Haunted Cosmos - The Dusty Tome, Chapter 18: The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Episode Date: August 2, 2023

Please enjoy this Haunted Cosmos special preview of our patron-exclusive show: The Dusty Tome.Love Haunted Cosmos? Get access to our exclusive show, The Dusty Tome, early ad-free access to main episodes, monthly AMA's, and livestreams with Ben and Brian by becoming a patron of the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/HauntedCosmosBuy the Haunted Cosmos book: https://www.newchristendompress.com/cosmos PS: It's also available as an audiobook!During this period between Season 1 and 2 in the month of August, we will be releasing one episode of The Dusty Tome per week until Season 2 begins on September 6th. That's five episodes! We hope you enjoy it; and we do hope you consider becoming a patron to gain access to 20+ episodes of The Dusty Tome, and so much more.We are pleased to share our sponsor for this episode: White Tree Solutions. Business Owners and IT Leaders, this is your trusted partner from strategy to implementation, harnessing the power of data and AI for your success.Visit their website or send them an email, [e-mail] the show

During this liminal time, that seemingly interminable threshold between seasons one and two of Haunted Cosmos, we didn't want to leave you empty-eared. But how do we accomplish this, faithful listener? Well, Brian and I decided that we would do this by inviting you all into the inner circle, the sanctum, the walled garden of haunted cosmos, something that we call the Dusty Tome. The Dusty Tome is our weekly patron exclusive show, full of listener stories, historical oddities, and much more. We've released actually more than 20 of them so far, once a week,

and you can get access to all of them right now by signing on to support our work here at Haunted Cosmos. So each Wednesday, during the month of August in the year of Our Lord, 2023, we'll be releasing an episode of The Dusty Tom to our main feed for your enjoyment. That's right, five glimpses behind the curtain. We hope it helps you get through the endless days

of Haunted Cosmos' first off-season. And if you like what you hear, or if you just want to help us continue to make the show possible, consider chipping in monthly. Patrons get early access to add free main episodes, of course a new dusty tome each week, like I said, and some other fun stuff too, like my own musings on patristic works, deep dives into the stranger stories and holy scriptures, and access to our private chat rooms. Bottom line, our patrons are the best. They're actually the ones who make it possible for us to keep releasing haunted cosmos at all.

So, sign up today at patreon.com slash haunted cosmos or tap the link in the description of this episode. That's about enough rambling for now. Let's get on with the show. We're glad that you're here. But before we get into that really good stuff, there's a few things to note. The Dusty Tome is all about story. That's the whole thing. So don't be going into this thinking that it's extremely theologically insightful, as if the regular show is that.

Or that our sharing of these stories as a blanket endorsement of everything that you're in them is completely true, because it's definitely not that either. Our goal in sharing these is to enjoy the strange, sometimes a little bit creepy, sometimes just wonderfully mysterious stories that come from dwelling in the spoken world that God made. Today's story fits that bill with beautiful precision. It is the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Many know of this tale, and many of those that know it believe it to be pure fiction. If that's you, prepare to rethink your precision.

steeped in the wonderful air of lore that looms over all of the bright medieval ages, it sounds like a fairy tale because it occurred in a time when people still knew that not all fairy tales were just made up. Sometimes they were real. I'll be dropping you into the beginning of my actual reading of the story. You're welcome, by the way, forgetting to skip all of those housekeeping announcements that I normally make our patrons sit through

at the beginning of a dusty tome episode. But, like I said in the intro bumper, If you like what you hear, consider becoming a patron. You'll get immediate access to 20-plus dusty tome shows that are just like this one. And with all that said, sit back, relax, and enjoy the story of Hamelin's Pied Piper. The year of AD 851 was still near the infancy of what we call today the Middle Ages, or the medieval times, or perhaps the worst name for them, the Dark Ages. It was a time of massive world change, and it all happened very rapidly.

The Christian influence continued to spread across the Western world, and it continued to wage war against the Muslim influence in the East. However, in the West, though, it's not like the Christians just found open roads and open arms all the time. Adversity was found on this front, too, at nearly every turn. Christian England was raided in 851 by the pagan Vikings who plundered Canterbury in London, and the many developing states of Europe were vying for political authority, land and civic law control. It was a messy time, but it was also a vibrant time. The liveliness of the time is captured everywhere in medieval literature. These people had a vision of the world

and of the universe whose beauty, purpose, complexity, and duty was genuinely beatific. Some of its technical aspects may have been wrong, sure, but the principles undergirding their view of the created world was one of delight in God and a longing to see his name exalted from the river to the ends of the earth, from the smallest thing in creation on up to the biggest. Yes, indeed, it was a fascinating time. In the neighborhood of Europe that was then known as the Carolingian Empire, and is now known today as modern Germany, Emperor Lothair I reigned on a hotly contested throne. According to his younger brothers, Louis the German and Charles the Bald, which is a great name, Lothair had dishonored their father Louis the Pius by taking full control of his throne

