Wild Peter of Hameln

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Wilder Peter von Hameln , also wilder Peter von Hannover (* around 1711 , † 1785 in Hertfordshire , United Kingdom ), was a mentally handicapped boy of unknown origin.

biography

The "wild Peter" was found on July 17, 1724 as a 13 year old boy in a meadow near the city of Hameln . He was described by residents as a bare (= naked), black-haired creature with brownish skin. After its discovery, it was taken to the city, where it aroused great public interest. His behavior resembled that of a wild animal and he mainly fed on birds and raw vegetables.

Grave site of the Wild Peter ("Peter the Wild Boy") in Hertfordshire

Peter was brought to England , where the well-known Scottish doctor and mathematician John Arbuthnot took care of the boy's education. He never learned to speak , never laughed, and showed absolute sexual and financial indifference . He was musically interested, could be taught and performed various tasks. He spent most of his life with a family in the countryside. At the age of 60 he became King George III again in London . presented. The "wild Peter" of Hameln died in 1785 in Hertfordshire.

Interpretation of the case

While some are of the opinion that Peter was a wolf child, others argue that it was the mentally handicapped son of a Lüchtringen pub owner. Shortly before he was found in the meadow, he was beaten out of the house by his stepmother.

Carl von Linné took the boy as an example of a deviation from the normal human type in his compilation of "Wild People" ( Homo ferus ) in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae and called him there as "Juvenis Hannoveranus" (Hanoverian boy).

According to a recent study by the historian Lucy Worsley from the British organization Historic Royal Palaces , it is said to have been a case of the so-called Pitt-Hopkins syndrome .

literature

  • Paul Collins: Not Even Wrong. Adventures in Autism. Bloomsbury, New York NY 2004, ISBN 1-58234-367-5 .
  • Henry Wilson, James Caulfield: The Book of Wonderful Characters. Memoirs and Anecdotes of remarkable and eccentric Persons in all Ages and Countries. Chatto and Windus, London 1869.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gudel Mattenklott: The Tiger Prince - laudation on a picture book Chen Jianghong on the occasion of the awarding of the Pied Piper Literature Prize 2006 to Chen Jianghong on November 24, 2006 in the Weserbergland-Zentrum Hameln. (pdf, 28 kB) Hameln, November 24, 2006, archived from the original on October 13, 2017 ; accessed on June 11, 2019 . David Crystal : The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1987, ISBN 0-521-42443-7 , p. 289.
  2. ↑ Robert Jütte : Historical Anthropology: Like a four-footed animal. In: faz.net . August 28, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2019 .
  3. ^ PJ Blumenthal : Kaspar Hauser's siblings. In search of the wild man (= Piper 4101). Expanded paperback edition. Piper, Munich et al. 2005, ISBN 3-492-24101-8 .
  4. ^ Johann Friedrich Blumenbach : From Homo sapiens ferus Linn. and especially from the wild peter. In: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Contributions to natural history. Part 2. Dieterich, Göttingen 1811, pp. 10–44.
  5. ↑ Rare developmental disorder: What tormented the "wild Peter of Hameln". In: Spiegel Online . March 21, 2011, accessed June 11, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Wild Peter of Hameln
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wild Peter; Peter of Hanover; Juvenis hannoveranus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wolf child , found on July 17, 1724 near Hameln
DATE OF BIRTH around 1711
PLACE OF BIRTH uncertain: Hamelin
DATE OF DEATH 1785
Place of death Hertfordshire , UK