ACH 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Hamelin, Weser
24 Feb 2020
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Document Summary
The pied piper of hamelin (german: rattenf nger von hameln) is the subject of a legend concerning the departure or death of a great many children from the town of hamelin (hameln), The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in pied (multicolored) clothing, leading the children away from the town never to return. In the 16th century the story was expanded into a full narrative, in which the piper is a rat-catcher hired by the town to lure rats away with his magic pipe. When the citizenry refuses to pay for this service, he retaliates by turning his magic on their children, leading them away as he had the rats. This version of the story spread as a fairy tale. This version has also appeared in the writings of, among others, johann wolfgang von goethe, the brothers grimm and robert browning. The story may reflect a historical event in which hamelin lost its children.