when what he wanted to do was share that royal authority and responsibility with all of his progeny. So Lothair's reception among the nobility and the peoples were mixed, but he didn't really mind that. He continued his expansion of the empire and eventually named himself King of Italy, of Middle France, and of Bavaria. Herein lies the beauty of the medieval mind, though, because today's episode is not about King Loth there. While all of this turmoil was underway, all of this political unrest,

in the vast space of modern Germany and her adjacent bordering countries, the church was just plugging along at her old commission of discipling the nations. In light of that charge from her lord, she thought that now would be a perfect time to set up a new monastery right in the middle of the action. Now, I'm not condoning monasteries, but what I'm saying is that the church, while all this unrest is going on,

is still trying to do her job to the best of her ability, and I am simply being charitable in assuming that the motives were right. So right smack dab, in the middle of the Carolingian Empire, they founded a humble, little monastic life. As the monks did their works of doctorate for the church and other labors to support that primary mission, a small village began to form. By the 12th century, it had become a bustling town of people, just real people of the times, living their lives in light of the Christian vision. Hamelin was the town's name,

and it sat right on the river Wesser. And thus we come to our real period of interest for today. Business owners and IT leaders, turning your data into a tool for growing your business can be overwhelming. Unlock the power of your data with white trees. Sightree Solutions. White Tree Solutions is your trusted partner for data and analytics solutions.

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Or better yet, just check the link. links in this episode's description. White Tree Solutions, your trusted partner from strategy to implementation, harnessing the power of data and AI for your success. The year 1284 was a difficult one for the people of Hamlin. Rats had infiltrated the town and were wreaking havoc on crops, food stores, even drinking water. Of course, they carried horrible diseases as well, and they were everywhere. For whatever reason that is lost to history, the rats were trying to kill Hamelin.

The people were utterly desperate, and the mayor was right there with them. One day, as that mayor sat and pondered, what could be done about this problem? He was told that a guest had arrived from out of town and was seeking his audience. So the mayor obliged, and, to his surprise, in walked a man of pied dress,

that is, wearing clothes of exceptional quality and multiple vibrant colors. He must be a warm, wealthy man, perhaps even a noble, the mayor thought, for who else could afford such lavish clothing in a desperate time like this? The surprise grew for the mayor, though, as this mystery man gave the mayor a proposition. You seem to have a desperate problem with your rats, the man said, and I think I can help you. You see, I'm well practiced on the pipe, and I believe I can lure these rats away with my music, right into the waters of the river, freeing you and your people of this

current plight. As it stands, however, I'm low on funds, and so would like to propose a trade. I get rid of your rats, and you pay me one thousand guilders. A gilder was just a gold penny. The mayor must have had a difficult time holding back a laugh. I mean, let's put ourselves in his shoes. He knew there were certainly power and music and song, but come on, this guy was going to lure a ton of rats, every rat in the city, into drowning itself just because he was good at playing the flute. That's a little doubtful. And whether it was pure desperation, morbid curiosity, rude sarcasm, or perhaps a bit of all three, the mayor actually obliged this gentleman. He said he would gladly pay the thousand guilders, a sum he did not have to give, by the way, for the removal of the rats.

His proposition accepted, the colorful, musical man walked out of the mayor's quarters and got right to work, and wouldn't you know it? To the complete amazement of the mayor and all the townsfolk who gathered to watch, as this guy started playing the pipe, all the rats followed him calmly and silently out of the city gates and into the middle of the Wester River, where they all promptly drowned. It looks so easy. Maybe almost too easy. And when the initial excitement of it all wore off, the mayor actually grew bitter and angry at the man.

He said, there's no way you could have done that. You must have trained those mice and then planted them here in order to extort Hamlin for money. Or even if you didn't do that, that was too easy for you, and it wasn't worth 1,000 guilders. I will give you 50 guilders and no more. The piper was enraged at this turn of events. He refused the money and stormed out of Hamelin,

telling the people that they would regret rescinding their word to him. He swore horrible revenge. And so sometime later, on St. John and Paul's Day, while the adults were still congregating in the local church, the piper creeped back into the town. His dress was changed now. He was wearing all green, the garb of a hunter, and he was ready to exact his vendetta.

