. Rising her above her social station.
More inspiration for Cinderella’s story comes from the Ninth century. A Chinese fairy-tale called Ye Xian, about a young poor girl granted a magical wish from fish bones.
Ye Xian used her precious wish to create a gown in the hopes of finding a good husband.The shoe left behind this time is not a glass slipper but a slipper with a gold scale-fish pattern.
The king Finds the Slipper and Sets out to find her like all the other Cinderella tales.
Ye Xians beauty convinces the King to marry her, once again rising a lowly woman above her social status to the throne.
Ye Xians mother was stoned to death in her cave home for Ye Xians treatment providing more evidence that this could have been the inspiration behind our beloved “Cindy”.
A 17th Century European Version of “Cindy” has the name Ceneretola. That story however is more about Forced marriage and an unhappy life than a happily ever after.
To me,Cinderella is a universal story that anyone can place themselves into. You no doubt can find examples of the servant girl who get to marry a King or Nobleman throughout history.
3) Beauty And The Beast
Gabrielle Suzanne Barbot De Villeneuve born in Paris in 1695 is considered to be the original writer of the Famous Tale about a beautiful girl who falls in love with a beast and breaks the evil witches curse, returning the beast back into a Prince.
Walt Disney Productions would Release an Animated movie in 1991 with a similar plot, that would become beloved by all and known today as Beauty and the Beast.But what if Gabrielle had inspiration from elsewhere? Maybe some real life events that gave her a few ideas??
Well that actually seems to be the case.
Beauty and the Beast could have been inspired by the real life story of a man called Petrus Gonsalvus and his bride Catherine.
In 1537 at the french court. Petrus had a peculiarity that was interesting to all who saw him.
Petrus came from nothing and had been gifted to the french court as a Gag Present.
Poor Petrus had a condition called Hypertrichosis, a disease that results in hair growing all over the body. Petrus was called a “Monster”, a “Freak” and worst of all a “Beast”.
The only one whom did not see Petrus as a thing to fear was the King, Henry II himself.
The King actually liked Petrus, giving him new clothing and a proper quality education.The King even made Petrus a Nobleman.
After the King Died, his wife Catherine De Medici took up finding Petrus a wife. Rumored at first that the marriage was an unhappy, forced and bitter affair. Eventually the “Beauty” of this story did fall in love with the beast.
Petrus and Catherine were Married for 40 years. Had Seven children. Three of those babies ended up with the same condition as their father. The three babies were snapped up and gifted to other royal families as gifts.
Petrus and his “beauty” lived a quiet life in Italy after their children were taken from them.
4)Pocahontas.
The Disney Version of Pocahontas is a story about the British Colonizing settlements for the first time in America. Not knowing it was already occupied by people they called “savages”.
Pocahontas falls in love with a respected British solider, and the pair attempt to stop the fighting between peoples.
John Smith, the charismatic British solider we meet in Pocahontas. Is actually a real person.
However John Smiths account of the landing at Jamestown Virginia and His meeting of the real Pocahontas is said to be a little different than what really happened.
Born 1596 Amonute Matoako was the real name of the Girl John Smith met when He Traveled to what is now known as America.
Pocahontas was a nickname meaning “Playful one” given to the young girl. The young Pocahontas was the Favorite Daughter of Powhaton,a respected Ruler in the 30 Alogonquian speaking tribes of the area.
John Smith wrote of Pocahontas’s beauty although he met her when she was only 9 or 10 years old.
John Smith was never up for execution and Pocahontas never saved his life. John Smith however lived with and became a respected member of the tribe,Swapping knowledge and languages.
Young Pocahontas often became the line of communication between peoples as she too had learnt English from John Smith.
In 1608 John Smith was sent back to England when Pocahontas was to be married at just 12 years old to Kokoum a member of close tribe or possibly apart of the main tribe.
Pocahontas has a Son with Kokoum and was happy for a time.
Sir Argall was a captain working for Sir Thomas Gates. Gates had Pocahontas captured and her husband murdered leaving her son alone in the world.
Pocahontas at aged 15- 16 was baptized and given the name Rebecca, she remained in captivity and was Raped. Eventually the raping produced a son named Thomas and the young girl was forced marry her rapist in 1614.
Pocahontas was then taken to England where her husband marveled in his new prestige and glory for having made peace with the savages through marriage. Her husband used Pocahontas as a spectacle to gain more money from the crown to fund the new world.
It is believed that Pocahontas became ill on their journey home to the new world. After dinner with her husband and the Captain, Pocahontas began vomiting and convulsing. The most likely explanation was that Pocahontas was poisoned due to how rapidly she declined in health.
It is believed Pocahontas found out what would become of her home land. The British wanted to use the lands she grew up on for tobacco farming and became enraged and then silenced before she could tell her tribe.
Another theory is that Pocahontas was just no longer useful to the British and they got rid of her.
I guess we will never really know what happened.
Pocahontas’s father died 1 year later.
5) Rapunzel.
We all know the Rapunzel story. The beautiful Disney Princess with golden long hair, hidden and locked away in a tower forever.
The Disney movie Tangled even gives us the element of magic. Having Rapunzel’s hair glow when she sings and heals those the hair touches.
But the real life story first written by the Brothers Grimm in 1857 seems to have been inspired by a number of real life tragedy’s, one of which could have been the story of Saint Barbara.
Barbara was the daughter of a rich roman merchant in the third century. (1275ce)
Barbara’s own father locked her away in a tower with no doors so that she would not convert to Christianity. The only way she received supply’s was by basket that was pulled up to her by rope.
Barbara still manged to convert and as punishment she was offered to publicly denounce her faith, when she declined she was tortured and then beheaded by her own father.
Another story that could have been the inspiration behind the Rapunzel Fairy-Tale was a Persian tale called “the Shahmaneh” written in 1000ce.
This story is about A girl named Rudaba and a boy named Zal. Rudaba lived in a tower and Zal climbed up to see her every night, by climbing her hair that she had thrown down to him.
The union was met with dislike until the pair had a child that would become a conqueror of worlds.
Things I learnt writing this Blog:
* The entire Rapunzel section was a shock to me, honestly poor saint Barbara!
* The original story about Sleeping Beauty is actually a story about Rape I decided against adding to this list because of how shocking and dark it was.
* Pocahontas’s true story was something that has only recently come out to the public by the tribes that still exist today. There is a new book that has recently been published called The True Story of Pocahontas by Linwood Custalow. Which goes into detail about her life and death and the role she played in our history.
You can now watch all the Disney Princess movies in one place on Disney+.
Sources:
http://www.ancient-origins.net
The Outpost Princess 
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