The Strange Case Of... The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The Grimmest of fairy tales or a fanciful reimagining of real events?
Hamelin Town's in Brunswick,
By famous Hanover city;
The river Weser, deep and wide,
Washes its wall on the southern side;
A pleasanter spot you never spied;
But, when begins my ditty,
Almost five hundred years ago,
To see the townsfolk suffer so
From vermin, was a pity.
Robert Browning, ‘The Pied Piper Of Hamelin’
Few fairy tales are quite as terrifying as that of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Popularised by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm - although it was first recounted 400 years before their birthes - what makes the story that much more frightening is the fact it appears to have a basis in fact.
In the version of the story told by the Grimms and the Welsh poet Robert Browning, the German town of Hamelin is suffering from horrific rat infestation. With all conventional methods having failed, the townsfolk enlist the help of an enigmatic piper, who uses his instrument to lure the rodents to their death in the River Weser.
The people of Hamelin are delighted to be free of the pests. However, the council aren't too happy about paying the Piper his asking price. Enraged, the musician puts his instrument to his lips a second time. This time, it's the town's children who find themselves unable to resist his song and despite the best efforts of their parents, they gallop after the stranger until they and the Piper reach a mountain range into which he and his victims disappear forever. A lame boy is the sole survivor of the experience, returning home to tell the townsfolk what happened to their offspring and to express his frustration at being unable to follow them.
For years, the Piper's story seemed little more than a cautionary tale. With research, however, has come the discovery that, far from being fiction, the celebrated tale might be inspired by two separate historical events. The first of these was the plague, the combating of which made the black rat public enemy number one. While it's doubtful a man with a colourful suit and a recorder could free an infested town, the first part of the story would appear to be a spin on what was a very real fear in Medieval Europe.
As for the disappearance of Hamelin's children, this would seem to allude either to a Children's Crusade - the gathering up of young people to participate in the all-consuming Holy Wars - or, as seems more probable, emigration to the Baltic states. As is the case today, emigration is especially popular with the young, and since it's well documented that people in modern-day Germany did relocate to Estonia in the 13th century, it's possible that the story was the means by which Hamelin's older generation expressed their sadness about their offspring being lured away by the promise of a better life.
These aren't the only theories to address the matter of Hamelin and its missing children - some incredibly dark souls at the University Of Virginia have even suggested the legend refers to a primitive paedophile ring. Those who think the story is nothing but a fairytale would do well to remember one thing - to this day, it is illegal to dance or play music in Bungelosenstrasse, the street down which the Piper is said to have marched the boys and girls of Hamelin.
When, lo, as they reached the mountain-side,
A wondrous portal opened wide,
As if a cavern was suddenly hollowed;
And the Piper advanced and the children followed,
And when all were in to the very last,
The door in the mountain-side shut fast.
Did I say, all? No! One was lame,
And could not dance the whole of the way;
And in after years, if you would blame
His sadness, he was used to say -
"It's dull in our town since my playmates left!
”I can't forget that I'm bereft
”Of all the pleasant sights they see,
”Which the Piper also promised me. "