Lady of Stavoren
Encyclopedia
The Lady of Stavoren is a folk tale from the Netherlands
which originated in the 16th century.
The tale has inspired songs, plays, operas and films. Since 1969, a statue of the fabled Lady of Stavoren stands in the harbour of Stavoren
, gazing out at the sea.
Now a village of just 1,000 inhabitants, Stavoren was once a wealthy port city in the Dutch province of Friesland
but began to decline in the late Middle Ages after a sandbank formed outside the harbour, blocking ships from entering and exiting. Several stories have been told over the years to explain the forming of the sandbank, including the tale of the Lady of Stavoren.
The story, of which more than 27 versions are known, involves an exceedingly rich patrician merchant widow, who desired ever greater riches. She sent a captain of her merchant fleet out in search of the greatest treasure in the world. When he returned with wheat, declaring wheat to be "the most precious thing in the world," as it can feed the hungry, the widow, in her overweening pride and anger at his (as she perceived it) foolishness, let the wheat be thrown overboard into the harbour of Stavoren.
When she was cautioned against this wicked behaviour, being reminded of the fickleness of fate and (despite of her wealth and power) of the delicateness of her station, in hubris she took a ring from her finger and cast it into the ocean, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring.
Soon afterwards, during a banquet thrown for her fellow Hanseatic
merchant princes, she finds the ring inside a large fish served to her. As this event portended, she lost her wealth, living out her remaining years in destitution, begging for scraps of bread. In divine retribution the port had silted, and the wheat that had been cast overboard new grew in the resulting sandbank that closed the harbour and ruined the city.
The tale shares its basic motif with the story of the Ring of Polycrates
found in Herodotus
. Its Aarne-Thompson index number is 736A.
But in spite of her great wealth the Lady was a horrible miser; and her aid she would pitilessly refuse to all men. Despite of her riches, she was never satisfied but always desired greater wealth. Finally she entered upon the design, in order to satisfy her own desires and to impress the townspeople, to have her greatest and most experienced captain explore all of the known and unknown world, whence he would bring her the most beautiful, important and greatest treasure it contained.
The captain searched for many years in vain, for although he found a great multitude of valuable objects or cargo for trade, none of these seemed inherently more valuable than the others, and could therefore not be judged to be the greatest treasure in the world. Finally he found what he was looking for, when in the distant port of [Gdańsk], he overheard a greybeard farmer, who stated that wheat is the greatest treasure in the world, because it can feed the hungry. He filled his ship with the farmer's wheat and sailed back to Stavoren to show the Lady what her fortune had purchased.
The lady was furious, feeling ridiculed before her compatriots by the actions of her captain. Scathingly she asked on what side of the ship the wheat had been taken in, and in her anger and her overweening pride she then ordered the wheat to be dumped over the other side and into the port of Stavoren.
An old beggar man however, whose beard seemed almost to shine with light, cautioned her against this wicked and impious action, as she would be cursed for her actions, and destitute, if she thus wasted the wheat that could feed the poor.
Hearing this absurdity the townspeople laughed merrily, and the lady, in her hubris, took a ruby signet ring off her finger and cast it into the sea, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring. With vile words she dismissed the great captain from her service and the wheat was thrown into the harbour. The moment it touched the water, the beggar vanished, never to be seen again.
That night the lady entertained some of her fellow hanseatic merchant princes with a banquet, during which a large fish was served. The fish was cut, and inside its belly laid the lady's ruby ring. After that day her fortunes worsened. Her fleet, now guided by less experienced captains, was destroyed in violent storms, that hitherto had spared the pious inhabitants of Stavoren. The harbour of Stavoren silted, and the discarded wheat grew in the sandbank that after the Lady was called the "Vrouwenzand", but the wheat was barren and would never produce any grains.
With the harbour now closed to commercial shipping the lady became destitute, reduced to beg for bread crusts to survive, while the townsfolk, whose true nature had been revealed in their laughter towards the old beggar, lost their wealth and the whole region grew poor.
Nowadays, the seaweed on the sandbank reminds the people of wheat. That is all that remains of The Lady of Stavoren's treasure.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
which originated in the 16th century.
The tale has inspired songs, plays, operas and films. Since 1969, a statue of the fabled Lady of Stavoren stands in the harbour of Stavoren
Stavoren
Stavoren is a small town on the coast of the IJsselmeer, about 5 km south of Hindeloopen. It lies within the municipality of Súdwest-Fryslân. Stavoren was granted city rights in 1118, making it the oldest city in Friesland...
, gazing out at the sea.
Now a village of just 1,000 inhabitants, Stavoren was once a wealthy port city in the Dutch province of Friesland
Friesland
Friesland is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the ancient region of Frisia.Until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian Fryslân...
but began to decline in the late Middle Ages after a sandbank formed outside the harbour, blocking ships from entering and exiting. Several stories have been told over the years to explain the forming of the sandbank, including the tale of the Lady of Stavoren.
