Further Study and Interest
The intent of this section is to highlight various cultural parallels which can be looked at in conjunction with The Pied Piper of Hamelin. These references may or may not include information covered in your curriculum. They are highlighted to give you the opportunity to take a closer look at the themes and issues presented in the production, and to provide students with a wider cultural experience.
This play provides an opportunity for a conversation with students on rules and boundaries. What would it be like to live free from rules or boundaries set by parents/guardians or teachers for that matter? Although the prospect of freedom may be attractive, the well being of a child can be greatly affected by the guidance of rules and boundaries or lack thereof.
The Children's Crusades
In the early thirteenth century two separate, yet related events occurred. In France a twelve-year-old shepherd boy named Stephan claimed he saw a vision of Jesus call him to lead an army of children to Palestine to liberate that Holy Land from Islam. In Germany, near Cologne, a ten-year-old boy named Nicholas claimed a similar vision.
Thousands of children joined the crusades in which God would honour the innocence and purity of children. The children of both countries were to win the hearts of their enemy by love and pure faith. The two simultaneous pilgrimages were together called the 'Children's Crusade'.
Through the summer, children began to migrate toward Marseilles, in France, and toward Genoa or Rome from Germany. Estimates vary from 10 000 to 50 000 children in each of the two groups.
Despite their sincerity, both the French and German children suffered unspeakable hardship. Their misguided 'faith' cost the lives of many French children, and nearly all the Germans. Those who did not perish by the natural forces of starvation, disease or exposure were deceptively loaded into ships and sold in the slave markets of North Africa. Again, this is a reference to the loss of a generation of children. Here are some further web sources you might find helpful:
Activity
The Passing on of Information
In many ancient tribes, families passed down their history and traditions down the generations verbally: this is the way their heritage was kept alive. Discuss the idea of the passing on of information, history and traditions and relate it to today (for example, many families celebrate Christmas a certain way each year). Then discuss how in The Pied Piper of Hamelin, an entire generation was lost. How would this have affected the passing down of the town's history? Would part of their history be lost?