Exploring the True Origins of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.A Brothers Grimm Story Proven Right: Many Fairy Tales Stem from Ancient Oral Traditions.Moreover, the stained glass window and other primary written sources do not speak of the plague of rats. Incidentally, it is said that the rats were absent from earlier accounts, and only added to the story around the middle of the 16th century. The supposed street where the children were last seen is today called Bungelosenstrasse (street without drums), as no one is allowed to play music or dance there. The oldest known picture of the Pied Piper copied from the glass window of the Market Church in Hameln/Hamelin Germany (c.1300-1633). The oldest comes from the Lueneburg manuscript (c 1440 – 50), which stated: “In the year of 1284, on the day of Saints John and Paul on June 26, by a piper, clothed in many kinds of colours, 130 children born in Hamelin were seduced, and lost at the place of execution near the koppen.” A 1384 entry in Hamelin’s town records also grimly states “It is 100 years since our children left.” Although it was destroyed in 1660, several written accounts have survived. It is depicted in a stained glass window created for the church of Hamelin, which dates to around 1300 AD. The earliest known record of this story is from the town of Hamelin itself. One of these children was lame, and could not keep up, another was deaf and could not hear the music, while the third one was blind and could not see where the other children were going. Nevertheless, one or three children were left behind, depending on which version is being told. The Pied Piper leading Hamelin’s children away. On July 26 of that same year, the piper returned and led the children away, never to be seen again, just as he did the rats. This piper promised to get rid of the rats in return for a payment, to which the townspeople agreed.Īlthough the piper got rid of the rats by leading them away with his music, the people of Hamelin reneged on their promise. This town was facing a rat infestation, and a piper, dressed in a coat of many colored, bright cloth, appeared.

The Pied Piper of Hamelin Storyįor those unfamiliar with the tale, the Pied Piper of Hamelin is set in 1284 in the town of Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany. Few realize however, that the story is based on real events, which evolved over the years into a fairy tale made to scare children. Many are familiar with the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Robert Browning, The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Child’s Story When, lo! as they reached the mountain-side,Īnd the Piper advanced and the children followed,

The poem the pied piper of hamelin