The Mermaid of Edam
Dutch chronicles say that after a great storm, a mermaid was found stranded in a lake near Edam, and lived among the townspeople for years.
What was reported
Old Dutch chronicles tell that after a storm in 1403 broke the dykes, women from Edam found a 'wild woman' of the sea caught in the mud of the Purmer lake. They cleaned her, dressed her and took her to Haarlem, where she learned to spin and to bow before the cross, but never to speak.
She lived there for about fifteen years, the story says, and was buried in a churchyard when she died.
Explanations offered
The tale was repeated by many later writers as a true account, and some historians think it may have grown from a real event, such as a seal or a stranded person with a disability being treated as a wonder. There's no surviving evidence from 1403 itself.
- When
- Said to be 1403
- Where
- Edam, North Holland, Netherlands
- Witnesses
- Dutch chronicles
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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