Until now, the German town of Hameln keeps a secret, where amazing events took place, which subsequently worried more than one generation of writers, scientists and poets. It will focus on the famous story of the Hameln flutist rat-catcher and the children allegedly killed by him.
This legend was so popular in creative circles that its plot was inspired at different times by such celebrities as Heinrich Heine and Prosper Mérimée, the English poet Robert Browning with his poem "The Flutist from Hameln" and Valery Bryusov. In this list we will also meet Goethe, who dedicated a large ballad to the main character of our story.
What does the legend itself say? During the Middle Ages in Saxony, an oral tradition was formed that tells how Hameln became the target of an attack by hordes of voracious rats. The local magistrate was at a loss, the inhabitants panicked. But a flutist unexpectedly came to the aid of the townspeople. With the help of his instrument, he lured the rats out of the city gates and, mesmerized with magic music, made them plunge into the waters of the Weser River one after another. But the greedy fathers of the city refused to pay the promised flutist. Then, leaving Hamelin, he played again in anger. However, now it was no longer rodents who followed him, but the children of ungrateful townspeople. And no one was able to stop either them or the magician musician. No one has ever seen more children.
This is the legend. But is it a legend? Already in a number of medieval documents, confirmation is found that the legend of the rat-catcher is most likely not a fiction, but a real historical event. For example, the city chronicle says: “In 1284, on the day of John and Paul, which was on the 26th day of the month of June, a flutist dressed in colorful veils led out of the city one hundred and thirty children born in Hameln to Koppen, near Calvaria, where they disappeared."
In this text, as we can see, only bare facts are given, in no way explaining the meaning of what happened. It is still unclear how the mysterious flutist managed to subdue the children to his will and, most importantly, to “neutralize” the parents. These days, most likely, it would be assumed that the rat-catcher mastered the art of mass hypnosis.
In the period of the XVI-XVII centuries, there was another curious passage in the legend, which later disappeared. It said that the two children still managed to escape, and they told the residents of the city the details of the disappearance of their comrades. From their confused story, it follows that, falling behind due to fatigue from other children, they saw how the children followed the rat-catcher into a mountain cave and the stone walls closed behind them. A few weeks after these events, one of the surviving children became numb and the other lost his sight. Superstitious townspeople considered the incident to be the machinations of Satan. They were sure that it was he who had come to the city under the guise of a flutist.
In addition to the lack of facts reflected in the chronicles and books, the study of the mysterious history is also hampered by the fact that some time after the events described in Hameln, a plague epidemic began, which took away most of the witnesses of the tragedy.
Nowadays, many versions have been proposed that try to scientifically explain the history of the Hameln rat-catcher without any mysticism and devilry. Some researchers believed that an epidemic of plague or diphtheria occurred in the city, which killed children, and the image of the flutist was considered an allegorical symbol of the disease that entered the city. Others hypothesized that the characters in the drama were not children, but young townspeople who fell in battle with the troops of the bishop of the Westphalian city of Minden. However, this battle took place a quarter of a century before 1284 and no more than thirty people were killed in it. Moreover, it is not at all clear how such a strong distortion of real events occurred? Is that to refer to a dubious document: they say, in life, and not that happens …
Promotional video:
A more interesting hypothesis was put forward by the scientist Maynard, who argued that children fell victim to a special "dance psychosis" that gripped them. He gives numerous examples of such cases from the field of history and medicine. Let us recall at least the episode with the Children's Crusades, when adolescents, as if seized by sudden madness, set off unarmed, hoping to defeat Muslims with the help of religious songs.
Another version boils down to the following. In 1284, a certain recruiter, passing through Hameln, persuaded the young townspeople to follow him to relocate to another place. Crossing the mountains, all these people ended up on the territory of modern Romania and settled there.
In support of this theory, they pointed to a 16th century stained glass window installed in the Hameln Cathedral of Martkirche. It depicts the departure of the children following the Emigration Agent.
