Scholars in German and Scandinavian studies at the University of Wisconsin write the following: Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859) were German brothers famous for their collections of folk songs and folktales, especially for Kinder- und Hausmärchen [Grimm's Fairy Tales] (1812-22). Both brothers were linguists who specialized in historical linguistics, primarily investigating the language of Old High German. They lived at Kassel until 1829, when, perhaps motivated by political necessity, they moved to the nearby University of Göttingen, where they were given appointments as librarians and professors. During this period in 1835, Jacob Grimm wrote Deutsche Mythologie (German Mythology), which was widely acclaimed. Jacob Grimm attempted to use peasant poetry, fairy tales, and mythology to reconstruct the pre-Christian religion of the Germanic people.