The St. Elizabeth's flood of 1421 was a flooding of the Grote Hollandse Waard, an area in what is now the Netherlands. It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly 19 November. It ranks 20th on the list of worst floods in history. During the night of 18/19 November 1421 a heavy storm near the North Sea coast caused the dikes to break in a number of places and the lower-lying polder land was flooded. A number of villages were swallowed by the flood and were lost, causing between 2,000 and 10,000 casualties. The dike breaks and floods caused widespread devastation in Zeeland and Holland.
A near-contemporary painting depicting the St. Elizabeth's flood
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 partsedit
Most of the area remained flooded for several decades. Reclaimed parts are the island of Dordrecht, the Hoeksche Waard island, and north-western North Brabant (around Geertruidenberg). Most of the Biesbosch (a big area of nature in the Netherlands) area has been flooded since.
Cause of the floodedit
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.
The Inundation of The Biesbosch in 1421 by Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Cat and cradle legendedit
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".
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1421 flood in the Netherlands.
Deltawerken.com recounting 2016-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
Rijksmuseum brief description
January 01, 1970
elizabeth, flood, 1421, elizabeth, flood, 1421, flooding, grote, hollandse, waard, area, what, netherlands, takes, name, from, feast, saint, elisabeth, hungary, which, formerly, november, ranks, 20th, list, worst, floods, history, during, night, november, 1421. The St Elizabeth s flood of 1421 was a flooding of the Grote Hollandse Waard an area in what is now the Netherlands It takes its name from the feast day of Saint Elisabeth of Hungary which was formerly 19 November It ranks 20th on the list of worst floods in history During the night of 18 19 November 1421 a heavy storm near the North Sea coast caused the dikes to break in a number of places and the lower lying polder land was flooded A number of villages were swallowed by the flood and were lost causing between 2 000 and 10 000 casualties The dike breaks and floods caused widespread devastation in Zeeland and Holland A near contemporary painting depicting the St Elizabeth s flood Contents 1 The outcome 2 Reclaimed parts 3 Cause of the flood 4 Cat and cradle legend 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksThe outcome editThis 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 editMost of the area remained flooded for several decades Reclaimed parts are the island of Dordrecht the Hoeksche Waard island and north western North Brabant around Geertruidenberg Most of the Biesbosch a big area of nature in the Netherlands area has been flooded since Cause of the flood editThe 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 nbsp The Inundation of The Biesbosch in 1421 by Lawrence Alma TademaCat and cradle legend editAccording 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 editSt Elizabeth s flood 1404 Hook and Cod wars dispute between Geertruidenberg and Dordrecht List of floods in the Netherlands Kinderdijk Lists of disastersReferences editThis article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2016 Learn how and when to remove this message External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1421 flood in the Netherlands Deltawerken com recounting Archived 2016 03 27 at the Wayback Machine Rijksmuseum brief description indyposted com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Elizabeth 27s flood 1421 amp oldid 1195987431, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