The suggested solution seems likely, but only at first glance. It should be borne in mind that in the 13th century, the urban population of Europe for the most part belonged to certain craft guilds, and senior craftsmen would hardly have let their children go on such a journey. This would mean the loss of the successors of the family professions and would lead to the collapse of entire industries. It was easy to take off and leave the city only to be empty - people who did not have a permanent income and profession, and recruiters did not need such people.
So, there are many versions, "And things are still there." But the scientists got down to business more seriously. In the 80s of the last century, the famous German researcher Waltraud Weller went to the ill-fated place and tried to solve the riddle of Hamelin. First of all, she decided to find those places about which the city chronicle reported. The search for the mountainous area called Coppen continued for a long time. At first, it was mistaken for a large hill, not far from the entrance to Hameln. However, no caves were found in it. Then it was decided to check more remote areas: and now the efforts of Frau Weller were ultimately crowned with success. As it turned out, fifteen kilometers from the city gates of Hameln in the mountains there is a swampy pit, surrounded on all sides by gloomy rocks. Local residents do not like to go there and call it "Devil's Pit". Rocks,framing the depression, are steep: only one narrow gorge, which is practically impassable today, leads to it. The bottom of the basin is occupied by a quagmire, partially covered with boulders and half-decayed tree trunks.
As Weller later recalled, even seven hundred years after the tragedy, the place looked so ominous that she felt uneasy. Continuing her work, the indefatigable German woman found out that the ruins nearby had once been a castle that bore the name of Eoppenbrug. The small village of Coppenbrügge was located nearby. Local old-timers, as Weller writes, still tell stories about how some people died in the Black Pit.
Now it was necessary to establish why the Hameln children had died and why they were so far from their homes. Once again, Weller turned to history. The calendar helped her: after all, the day of June 26 is so close to the 21st day - the time of summer standing, which has always been widely celebrated in Western Europe. The researcher found that on the rocks surrounding the "Devil's Pit", these days there have long been festivities and bonfires. So, probably, on June 26, 1284, crowds of children, led by a certain flutist, went to those lands to have fun and arrange their own separate holiday. “The long road,” writes the researcher, “has tired the youth. When the procession arrived at the place, it was already dark, and the children, getting lost, could well end up in the swamp. Perhaps, the catastrophe was aggravated by the collapse, which cut off the way back for people.
Weller believes that her version is the most reliable of all. She suggested starting archaeological excavations in the "Devil's Pit" in order to discover the mummified remains of the dead - studies of the chemical composition of the silt showed that it was supposed to contribute to mummification. However, the government refused to fund the event. And Weller's hypothesis has enough flaws. First, the day is not quite the same. Secondly, it is not clear what the rats mentioned in the legend have to do with it? Ms. Weller suggests that the entire episode with them is a late insertion into the text. By the 16th century, Hameln had become a solid trade center, as shipping on the Weser River was busy - after all, downstream lay the even richer city of Bremen. Hameln's position was envied by his poorer neighbors, so to emphasize this inequality,the story of the rat-catcher who punished the greedy townspeople was included in the legend.
It would seem that the essence of the matter is clear, but questions that do not have an answer still remain. Believe it or not, there is an ominous note in what happened. If the chronicles correct it a little, it can be assumed that the tragedy occurred precisely on the mystical day of the solstice (June 21). Why on this particular day and not on any other? Coincidence? Perhaps … But here's one touch. Why was the flutist, according to legend, wearing a red and yellow suit? Let me remind the reader that in clothes of these colors, those convicted of having a relationship with the devil rose to the fires of the Inquisition.
Researchers also pay little attention to the description of the "Devil's Pit" itself. But on the basis of what has been said, it can be assumed that it belongs to the category of the perished, or, in the language of modern science, to geopathogenic zones. But since ancient times they have been considered channels of communication with the lower - demonic worlds. In contrast to them, there are also light zones - places of connection with the higher worlds. It remains only to find out why the messenger of the demonic worlds needed children. Will we ever find out?..
Source: “Interesting Newspaper Plus. Mysteries of Civilization №8 (132). V. Konstantinov