Is The Story of The Pied Piper True??
Do you know the story of the Pied Piper? One of the most popular stories from the Brothers Grimm’s collections of legends and fairy tales, the probability would surmise most have. As most know the story, few know the tragic origin. Today, we’ll briefly cover the story and then discuss the origin along with some theories.
Hamelin a small town in north-western Germany during the 13th century faced a destructive infestation of thousands of rats. Day after day the rats were growing in number and needed to be dealt with, but no one knew what to do, the rats numbered too large. One day in 1284 a brightly dressed man walked into town and approached the mayor. The strange man arrived with a plan to help the town with their rat problem, for a price. The man said for 1000 guilders he could rid them of the rats for good. Townspeople were thrilled and filled with relief to hear this and urged the mayor to agree. The mayor agreed. That night the man returned with a pipe his only weapon, he placed the pipe to his lips and began walking through the town playing a tune, and as he walked the rats came out in the open, and followed him as if under a spell. He was a wizard with his pipe sending the rats wherever he wanted them to go, leading them towards the river on the edge of town. At the bank of the river he stood and played as the rats flung themselves in and drowned. When the piper came to collect his fee, the mayor refused to pay him, his anger stoked he left. He returned later, pipe in hand, and began playing once again, this time the 130 children of the town left with him, never to be seen again.
I have always wondered if this story was based on some amount of truth and it turns out it might be. It might even all be true, which would be so cool. Not kidnapping children that part is really sad, but the magic pipe player that plays tunes that can control reality? That’s pretty cool, almost like a medieval infinity stone. Hamelin is an actual city in Germany roughly 226 miles from Berlin. A church in Hamelin had a stained-glass window that featured a colorfully clothed man playing a pipe to children who appeared to be following him into the forest. The town chronicles from 1384 state, “it has been 100 years since our children left.” these tangible pieces of evidence lead me along with various historical and literary professors to believe the mass-kidnapping at least happened. If the kidnapping is a matter of historical record, what happened?
Some theories state that the piper is a personification of death, instead of being kidnapped the children all died of a plague caused by all the rats, a sort of precursor to the bubonic plague that would wipe out half the world 50 years after these events. Others say the children were lured into the forest by pagans for a ritual dance and sacrificed. The first of three theories that are much more probable states that the children were all recruited by or sold to men called lokators. Lokators were the men in charge of finding settlers to send to the east towards modern-day Berlin and as far as Poland, which was open for Germanic expansion after the Danes’ defeat in 1227. A literary professor named Jürgen Udolph used the surnames of the townspeople in 1284 and found many of the same names in areas north of Berlin and around Poland. Another theory involves a mass psychological phenomenon common during the time known as dance mania. This phenomenon caused groups of people to dance uncontrollably over long distances. One instance in 1237, a large group of kids danced from the capital Erfurt 12.5 miles to Arnstadt. It’s also possible they left as part of a pilgrimage, children’s crusade, or military campaign, and the pied piper story was created as a way to avoid the wrath of the church or king for these actions. Based on the evidence found by Professor Udolph the lokator theory holds best, but I find the dance mania to be the most probable cause. The piper is a personification of the inexplicable phenomenon just like his pipe-playing putting a spell over the rats. The psychological mystery casts a spell over its victims causing them to seem insane and travel large distances.
What do you think happened in Hamelin, 1284? Did it happen at all? Comment what your thoughts are below and as always have a great day and join us again next time.
