Post by hi224 on Sept 15, 2020 17:18:38 GMT
Most people are familiar with the story of the Pied Piper. There are several versions of the legend, and although the details vary slightly, the premise is always the same; the city of Hamelin is suffering a plague of rats. A mysterious stranger wearing colorful (pied) clothing appears claiming that he can help, and is hired for a specific sum. The stranger plays his magic flute, which causes all the rats to follow him. The Piper leads the rats to their doom (in some versions into the river, in some versions it’s unspecified) and comes back to collect his fee. However, the city refuses to pay him. Furious, the Piper again plays his flute, except this time it’s the town’s children who follow him. He leads the children away, and neither they nor the Piper are ever seen again
What many people don’t realize is that this dark tale seems to be based off of a very real and tragic episode in Hamelin’s past. A plaque on Hamelin’s “Pied Piper House”, which dates to 1602, reads ““A.D. 1284 – on the 26th of June – the day of St John and St Paul – 130 children – born in Hamelin – were led out of the town by a piper wearing multicoloured clothes. After passing the Calvary near the Koppenberg they disappeared forever.”” There are historical accounts of a stained glass window dating to 1300 in St. Nicolai’s Church showing the Pied Piper leading the children away, inscribed with the words "On the day of John and Paul 130 children in Hamelin went to Calvary and were brought through all kinds of danger to the Koppen mountain and lost." (The window was destroyed in the 1600s). An account dating to 1450 known as the Lüneburg manuscript, tells of a monk who states that a man in his 30s wearing multi-colored clothes came to the town and led the children away. Perhaps the earliest account of what really happened in Hamelin is a note in the town's ledger from 1384, stating “It is 100 years since our children left.”
What’s notable about all of these accounts is that the date is always the same-the Feast of St. John and St. Paul (June 26th) of 1284-and the number of children (130) is likewise consistent.
So what actually happened in Hamelin? Some theories suggest that the Piper was actually a recruiter who was organizing migrants, and used his colorful clothing and pipe to attract potential settlers. Possible locations for this migration include Transylvania or Berlin, where family names common in Hamelin show up with surprising frequency. Another theory is that the Piper was recruiting children for a Crusade.
Some speculate that the story is a metaphor for a plague that came and wiped out the children, and the Piper is a stand-in for Death, although the question remains why no adults were affected.
A very interesting theory involves what’s known as “dancing mania”, a form of mass hysteria. As the BBC describes, “... the dance could spread from individuals to large groups, all driven by an unshakeable compulsion to dance feverishly, sometimes for weeks, often leaping and singing and sometimes hallucinating to the point of exhaustion and occasionally death, like a top that can’t stop spinning.” There was actually a documented case of dancing mania in the 13th century in the town of Erfurt, south of Hamelin, where several children literally danced themselves to death.
One more theory has to do with the date the children disappeared. Besides being a Christian Feast Day, June 26th was the date of the pagan midsummer celebrations. Some scholars suggest that the children were being led to the festivities, when a local Christian faction, hoping to wipe out the pagan practices, either intercepted the group and slaughtered them, or kidnapped them and forced them into monasteries.
It’s likely the truth about what happened in Hamelin will never be known for sure. What’s is sure is that the Piper, whoever or whatever he was, had a larger impact on the world than anyone could ever have thought at the time.
Sources...http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200902-the-grim-truth-behind-the-pied-piper?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2F
history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/pied-piper.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin#cite_note-25
What many people don’t realize is that this dark tale seems to be based off of a very real and tragic episode in Hamelin’s past. A plaque on Hamelin’s “Pied Piper House”, which dates to 1602, reads ““A.D. 1284 – on the 26th of June – the day of St John and St Paul – 130 children – born in Hamelin – were led out of the town by a piper wearing multicoloured clothes. After passing the Calvary near the Koppenberg they disappeared forever.”” There are historical accounts of a stained glass window dating to 1300 in St. Nicolai’s Church showing the Pied Piper leading the children away, inscribed with the words "On the day of John and Paul 130 children in Hamelin went to Calvary and were brought through all kinds of danger to the Koppen mountain and lost." (The window was destroyed in the 1600s). An account dating to 1450 known as the Lüneburg manuscript, tells of a monk who states that a man in his 30s wearing multi-colored clothes came to the town and led the children away. Perhaps the earliest account of what really happened in Hamelin is a note in the town's ledger from 1384, stating “It is 100 years since our children left.”
What’s notable about all of these accounts is that the date is always the same-the Feast of St. John and St. Paul (June 26th) of 1284-and the number of children (130) is likewise consistent.
So what actually happened in Hamelin? Some theories suggest that the Piper was actually a recruiter who was organizing migrants, and used his colorful clothing and pipe to attract potential settlers. Possible locations for this migration include Transylvania or Berlin, where family names common in Hamelin show up with surprising frequency. Another theory is that the Piper was recruiting children for a Crusade.
Some speculate that the story is a metaphor for a plague that came and wiped out the children, and the Piper is a stand-in for Death, although the question remains why no adults were affected.
A very interesting theory involves what’s known as “dancing mania”, a form of mass hysteria. As the BBC describes, “... the dance could spread from individuals to large groups, all driven by an unshakeable compulsion to dance feverishly, sometimes for weeks, often leaping and singing and sometimes hallucinating to the point of exhaustion and occasionally death, like a top that can’t stop spinning.” There was actually a documented case of dancing mania in the 13th century in the town of Erfurt, south of Hamelin, where several children literally danced themselves to death.
One more theory has to do with the date the children disappeared. Besides being a Christian Feast Day, June 26th was the date of the pagan midsummer celebrations. Some scholars suggest that the children were being led to the festivities, when a local Christian faction, hoping to wipe out the pagan practices, either intercepted the group and slaughtered them, or kidnapped them and forced them into monasteries.
It’s likely the truth about what happened in Hamelin will never be known for sure. What’s is sure is that the Piper, whoever or whatever he was, had a larger impact on the world than anyone could ever have thought at the time.
Sources...http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200902-the-grim-truth-behind-the-pied-piper?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2F
history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/pied-piper.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_Piper_of_Hamelin#cite_note-25
