An old German legend has lived for over seven hundred years, and scientists still cannot dismiss it as a myth. The story originates in the small town of Hamelin during the 1284 rat infestation. It recounts the tale or history of a mysterious Pied Piper or rat catcher.
The busy, little town was overrun with rats. Some stories state that the rats were so huge that they fought the dogs, killed the cats, and bit the babies in their cradles.
There have been many recounts of this German tale, my favorites being Robert Browning and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in the Brothers Grimm. Both writers do an excellent job of reshaping the fictional piece in short story format.
There were rats everywhere, and daily bounty hunters failed to destroy them or relieve the townsfolk of their misery. During one meeting hosted by the mayor in the town hall, a piper dressed in pied clothing entered and offered to rid the town of all its rats.
The mayor was quick to offer the full bounty price. The piper accepted and took to the streets, where he started to play an enchanting melody on his pipe. To the people’s surprise, all the rats followed him to a nearby river, where they drowned.
The piper returned to the town hall for his salary, but the mayor and everyone reneged on the deal. Disappointed, once again, the piper took to the streets. This time, his music was followed by all the Hamelin children. They disappeared with him, never to be seen again.
Experts Are Still Puzzled by the Pied Piper Legend
The story’s origin and the evidence found strongly suggest that this story may be more than just a myth. Here are the top ten reasons the Hamelin disappearances might be actual.
10) The Stained Church Window
The first evidence appears in one of the Hamelin Catholic churches around 1300. The church was destroyed in 1660, but the famous historian Hans Dobbertin re-painted the picture, which shows the piper dancing in the streets with the children.
9) Decan Lude Saw the Pied Piper
The famous hymn writer Decan Lude received a witness testimony. He confessed to seeing the pied piper leaving Hamelin with the children. He published it in 1384.
8) The Golden Chain
Written by a catholic monk, Heinrich of Hereford, in 1370, and offers more details on the incident, including:
- The name of the diocese: Minden,
- The number of children taken: 130,
- The name of the gate through which they went: the East Gate and
- He also noted that the piper was about thirty years old.
7) The ‘Rat Catcher’s House’
This is a title given to a house where someone wrote a note on the wall. The writing said, ‘In the year 1284, on the day of John and Paul on June 26, 130 children born in Hamelin were misled by a piper clothed in many colors to Calvary near the Koppen, lost.’
6) Hochzeitshaus
(The House of Marriage) This saloon was refurbished in 1610 to celebrate marriages. The following was found written on its wall: ‘In the year of Our Lord 1284 went into the Koppen under custody 130 children born in Hamelin by a piper seduced and lost’.
5) The Hamelin Museum
Remember the East Gate through which the children left? The museum still exhibits a piece of this gate with striking details: ‘In the year 1556, 272 years after the magician stole 130 children from the city, this gate was founded.’
4) “Zu Hameln im Kloster’
A collection of rhymes mourns the loss of 130 children from Hamelin. This collection was created by clergy to console the families who lost their children
3) The 1761 Manuscript
Johann Daniel Gottlieb Her wrote below his verses: ‘In the year one thousand two hundred and eighty-four, on the day of John and Paul, the Hamelin lost a hundred and thirty children who entered Calvary mount.’
2) Hamelin youths in what is now Poland
Top researchers and linguistics have identified the exact number of missing children’s family names in Poland, far south of Hamelin. Linguistics professor Jürgen Udolph supports the theory that the families did appear from Hamelin. Is it possible the Pied Piper led them there?
1) 130 Children
All the stories have two things in common: They strongly confirm that 130 children went missing from the town of Hamelin on June 26, 1284.
Experts, as scientific as they can get, are unable to rule out the strong possibility that the children of Hamelin did disappear with someone. When we align the evidence and create a timeline, we can easily see a pattern uncommon in ancient myths.
Most myths have different locations, varied outcomes, and different dates. The Pied Piper mystery has only one fixed date: June 26, 1284. More than thirty witnesses, including monks, priests, writers, historians, and poets, have all agreed on the set date. So yes, on this date, the children did go missing.
Another interesting fact of the historical data that evades a mythical origin is the number of children who went missing: 130. There are no deviations from this number; all come to the same conclusion. There were one hundred and thirty children who went missing.
Even though modern storytellers have added to the Pied Piper legend, researchers have found more evidence in Poland. In just about the same era and period, German families with the same last names as those who left Hamelin arrived inexplicably. Some suggest that they may have been sold into slavery or went independently in search of jobs.
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