No. 495
Mr. Jakob Grimm
submitted his Deed of Legitimacy as deputy to the constituent National Assembly
to the undersigned commission today.
Frankfurt a.M. the 22nd May 1848.
The Preparatory Commission
of the Constituent National Assembly.

‘Deed of Legitimacy’ for Jacob Grimm ‘as deputy to the constituent National Assembly’, No. 495, 22nd May 1848
(Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Grimm-Nachlass, Nr. 415)

In accordance with a resolution of the Confederate Diet of 30th March 1848, deputies to the German National Assembly were elected in the various states of the German Confederation. While the electoral laws of these states differed considerably, they all agreed on the election of one deputy per 50,000 inhabitants. The National Assembly held its constituent session at the Paulskirche (St. Paul’s Church) in Frankfurt am Main on 18th May 1848.

As replacements had to be found for around a quarter of the deputies, many of whom arrived late, and as not all of those elected actually showed up in Frankfurt, the exact size of that first parliament is unknown with estimates varying between 799 and 830. The deputies were allocated to one of fifteen sections by drawing lots. To prevent cheating, the sections checked each others’ membership.

The ‘List of those deputies whose Deeds of Legitimacy their sections have recognized as valid’ names both one ‘Grimm from Berlin’ and one ‘Uhland from Tübingen’.