The legend dates back to the Middle Ages. The earliest references describe a piper, dressed in multicoloured " pied " clothing, who was a rat catcher hired by the town to lure rats away [ 1 ] with his magic pipe. When the citizens refused to pay for this service as promised, he retaliated by using his instrument's magical power on their children, leading them away as he had the rats.
This version of the story spread as folklore and has appeared in the writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , the Brothers Grimm , and Robert Browning , among others. The phrase "pied piper" has become a metaphor for a person who attracts a following through charisma or false promises. There are many contradictory theories about the Pied Piper. Some suggest he was a symbol of hope to the people of Hamelin, which had been attacked by plague ; he drove the rats from Hamelin, saving the people from the epidemic.
In , while the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, a piper dressed in multicoloured "pied" clothing appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the mayor a solution to their problem with the rats. The mayor , in turn, promised to pay him 1, guilders for the removal of the rats. The piper accepted and played his pipe to lure the rats into the Weser River , where all the rats drowned.
Despite the piper's success, the mayor reneged on his promise and refused to pay him the full sum reputedly reduced to 50 guilders even going so far as to blame the piper for bringing the rats himself in an extortion attempt.
Enraged, the piper stormed out of the town, vowing to return later to take revenge. On Saint John and Paul 's day, while the adults were in church, the piper returned, dressed in green like a hunter and playing his pipe.
