Grimm: A Definition--
A creature hunter who is a descendent of the Brothers Grimm. The only one who can truly see creatures called Wesen for their true selves. It is a Grimm’s duty to track and kill all Wesen who pose a threat to humanity.If we accept all or part of the previous definition then the first question we have to ask is if Grimms are the descendents of the Brothers Grimm, then who where these brothers?
Officially, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were linguists who researched German dialects. They also were fascinated with and collected German Folk tales culminating in the publications of a series of folk or fairy tales titled Grimm’s Fairy Tales, but was that actually the truth? Were the Grimms something else altogether?
The Grimm mythology suggests that the Grimm Brothers were one of the first profilers who recorded their observations and encounters with creatures of the forest and recorded them in various diaries, then passed those diaries on to their descendents. For the general public they rewrote these diaries as fairy tales because they felt (and probably correctly) that human kind wasn’t ready to accept what the Grimm brothers knew as the truth. How were the Grimm Brothers able to have the ability to detect these creatures in the first place? They either had to have been born with this ability or somehow acquired it.
If they were born with this ability then that implies their ancestors also had this ability and may have had much earlier encounters with Wesen by chance or purpose. Were these early encounters ever recorded?
It is very possible that the early Greek and Roman myths were based upon encounters with what we now know as the Wesen. Were the creatures we’re familiar with from our studies of mythology, creatures such as the Cyclops, the Minotaurs, Cerebus, Mermaids, etc. not actually myths but ancient Wesen? Was Homer’s Odyssey one of the first tales of a Grimm? However, if the Grimm Brothers were not born with this ability to detect Wesen then they must have acquired it, but how?
Did they accidentally or purposely ingest some strange yet natural herb found in the woods that affected their brain chemistry, thus giving them the ability to detect the Wesen? Or were they the victims of some purposeful concoction or spell placed upon them?
We’ve seen how Hexenbiest concoctions can have an affect on human brain chemistry through Hank Griffin and Sergeant Wu and their very different reactions to the same spell. So it is very possible the Grimm brothers were a victim of some nefarious or maybe even friendly Wesen, who gave them a “special ability” to detect Wesen, in which that “ability” was passed down through the next generations of the Grimm family.
Whatever did happen to the Grimm Brothers may have also affected not only their brain chemistry but their blood composition as well.
Grimm Blood--
The injection of an foreign organism into the blood stream could result in that organism invading or at least attaching itself to the blood cells and changing the blood’s bio-chemical reactions. These “alien” cells could duplicate or replicate themselves and re-structure the entire composition of the blood itself. Would this blood, if it came in contact with certain species of Wesen, cause an adverse reaction?
Is Grimm blood similar to holy water used by Exorcists to help cast out demons? It sure appeared that way when the Hexenbiest “spirit” left Adalind Schade’s body after ingesting just a drop of Nick’s blood.
Grimm Blood and Holy Water--
Document 301 of the Advanced Catechism of the Catholic Church defines holy water as “liquid blessed by the Holy Father and used for protection from the powers of darkness.”
According to the Constitution of Arch Bishop Edmund Rich, in the Middle Ages holy water had to be kept under lock and key to prevent theft because of the fear it could falls into the hands of witches. Could that key be the very one Marie Kessler entrusted to Nick. Could this mysterious key lead to and open a container containing Grimm blood or possibly various other potions blessed by some greater power and necessary for the eventual defeat of the Wesen?
Grimm: A Revelation?--
If the blood of a Grimm is like blessed holy water, then is the entire mythology of Grimm based on a theological treatise such as the Book of Revelations?
In Grimm, we’ve had a reference to the Seven Royal Families. Is this an allegory to the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse as mentioned in Revelations? Could each of Grimm’s Seven Royal Families represent a dilemma and threat to the world as the Seven Churches in the bible did? Its interesting to note how the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse were viewed in Biblical times and compare how they may relate to the understanding we may receive of the Seven Royal families on Grimm.
The Seven Churches and their noted sins were:
Ephesus-- This Church hid evil and liars.
Smyrna-- Dedicated to gathering wealth and not fearing evil.
Pergamum-- No morality.
Thyatira-- Allowed a Prophetess to promote immorality.
Sardis-- Their deeds were not perfect before God.
Philadelphia-- Held on to acquired power.
Laodicea-- Indifference to the people.
Could any or all the Seven Royal Families of Grimm suffer from the same sins as these Seven Churches?
The Grimm Mythology and The Seven Seals--
Or it is possible that the Grimm Mythology may be influenced by the Seven Seals in Revelations?
The Seven Seals was a scroll with seven seals placed upon it. Each seal referenced an image predicting a series of events leading up to Armageddon.
The first seal was of a white horse with a rider carrying a bow. (A Grimm carrying a crossbow, a common Grimm weapon?)
The second, a red horse with a rider and a sword. (Another familiar weapon used by Grimm’s throughout the ages.)
The third, a black horse with balances to protect the oil and wine. (A symbol of the balance or possible truce between the Grimms and the Seven Royal Families within the Wesen conflict?)
The fourth, a pale horse and the rider is death. (The Reapers?)
The fifth, the souls of martyrs representing the return of the dead. (The spirits returning of all the ousted Hexenbiests or other Wesen?)
