Pieter van der Werf

Pieter van der Werf was the mayor of Leiden during the Seige of Leiden and it's subsequent Relief.

When the people of Leiden were on the verge of giving up and surrendering to the Spanish in September 1574, Van der Werf rallied the people by offering to let them eat one of his arms, to stave off starvation a little longer, in the belief that they would be saved if they persevered.  (They didn't take him up on it but they did decide to keep it up a little longer.)  Because he was such an influence, this statue was erected in 1881 to commemorate the Ontzet (Relief) of Leiden and Van der Werf's heroic efforts to keep the people of Leiden true.

There is a series of bas reliefs around the statute, with gilded inscriptions, which, if read counter-clockwise, tell the story of the Relief.

The main inscription, dedicating the monument says this:

"In remembrance of the defense and deliverance of Leiden, 

of the confirmation of the freedom of the Netherlands, 

and in honor of the Mayor Pieter Adriaansz, van der Werf."

The Grateful Fatherland

1574 -- 1881

Rejoice Holland that by Leiden's courage

Your reputation and your freedom were preserved

The Dutch inscription reads:
ter gedachtenis
van de verdediging en verlossing van Leiden,
de bevestiging van Neerlands vrijheid,
en ter eere van den burgemeester
Pieter Adriaansz, van der Werf.
Het dankbare vaderland
MDLXXIV
MDCCCLXXXI


Juich Holland dat door Leidens moed
uw roem, uw vrijheid zag behoed


The bas relief image on the front of the statue is this.  I am assuming that it represents the oath of fealty which the city of Leiden made, through the representation of Pieter van der Werf, when they decided to put their lot with William against the Spanish

In Dutch it reads:
Het vaderland getrouwe
blijf ik tot in den dood


And it means:

"I will remain faithful to the fatherland until death"

This relief shows the people of Leiden fighting off the noticably better equipped Spanish and references Van der Werf's famous offer.


The inscription reads:
Zoolang wij hebben handen ziet om t'eten een, een om te vechten, zoo komen wij tot schade niet

And means:
"As long as we have hands,

one to eat, one to fight,
we will come to no harm."

This image shows the Relief of Leiden and just how happy those poor folks were to get some herring.  I am impressed with these bas reliefs because it seems like such a difficult medium and the artist did a mighty good job of conveying emotion in it.

The inscription here reads:

Nu mogen wij afdrogen

ons lang bekreten oogen

want Leiden is ontzet

It means:

"Now we can dry

Our long tear-filled eyes

For Leiden is relieved" 

This final inscription reads:

ik zal met al mijn hart den Heer

blijmoedig geven lof en eer

It means:

"I will with all my heart give joyful praise and honor to the Lord"