Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer

During the war against the Spanish, a small town was besieged and every man, woman, and child worked fearlessly to rebuild the city walls that the enemy cannons had destroyed. One woman stood out among these brave townspeople, a woman who led the rebuild and who worked tirelessly day and night to carry earth to the city walls. Her name was Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer, a wood merchant in town, and she encouraged the people to keep fighting despite the continuing onslaught by the Spanish. Accounts written after the Spanish had retreated told of how she, together with most of the townspeople, stood on the earthworks erected and threw burning tar wreaths around the neck of the Spanish soldiers. At least one Spanish soldier jumped into the river to douse the flames and drowned from the weight of the armor. She is a humble woman, but inside her burns a fire that we could use...