The Pied Piper’s pipe

Abstract The story of the Pied Piper attracting rats and children away from the town of Hameln by playing music on a pipe is well known. Artists and writers inspired by the legendary magical qualities of the pipe have associated it with a variety of flutes, bagpipes, and whistles. However, scant academic attention has been paid to what kind of medieval pipe might actually have influenced this unusual story, nor indeed why a pipe, and not perhaps a string or brass instrument, was considered relevant. This essay examines the literature afresh, from musicological and cultural viewpoints.