St. Elizabeth's flood (1421)
The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a
The outcome
This flood separated the cities of Geertruidenberg and Dordrecht which had previously fought against each other during the Hook and Cod (civil) wars. Most of the land remains flooded even since that day.
Reclaimed parts
Most of the area remained flooded for several decades. Reclaimed parts are the island of
Cause of the flood
The cause of the flood was a powerful extratropical cyclone. Water from the storm in the North Sea surged up the rivers causing the dikes to overflow and break through. The flood reached a large sea arm between south Holland and Zeeland (or Zealand), destroying the Grote Hollandse Waard. At the lower point where the flood water reached the city of Dordrecht is the point where flood water still remains today.
Cat and cradle legend
According to legend, the water carried away a baby along with its crib and a cat. After the flood receded, people ventured out to assess the survivors. They spotted a cradle floating on the water and prepared for the worst: the chances of the baby surviving seemed slim. As the cradle approached the shore, they noticed a cat leaping frantically from one corner to another, desperately maintaining balance. It turns out, the cat's acrobatics managed to keep the crib upright, preventing it from overturning. The cat allegedly succeeded so well that even the peacefully sleeping baby's bedding remained dry. The artist Lawrence Alma-Tadema captured this legend in his 1856 painting "The Inundation of The Biesbosch".
See also
- St. Elizabeth's flood (1404)
- Hook and Cod wars – dispute between Geertruidenberg and Dordrecht
- List of floods in the Netherlands
- Kinderdijk
- Lists of disasters
References
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