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river near the town a channel was cut in 1734, the repairing and deepening of which, begun in 1868, was completed in 1873. The Weser is here crossed by an See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron suspension See also:

BRIDGE

bridge 83o ft. in length, supported by a See also:

PIER (older forms per or Pere, from Med. Lat. pera; the word for piers out of water. For river piers, where a firm, watertight is of obscure origin, and the connexion with Fr. Pierre, Lat. stratum is found at a moderate depth below the river-bed, the pctr

pier erected on an See also:

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island in the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the river. The older name of Hameln was Hameloa or Hamelowe, and the town owes its origin to an See also:

abbey.

It existed as a town as See also:

early as the 11th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and in 1259 it was sold by the abbotof See also:

FULDA

Fulda to the See also:

bishop of Minden, afterwards passing under the See also:

PROTECTION

protection of the See also:

dukes of Brunswick. About 1540 the See also:

Reformation gained an entrance into the town, which was taken by both parties during the See also:

THIRTY

Thirty Years' See also:

War. In 1757 it capitulated to the See also:

French, who, however, vacated it in the following See also:

YEAR

year. Its fortifications were strengthened in 1766 by the erection of Fort See also:

George, on an See also:

EMINENCE (Lat. eminentia)

eminence to the See also:

west of the town, across the river. On the See also:

CAPITULATION (Lat. capitulum, a little head or division; capitulare, to treat upon terms)

capitulation of the Hanoverian See also:

army in 1803 Hameln See also:

fell into the hands of the French; it was retaken by the Prussians in 18o6, but, after the See also:

BATTLE

battle of See also:

JENA

Jena, again passed to the French, who dismantled the fortifications and incorporated the town in the See also:

KINGDOM

kingdom of See also:

Westphalia. In 1814 it again became Hanoverian, but in 1866 fell with that kingdom to See also:

Prussia. Legend of the Pied See also:

PIPER, CARL, COUNT (1647-1716)

Piper.—Hameln is famed as the See also:

SCENE (Fr. scene, Lat. scaena, Gr. oflvil, a tent or booth, a stage or scene)

scene of the myth of the piper of Hameln. According to the legend, the town in the year 1284 was infested by a terrible See also:

PLAGUE (in Gr. Xotµos; in Lat. pestis, pestilentia)

plague of rats. One See also:

day there appeared upon the scene a piper clad in a fantastic suit, who offered for a certain sum of See also:

MONEY

money to See also:

CHARM (through the Fr. from the Lat. carmen, a song)

charm all the See also:

VERMIN (Fr. vermine, formed as if from Lat. verminus, vcrmis, a worm)

vermin into the Weser. His conditions were agreed to, but after he had fulfilled his promise the inhabitants, on the ground that he was a sorcerer, declined to fulfil their part of the bargain, whereupon on the 26th of See also:

JUNE

June he reappeared in the streets of the town, and putting his See also:

PIPE

pipe to his lips began a soft and curious See also:

STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain. This See also:

drew all the See also:

CHILDREN, LAW RELATING TO

children after him and he led them out of the town to the Koppelberg See also:

hill, in the See also:

side of which a See also:

DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door suddenly opened, by which he entered and the children after him, all but one who was lame and could not follow fast enough to reach the door before it shut again. Some trace the origin of the legend to the Children's Crusade of 1211; others to an See also:

ABDUCTION (Lat. abductio, abducere, to lead away)

abduction of children; and others to a dancing See also:

MANIA

mania which seized upon some of the See also:

young See also:

PEOPLE

people of Hameln who See also:

LEFT

left the town on a mad See also:

PILGRIMAGE (Fr. pelerinage, Lat. peregrinatio)

pilgrimage from which they never returned.

For a considerable See also:

time the town dated its public documents from the event. The See also:

story is the subject of a poem by See also:

Robert See also:

Browning, and also of one by See also:

JULIUS

Julius See also:

Wolff. Curious See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence that the story rests on a basis of truth is given by the fact that the Koppelberg is not one of the imposing hills by which Hameln is surrounded, but no more than a slight See also:

ELEVATION

elevation of the ground, barely high enough to hide the children from view as they left the town. See C. Langlotz, Geschichte der Stadt Hameln(Hameln, 1888 fol.); See also:

SPRENGER, JAKOB (fl. 1500)

Sprenger, Geschichte der Stadt Hameln (1861); O. Meinardus, Der historische See also:

KERN, JAN HENDRIK (1833– )

Kern der Rattenfangersage (Hameln, 1882) ; Jostes, Der Rattenfanger von Hameln (See also:

BONN

Bonn, 1885) ; and S. See also:

BARING

Baring-See also:

Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (1868).

End of Article: HAMELN

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