The story, of which more than 27 versions are known, involves an exceedingly rich patrician merchant widow, who desired ever greater riches. She sent a captain of her merchant fleet out in search of the greatest treasure in the world. When he returned with wheat, declaring wheat to be "the most precious thing in the world," as it can feed the hungry, the widow, in her overweening pride and anger at his (as she perceived it) foolishness, let the wheat be thrown overboard into the harbour of Stavoren.
When she was cautioned against this wicked behaviour, being reminded of the fickleness of fate and (despite of her wealth and power) of the delicateness of her station, in hubris she took a ring from her finger and cast it into the ocean, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring.
Soon afterwards, during a banquet thrown for her fellow Hanseatic
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
merchant princes, she finds the ring inside a large fish served to her. As this event portended, she lost her wealth, living out her remaining years in destitution, begging for scraps of bread. In divine retribution the port had silted, and the wheat that had been cast overboard new grew in the resulting sandbank that closed the harbour and ruined the city.
The tale shares its basic motif with the story of the Ring of Polycrates
Polycrates
Polycrates , son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from c. 538 BC to 522 BC.He took power during a festival of Hera with his brothers Pantagnotus and Syloson, but soon had Pantagnotus killed and exiled Syloson to take full control for himself. He then allied with Amasis II, pharaoh of Egypt, as...
found in Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
. Its Aarne-Thompson index number is 736A.
The tale of the Lady of Stavoren
The Lady of Stavoren was a rich widow who owned the largest, grandest house in Stavoren, and it was filled from cellar to roof with carved marble and rare woods, with oriental fabrics and perfumes, and with gold and precious stones. Her merchant fleet filled the harbour, which in those days was very great, and their silver sails obscured the ocean from view, except from the great tower that adorned her house and from which she espied her ships arriving from distant lands.But in spite of her great wealth the Lady was a horrible miser; and her aid she would pitilessly refuse to all men. Despite of her riches, she was never satisfied but always desired greater wealth. Finally she entered upon the design, in order to satisfy her own desires and to impress the townspeople, to have her greatest and most experienced captain explore all of the known and unknown world, whence he would bring her the most beautiful, important and greatest treasure it contained.
The captain searched for many years in vain, for although he found a great multitude of valuable objects or cargo for trade, none of these seemed inherently more valuable than the others, and could therefore not be judged to be the greatest treasure in the world. Finally he found what he was looking for, when in the distant port of [Gdańsk], he overheard a greybeard farmer, who stated that wheat is the greatest treasure in the world, because it can feed the hungry. He filled his ship with the farmer's wheat and sailed back to Stavoren to show the Lady what her fortune had purchased.
The lady was furious, feeling ridiculed before her compatriots by the actions of her captain. Scathingly she asked on what side of the ship the wheat had been taken in, and in her anger and her overweening pride she then ordered the wheat to be dumped over the other side and into the port of Stavoren.
An old beggar man however, whose beard seemed almost to shine with light, cautioned her against this wicked and impious action, as she would be cursed for her actions, and destitute, if she thus wasted the wheat that could feed the poor.
Hearing this absurdity the townspeople laughed merrily, and the lady, in her hubris, took a ruby signet ring off her finger and cast it into the sea, declaring that she was as likely to fall into poverty as she was of regaining the ring. With vile words she dismissed the great captain from her service and the wheat was thrown into the harbour. The moment it touched the water, the beggar vanished, never to be seen again.
That night the lady entertained some of her fellow hanseatic merchant princes with a banquet, during which a large fish was served. The fish was cut, and inside its belly laid the lady's ruby ring. After that day her fortunes worsened. Her fleet, now guided by less experienced captains, was destroyed in violent storms, that hitherto had spared the pious inhabitants of Stavoren. The harbour of Stavoren silted, and the discarded wheat grew in the sandbank that after the Lady was called the "Vrouwenzand", but the wheat was barren and would never produce any grains.
With the harbour now closed to commercial shipping the lady became destitute, reduced to beg for bread crusts to survive, while the townsfolk, whose true nature had been revealed in their laughter towards the old beggar, lost their wealth and the whole region grew poor.
Nowadays, the seaweed on the sandbank reminds the people of wheat. That is all that remains of The Lady of Stavoren's treasure.
Alternate names
The Most Precious Thing in the World, The Proud Lady of Stavoren, When Wheat Worked Woe, The Lady's Sand.External links
- The Lady of Stavoren, A Dutch Legend, told by Aaron Shepard
- English: Tales from Europe, The Lady of Stavoren, on BBC School Radio
- The Proud Lady of Stavoren, by Elizabeth Akers Allen, on Cornell University Library
- Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks - When Wheat Worked Woe, told by William Elliot GriffisWilliam Elliot GriffisWilliam Elliot Griffis was an American orientalist, Congregational minister, lecturer, and prolific author....
in 1918 - Lady of Stavoren, told by Theo Meder. Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam. File retrieved 3-11-2007.
- het vrouwtje van Stavoren