Our Lady of Leiden

Our Lady of Leiden — The Herring Sentinel

Let us introduce you to Our Lady of Leiden – the mythological icon heroine who represents the bravery and fortitude of the people of Leiden when besieged by the Spanish in 1574. This story was featured in yesterday’s blott.

Domains:

Civic Protection and Resilience
Festivals of the Fog
Bravery during Sieges
Community celebration
Herring diplomacy
Of late, fashion icon

Appearance & Iconography

[ed. note: Our Lady of Leiden is a complete fiction, a product of the unpaid, undernourished minds of WLBOTT interns.]

She wears a long cloak the color of North Sea morning mist — pale gray with the faint shimmer of fish scales when the light hits
In her hair are reeds from the canals
On her forearms she wears bracers made of hammered tin herring tins — not armor of war, but armor of practicality
Her staff is a long polished alder branch with tiny silver tokens hanging from it shaped like herrings — when she walks, they softly chime like rain on water
She has a subtle smile: She has seen absurdity for centuries and survived it
She is not young / not old / not any specific age — time does not apply in Leiden folklore

Powers & Myth Function

When the people of Leiden are under stress (political, economic, weather, spouses nagging about clutter, etc.) — she multiplies the herring supply so the people can get through anything
When fog threatens to ruin festivals — she parts just enough of it so that the herring vendors know each other by sight again
If someone speaks ill of Leiden while in Leiden — a mild gentle karmic consequence occurs (e.g. a bicycle bell rings behind them for no reason)

Iconography

While visiting Leiden, you will see iconic representations of Our Lady.

Many families set up revenant home shrines.

Our Lady and the Power of Women Movement

We mentioned the medieval and Renaissance artistic and literary topos called “Power of Women.” Our Lady of Leiden is represented in many of the paintings of this era.