Like I just said, the adults were still in the church, but all the children had left the sanctuary to play outside near the town square. The children, mostly unaware of what had transpired before, just relieved to be able to play outside without rats, innocently watched as a man dressed in green pulled out his pipe and began to play in front of them. Suddenly they were entranced by the tune, unable to think of anything else, unable even to move in any way contrary to the melodies and turns of the music. The piper, having locked the children in the vice grip of his pipe, led them all out of the town and into a cave where they were never heard from again. 130 children of Hamelin died that day. Three survived. A lame child, a deaf child, and a blind child. They heard the music, but they were

unable to follow the rest of the kids. They never left the town. And they sadly had the task of informing the parents of the day's horrible turn once the trance of the music had left them. There is a street at the center of Hamlin named Bungalos and Strassi, the street without drums. It is believed to be the last place that the children were seen,

and to this very day, no music nor dancing are allowed here. Like I said, most people are probably familiar with this story to at least some degree. And it has all of that, creepy and uncanny nostalgia that you love in an old wife's tale from the middle ages. What most people don't know, though, is that this story has a rich and well-documented sapling of truth to it. There is a house in Hamlin called the Rat Catchers House. It includes

a very old inscription on its side, which reads, in the year 1284, on the day of St. John and Paul on the 26th of June, 130 children born in Hamlin were missing. led by a piper clothed in many colors to Calvary near the Colpin and were lost. End quote. In the Church of Hamlin, there used to be a prominent stained glass feature that was made in the year 1300. And while the window was actually destroyed in the year 1660, we know it existed and we know what was on it because of how many popular documents contain a detailed description

that were written in that time. One of the central features on this window was that of a colorful figure playing a pipe, while many children dressed in all white followed him outside of the town. Even town records from as early as 1384 record some lasting memory of a horrible tragedy. That town record states, quote, it is 100 years since our children left, end quote. An account was found written on the back of a chronicle called The Goal, golden chain, written in Latin in 1370 by the monk Heinrich of Hereford, which tells the story thus.

Quote, here follows a marvelous wonder, which transpired in the town of Hamelin and the diocese of Menden, in the year of our Lord, 1284, on the feast of St. John and Paul. A certain young man, 30 years of age, handsome and well-dressed, so that all who saw him admired him because of his appearance, crossed the bridges, and entered the town by the west gate. He then began to play all through the town a silver pipe of the most magnificent sort. All the children who heard his pipe, in the number of 130, followed him to the east gate and out of the town to the so-called execution place, or cavalry. There they proceeded to vanish so that no trace of them could be found. The mothers of the children ran from town to town, but they found nothing.

It is written, a voice was heard from on high, and a mother was bewailing her son. And as one counts the years according to the year of our Lord, or according to the first, second, or third year of an anniversary, so do the people of Hamlin reckon the years after the departure and disappearance of their children. This report I found in an old book, and the mother of the dean, Johann van Lood saw the children depart. There is even an account of the event inscribed on the Hamlin Town Gate from the year 1556, which says the following, quote, In the year 1556, 272 years after the magician stole 130 children from the city,

this gate was founded, end quote. Did you catch that? They call this mystery man a magician. Hmm. Certainly there's no. nothing there. Wink, wink. As far as the causes proposed by modern historians, many chalked up to silly, stupid, overly spiritual, naive Christians trying to find some evil person or thing to blame their very

natural troubles on. Some believe that the children were victim to starvation or plague, that somehow the parents were immune to both of those things, or perhaps even the parents stole the food for themselves, and so let their children do. die, and that the piper represents the symbolic figure of death who led the children joyfully into the grave in the afterlife. They say that this protected the parents from facing the brutality of what they had done. It allowed them to assure themselves that the children were all in a much better and happier place. How modern people are able to so easily and uncharitably assume the absolute worst and literally everyone will never cease to amaze me.

But this isn't the only explanation. One theory posits that the kids were all playing in the river when a mudslide suddenly crushed them, bearing them alive. Another interpretation is that the Hamelin children were kidnapped by local pagan sex and taken away where they were forced to participate in the annual midsummer celebrations, and they were either sacrificed or killed by some other natural disaster.

A last very popular theory is that the children migrant a way to help populate underdeveloped lands. Apparently, overpopulation was a huge concern for the medevils, who lived in riverfront towns with virtually no enemies close by, and who only had 130 children across the entire city. Sure, that sounds very crowded. But then again, maybe it wasn't all the children that perished. Maybe it was a genuinely crowded place,

and so the parents parted ways with some of the older children so that they might go and settle and Christianize new lands, in something like Transylvania. This really is possible. I'm not being 100% sarcastic. One idea pegged to this theory is that the parents had actually sold their children to population recruiters

who would take kids and plant them in newly settled regions of the Baltics to help boost the population growth there. Once again, you've got to love the pessimistic narcissism of a modern atheist historian. At any rate, here's what we know.

We know something happened in Hamelin in 1284. It was something that cost them 130 of their children. It was something the townsfolk remembered with sorrow and despair. It was tragic. It was unexpected. It was fast. Like a thief in the night. What was it?

Well, we really don't know. Maybe it was a magician. maybe it was a mudslide, but it was most certainly very strange. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Dusty Tome. Stay curious and keep a ready sword. Want more Hunted Cosmos? Then make your way over to Patreon

where you can get early access to our content as well as exclusive content in regular dusty tomes and monthly live streams with Brian and myself. So go to patreon.com slash haunted cosmos and sign up now.