'The Lady of Stavoren'

The legend of 'The Lady of Stavoren' Rewriten and slightly re phrased from the original which can be found on the harbourside Stavoren Netherlands

                               'The Lady of Stavoren'

The Lady of Stavoren

18 March 2019

13:06

Stavoren is a town on the Eastern shore of the Ijsselmeer Holland

 

At one time Stavoren was a rich town the merchants and captains were known world wide They travelled wide To Northern and Eastern places bringing back great richness and wealth

That was until changes to the river and sea flows brought silt to block the port

The richness waned; other towns and harbours gained from these changes

This has been told by the legend of 'The Lady of Stavoren'

 

The Lady of Stavoren was the widow of a rich merchant she took over the running of her late husbands business

One day she ordered her captain to go out and find the most precious thing he could find

After a long voyage he returned laden with his precious cargo

The Lady went down to the harbour to inspect the goods

The most beautiful wheat he had ever seen 

The Lady was furious. She ordered she captain to go out and dump all the wheat overboard

 

An old 'sea salt' who was watching said "Your recklessness will be punished, a time will come when you will have to beg for bread"

The widow took her diamond ring and threw it into the sea "Just as this ring will never return from the sea. Will I be left a pauper.

 

Some time later the ring was served at dinner in a haddock.

The same day she received a disastrous message

'Her whole fleet had been lost with all hands in a terrible storm'

She never recovered from this blow

 

A sand bank had sprung up covering the harbour mouth 'The Woman's Sand'

Upon it grew sprigs of corn, it never had any ears of corn

 

STAVOREN PROMOTIE

 

Retold by Wild Rose

March 2019

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Love this wonderful photo and tale of The Lady of Stavoren, Wild Rose! You are a skilled and talented storyteller my friend, and you paint us a picture of greed, salt sea, and tears for this ignoble Lady. So selfish and foolish with her riches was she, devaluing the precious wheat, even her diamond ring fared badly- turning up in a haddock to haunt her and fulfill her curse - so perfect! You weave your verses together seamlessly and enchantingly. This allegorical poem is quite unforgettable. Thank you for it!

[Wild Rose]

Thanktranslation you Annette > BUT I have to confess I just used the info provided by the towns translation from Friesian Dutch


Several part I rephrased the words

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Thank you then for gleaning and sharing it with us Wild Rose!:))

[Just Kim]

This is a wonderful write here, very nicely written

[Onlyme]

A great tale with a good moral held within. Beautiful told.

[Wild Rose]

Thank You Dawn _ I only rephrased to to make it an easier read from English readers
The original plaque is in a translation from Frieslander by Frieslander

[barleygirl]

I love these old stories & you impart this one with a great balance between straightforward detailing & imaginative wording. Even tho your meaning & the traditions you share are clear, I was also having a side-conversation about how this story seems to portend the disasters of climate change which now wreak havoc on low-lying areas like Florida & the Gulf Coast. It's becuz of these timeless lessons that I love keeping these stories alive like you're doing (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Wild Rose]

Thank you Margie . But I have to admit it os not my story Stavoren is a town (village in size for UK)
The story is beside the statue (but written in a translation from Frieslander (A variation of Dutch > a separate language and incomprehensible to Dutch people)
Friesland is reclaimed from the sea. And since the completion of the Aftsluicedyke (Dam across the Zuiderzee) It is now a port on an enclosed sea the 'Ijsselmeer'

[barleygirl]

I realized you were imparting an established story. That's what I meant. I love the re-telling of such stories as these . . .

[Wild Rose]

Holland (to me) is an interesting place - where we used water for power the Dutch used the wind
read moreHolland (to me) is an interesting place - where we used water for power the Dutch used the wind
While we were there another area of reclaimed land was released for use {watched some of the celebrations on TV}

[John Alexander McFadyen]

An interesting tale to tell with of course a moral purpose.

[Wild Rose]

Thank you BUT It is not an original story my me
I just rewrote it rephrasing some minor bits for the plague by the statue which is a translation from Friesian Dutch

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you for sharing it anyway.