The sixth predicts great violence and people retreat to the caves and mountains. (Does the key map reveal the locations of these hidden shelters?)
The seventh are seven angels holding seven trumpets to signal the beginning of the apocalypse. (Could these “angels” represent friendly Wesen such as Monroe or Rosalee or other creatures as messengers or spies to provide intelligence and warn Nick?)
This apocalypse starts with the fall of a star from the sky and is given the key to the bottomless pit. (Is Nick the allegorical “star” in this adventure and the key being the one Marie gave to him for safekeeping?)
This star opens the pit and from out of this pit locust like scorpions (Wesen?) emerge to harm those who have no seal or mark on their forehead. (Do all Wesen have “the Mark of the Beast” some secret, yet identifiable mark, like the ones under a Hexenbiest’s tongue that identifies them as creatures and those who do not have this mark are identified as being human and thus must be killed?)
These locust like scorpions are described as having a human appearance but have the teeth of a lion. (Lowen?)
Revelations then goes on to tell of a woman in labor with a male child that is confronted by a seven headed dragon (Damonfeuer?) who waits for the birth of this child. The woman flees into a wilderness. (Is this woman Juliette carrying Nick’s child or possibly an important event from the past with the woman being Nick’s mother carrying him?)
Later, the arch angel Michael (Nick or another Grimm?) fights the dragon. The dragon and his angels are defeated and are cast out.
However, the dragon continues to pursue the woman and she is given aid to evade him, (more help from Monroe and Rosalee?) This angers the dragon so, he wages war against the rest of her offspring. (If the woman is Nick’s mother then Nick and/or any of his descendents are in danger from the Wesen).
A seven headed leopard (another Wesen?) then emerges as Seven Bowls are poured into the earth.
The first bowl releases a foul affliction to affect all followers of the beast. (Is this like the potion that Adalind developed? Will she join up with Nick and develop potions to use against the Wesen?)
Second bowl-- Sea turns to blood. (Grimm blood? Dragon’s blood? In German mythology Dragon blood has power and can be poisonous.)
Third bowl-- All water turns to blood. (All the blood shed by both the Wesen and Grimms during the final battle?)
Fourth bowl-- The sun scorches the earth with intense heat. (A possible encounter with more Damonfeuers?)
Fifth bowl-- Total darkness and pain in the beast’s Kingdom. (A conflict within the Seven Families on the verge of losing their power?)
Sixth bowl-- Preparation of the final battle.
Seventh Bowl-- A great earthquake. (A final confrontation between Grimm and Wesen?)
The Beast and False prophet are both cast into the lake of fire. (As represented on the key map?)
Is Renard the Beast? The False Prophet? The Anti-Christ?
The definition of the Anti-Christ (Antibasileus) is a King who fills in i.e. one who resembles a God in power.
Renard definitely seeks power and projects a God-like image, his power acquired either through the mystical Coins of Zakynthos or through intimidation by symbolic warnings (the cutting off of Reaper’s ears) or the selected assassination of those who threaten his power base. The Anti-Christ is described as a charming individual, powerful, charismatic, and likeable. Renard obviously projects all of these characteristics.
Human History: Everything we know is wrong?--
Another possibility within the Mythology of Grimm is that all of human history was actually Wesen history. Now lets look at the Roman and European Empire and compare it to the Wesen mythology on Grimm.
The Roman and European Wesen Empire Expansion--
Roman--
Was the expansion of the Roman Empire actually the acquisition of power by the Seven Royal Families based in Rome? Rome was called the city on seven hills. Monroe was seen with the book The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. Was he actually reading about Wesen rather than human history?
Or was Nero or any of the Caesars actually some form of Wesen? Was the Roman Catholic Church ever infiltrated by Wesen up to and including any of the past Popes?
European--
We see how the apparent conflict within the Wesen world closely matches what we know about European history before and during World War Two.
The Verrat (Betrayal and Treachery) an organization loyal to the Seven Families is very much like the S.S. of Nazi Germany and why wouldn’t it be since it has been revealed that Hitler himself was a Wesen.
The Laufer (Bishop/Chess pieces) the resistance against the expansion of the families matches the French resistance of World War Two. (A French resistance made up not of humans but of Wesen?)
As we wrap up our speculations, we go back to where we started with the Brothers Grimm.
In their time, the Grimm Brothers desired a unified Germany instead of the 200 municipalities it had become. (could this of been due by the infighting between the Seven Royal Families that so divided Germany that only the Grimm Brothers were aware of?)
To help achieve this unity the Grimm Brothers desired; they did the only thing they could do to try to inform and warn the world, by recording their observations in Fairy Tale form. Otherwise, no one would have believed them and they would of ended up in prison or an insane asylum. (Would it have been humans that prosecuted and convicted them or the Wesen of the Seven Royal families in order to silence the brothers once and for all?)
Ironically, years after the Grimm Brother’s deaths, their stories ended up being used by the Third Reich as Nazi propaganda. So it appeared that these crafty creatures had used the Grimm’s warnings for their own nefarious purposes.
In hindsight, what we take out of all this speculation may turn out to be very disturbing.
For it may very well turn out that everything we know about our religions, our philosophies, our culture, and our history, is wrong. So there may indeed be a society of undetected creatures living amongst us and, as human beings, we have only been witnesses to their history and not ours.