This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography, a collaborative effort to create, develop and organize Wikipedia's articles about people. All interested editors are invited to join the project and contribute to the discussion. For instructions on how to use this banner, please refer to the documentation.BiographyWikipedia:WikiProject BiographyTemplate:WikiProject Biographybiography
Simon Langham is within the scope of WikiProject Catholicism, an attempt to better organize and improve the quality of information in articles related to the Catholic Church. For more information, visit the project page.CatholicismWikipedia:WikiProject CatholicismTemplate:WikiProject CatholicismCatholicism
This article is within the scope of WikiProject England, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of England on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EnglandWikipedia:WikiProject EnglandTemplate:WikiProject EnglandEngland-related
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Middle Ages, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Middle Ages on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Middle AgesWikipedia:WikiProject Middle AgesTemplate:WikiProject Middle AgesMiddle Ages
In the first English version of the 'Pied Piper of Hamelin' legend,
1605, printed at 'Antwerp' very soon after the death of Elizabeth I by 'Verstegan',the date is changed to July 22 1376. This is not an error but a deliberate falsification of the legend in order to make it apply to a totally different event. This was the death at Avignon of Simon Langham, Archbishop of Canterbury AND Cardinal of Avignon. He "drove the secular clergy from their college of Canterbury Hall, Oxford, and filled their places with monks". In the 1605 version, adopted in error by Robert Browning in his poem "The Pied Piper" various elements are introduced or the first time, e.g. rats are added."Pied" refers to his bicoloured dress, scarlet and purple, of these two warring appointments. It perhaps also signifies 'tainted' or 'spotted'. His death marked the end of the facetiously named 'Babylonian Captivity', or 70 year exile of the Papacy to France, after which his 'children', the 13 cardinals, danced back across the bridge from the Papal Palace (famous for its choral music) to Rome, 'toutes en rouge'. ("How many miles to Babylon? Threescore and Ten").The bridge was too narrow for dancing in a circle. The legend is further anglicised by 'Verstegan' in his specious and spurious version, by trying to confuse the original Hamelin with Hamelin Plantagenet,aka Hamblyn;he was the son of the first latin king of Jerusalem and married Isabella de Warrenne,from whom descends Richard "Copped Hat" Fitzalan, 3rd Earl of Arundel. Hence the peaked hat of the Piper, and the Kopped Hills.'Verstegan'(journalist Richard Rowlands) was a recusant Catholic with a secret press at Smithfield, with the later pseudo 'Verstegan'. Simon Langham incurred the displeasure of Edward III by accepting from Pope Urban V the appointment of Cardinal of Avignon without having obtained Royal permission.In retaliation, Edward took the extraordinary step of pronouncing the see of Canterbury void, and seizing the revenues; i.e. he declined to pay him for ridding the town of 'protestant rats'. It is hardly credible that a learned antiquary could have accidentally got the date so completely wrong; besides which, there is no record of any other important event occurring on that date.Colcestrian (talk) 01:28, 17 July 2009 (UTC) Colcestrian —Preceding unsigned comment added by Colcestrian (talk • contribs) [reply]
