Inderb The Tailor
By Daniel Rose
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Spring 2007

The tailor I imagine is female, and she is very good at fixing up any piece of fabric. Shes a stubborn lady, always thinking everyone in the town is out for her when in reality its her own mind getting the best of her. Her name is Inderb, a name commonly given in the 1200s. She has been widowed for almost three years now, and the town people believe her three years in near solitude has had an affect on her mental state. Also, if she doesnt know you then she wont do any work for you. She is paranoid that whoever murdered her husband is going to come back for her. Her only companion is her midnight black cat that sits on her windowsill. She talks to him often because she trusts so few people.

She is 52, in her mid 30s and weights a moderate 150 pounds. She is aging rapidly due to heavy drinking. She knows the Pied Piper and most of the towns people. Beyond that she has never traveled outside the town her entire life. There is not much known about the woman because she is so secretive about herself.

For Reflection:
Do you think Inderbs husband was a tailor too, and that perhaps she helped him with his work? Sometimes, when a husband dies the wife takes up the business. Is it possible for a woman in the 1200s to own/operate a business such as this?

Can you write a story that revolves around the death of Inderbs husband?

Can you write a story that shows Inderbs life in the town? Maybe she keeps a diary, and this could be the form your story takes. If Inderb is so alone, perhaps the only way she keeps her sanity at all is to write in her diary.

Factoid: Hamelin is an ancient Saxon settlement and became a missionary outpost in 750. It became a city in 1200. From about 1426 to 1572, the city was part of the Hanseatic League, a mercantile league set up to protect and promote trade between the Saxon area and places as far away as London and Prussia. Source: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2004. The strong link to a mercantile trade league promotes the idea of a Tailor in residence in Hamelin Town.