Netherlands Maiden

 

Mascot of the Batavian Republic

The Dutch Maiden is a national personification of the Netherlands.

History

Dordrecht Maiden, 1596, stained glass window designed by Gerrit Gerritsz Cuyp in the Janskerk, Gouda.

From the renaissance period onwards, Dutch cities symbolised themselves with effigies of a stedenmaagd, or town maiden. On a relief on the 16th century Groothoofdspoort in Dordrecht, where the Dordrecht Maiden (holding the heraldic shield of Dordrecht) is seated in the symbolical Garden of Holland, she is surrounded by the heraldic shields of 15 cities. The same theme was the subject of the 1596 gift to the St. Janskerk in Gouda by the Dordrecht city council. Dordrecht had been the scene of the first independent meeting of the rebelling States of the Netherlands against Spanish rule during 19-23 July, 1572. In the stained glass window, the city names are placed under their shields. These names are (clockwise from Geertruidenberg, the city shield on the "gate" of the garden): Geertruidenberg, followed by Schoonhoven, Hoorn, Weesp, Leerdam, Naarden, Muiden, Medemblik, Grootebroek, Monnickendam, Enkhuizen, Asperen, Heusden, Schiedam, and Vlaardingen.

The choice of placing Geertruidenberg on the gate of the garden differs from the Groothoofdspoort, where the shield is placed under the garden opposite the shield of Vlaardingen. Geertruidenberg had joined the union three years before the glass was ordered in 1593 when the town was liberated from Spanish rule by Prince Maurits. During the Dutch Revolt, maidens representing the Dutch provinces, or a single maiden representing the Netherlands, became a recurrent theme on allegorical cartoons.

Leeuwarden mint

Back of 1696 Leeuwarden silver half 3 guilder coin, with the Latin inscription "HANC TUEMUR, HAC NITIMUR" ("We protect her, she supports us"), showing the Dutch Maiden holding a lance topped with a phrygian cap, left hand leaning on a bible standing on an altar, collection Teylers Museum

A century later, by ordinance of 25 May 1694, the States of Holland and West Friesland introduced a uniform coin design in the Netherlands, showing a Maiden leaning on a bible placed on an altar, holding a lance with the Cap of Liberty.

Batavian Republic

Flags of the Batavian Republic

A century later during the French occupation, the short-lived Batavian Republic, created in the Netherlands under the auspices of France, adopted the Dutch Maiden as its main symbol. The Maiden was depicted on the upper left corner of the Batavian Republic's flag. She was depicted with a lion at her feet. In one hand she bore a shield with the Roman fasces and in the other a lance crowned with the cap of liberty.

The Dutch Maiden continued to be used as a symbol after the creation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815. She appears in 19th century monuments like the one on Plein 1813 in The Hague, the one commemorating the Battle of Heiligerlee, and the one on the Nieuwemarkt in Rotterdam.

In a song in his 1977 oudejaarsconference, comedian Wim Kan made a reference to the Dutch Maiden: "All chickens laying golden eggs are slaughtered/The Dutch maiden was raped by the red rooster/She is now taken to Bloemenhoven/On Van Agt's racing bike."