in his Alte Geographie Arabiens (Bern, 1875), it was edited by D. H. Müller (Leiden, 1884; cf. A. Sprenger’s criticism in Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. 45, pp. 361-394). Much has also been written on this work by E. Glaser in his various publications on ancient Arabia. The other great work of Hamdānī is the Iklīl (Crown) concerning the genealogies of the Himyarites and the wars of their kings in ten volumes. Of this, part 8, on the citadels and castles of south Arabia, has been edited and annotated by D. H. Müller in Die Burgen und Schlösser Südarabiens (Vienna, 1879–1881).
For other works said to have been written by Hamdānī cf. G. Flügel’s Die grammatischen Schulen der Araber (Leipzig, 1862), pp. 220–221. (G. W. T.)
HAMELIN, FRANÇOIS ALPHONSE (1796–1864), French
admiral, was born at Pont l’Évêque on the 2nd of September
1796. He went to sea with his uncle, J. F. E. Hamelin, in the
“Vénus” frigate in 1806 as cabin boy. The “Vénus” was
part of the French squadron in the Indian Ocean, and young
Hamelin had an opportunity of seeing much active service.
She, in company with another and a smaller vessel, captured
the English frigate “Ceylon” in 1810, but was immediately
afterwards captured herself by the “Boadicèa,” under Commodore
Rowley (1765–1842). Young Hamelin was a prisoner of
war for a short time. He returned to France in 1811. On the
fall of the Empire he had better fortune than most of the
Napoleonic officers who were turned ashore. In 1821 he became
lieutenant, and in 1823 took part in the French expedition under
the duke of Angoulême into Spain. In 1828 he was appointed
captain of the “Actéon,” and was engaged till 1831 on the coast
of Algiers and in the conquest of the town and country. His
first command as flag officer was in the Pacific, where he showed
much tact during the dispute over the Marquesas Islands with
England in 1844. He was promoted vice-admiral in 1848.
During the Crimean War he commanded in the Black Sea, and
co-operated with Admiral Dundas in the bombardment of
Sevastopol 17th of October 1854. His relations with his English
colleague were not very cordial. On the 7th of December 1854
he was promoted admiral. Shortly afterwards he was recalled
to France, and was named minister of marine. His administration
lasted till 1860, and was remarkable for the expeditions
to Italy and China organized under his directions; but it was
even more notable for the energy shown in adopting and
developing the use of armour. The launch of the “Gloire”
in 1859 set the example of constructing sea-going ironclads.
The first English ironclad, the “Warrior,” was designed as
an answer to the “Gloire.” When Napoleon III. made his first
concession to Liberal opposition, Admiral Hamelin was one of
the ministers sacrificed. He held no further command, and died
on the 10th of January 1864.
HAMELN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of
Hanover, at the confluence of the Weser and Hamel, 33 m. S.W.
of Hanover, on the line to Altenbeken, which here effects a
junction with railways to Löhne and Brunswick. Pop. (1905)
20,736. It has a venerable appearance and has many interesting
and picturesque houses. The chief public buildings of interest
are the minster, dedicated to St Boniface and restored in 1870–1875;
the town hall; the so-called Rattenfängerhaus (rat-catcher’s
house) with mural frescoes illustrating the legend (see
below); and the Hochzeitshaus (wedding house) with beautiful
gables. There are classical, modern and commercial schools.
The principal industries are the manufacture of paper, leather,
chemicals and tobacco, sugar refining, shipbuilding and salmon
fishing. By the steamboats on the Weser there is communication
with Karlshafen and Minden. In order to avoid the dangerous
part of the 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 iron suspension bridge
830 ft. in length, supported by a pier erected on an island in the
middle of the river.
The older name of Hameln was Hameloa or Hamelowe, and the town owes its origin to an abbey. It existed as a town as early as the 11th century, and in 1259 it was sold by the abbot of Fulda to the bishop of Minden, afterwards passing under the protection of the dukes of Brunswick. About 1540 the Reformation gained an entrance into the town, which was taken by both parties during the Thirty Years’ War. In 1757 it capitulated to the French, who, however, vacated it in the following year. Its fortifications were strengthened in 1766 by the erection of Fort George, on an eminence to the west of the town, across the river. On the capitulation of the Hanoverian army in 1803 Hameln fell into the hands of the French; it was retaken by the Prussians in 1806, but, after the battle of Jena, again passed to the French, who dismantled the fortifications and incorporated the town in the kingdom of Westphalia. In 1814 it again became Hanoverian, but in 1866 fell with that kingdom to Prussia.
Legend of the Pied Piper.—Hameln is famed as the scene of the myth of the piper of Hameln. According to the legend, the town in the year 1284 was infested by a terrible plague of rats. One day there appeared upon the scene a piper clad in a fantastic suit, who offered for a certain sum of money to charm all the 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 June he reappeared in the streets of the town, and putting his pipe to his lips began a soft and curious strain. This drew all the children after him and he led them out of the town to the Koppelberg hill, in the side of which a 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 abduction of children; and others to a dancing mania which seized upon some of the young people of Hameln who left the town on a mad pilgrimage from which they never returned. For a considerable time the town dated its public documents from the event. The story is the subject of a poem by Robert Browning, and also of one by Julius Wolff. Curious 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 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.); Sprenger, Geschichte der Stadt Hameln (1861); O. Meinardus, Der historische Kern der Rattenfängersage (Hameln, 1882); Jostes, Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (Bonn, 1885); and S. Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages (1868).
HAMERLING, ROBERT (1830–1889), Austrian poet, was born
at Kirchenberg-am-Walde in Lower Austria, on the 24th of
March 1830, of humble parentage. He early displayed a genius
for poetry and his youthful attempts at drama excited the
interest and admiration of some influential persons. Owing to
their assistance young Hamerling was enabled to attend the
gymnasium in Vienna and subsequently the university. In
1848 he joined the student’s legion, which played so conspicuous
a part in the revolutions of the capital, and in 1849 shared in the
defence of Vienna against the imperialist troops of Prince
Windischgrätz, and after the collapse of the revolutionary
movement he was obliged to hide for a long time to escape
arrest. For the next few years he diligently pursued his studies
in natural science and philosophy, and in 1855 was appointed
master at the gymnasium at Trieste. For many years he battled
with ill-health, and in 1866 retired on a pension, which in acknowledgment
of his literary labours was increased by the government
to a sum sufficient to enable him to live without care until his
death at his villa in Stiftingstal near Graz, on the 13th of July
1889. Hamerling was one of the most remarkable of the poets
of the modern Austrian school; his imagination was rich and
his poems are full of life and colour. His most popular poem,
Ahasver in Rom (1866), of which the emperor Nero is the central
figure, shows at its best the author’s brilliant talent for description.
Among his other works may be mentioned Venus im
Exil (1858); Der König von Sion (1869), which is generally
regarded as his masterpiece; Die sieben Todsünden (1872);
Blätter im Winde (1887); Homunculus (1888); Amor und
