Waterwolf

Detail of a map by Jacob Bartelz Veris drawn in 1641 of the Haarlem Lake, with a poem by Joost van den Vondel topped by a Dutch Lion fighting the Waterwolf as an allegory of the Dutch struggle against floods

Waterwolf, or Water-wolf is a Dutch word for the tendency of lakes in low-lying peaty land to enlarge by flooding and eroding their shores, aided sometimes by men digging peat for fuel.

The growth of any lake was seen as a direct threat to nearby villages, though the economic necessity of digging for peat by the townspeople of such villages was itself often a contributing factor. The "water wolf" could "devour the land" in times of spring tide flooding or heavy storms. See Flood control in the Netherlands, with the most notable "waterwolves" conquered being the Haarlem Lake and the Braakman.

References

For reference, see the Dutch version: nl:Waterwolf (animalisering). ("animalisering" = "personification as an animal".)
De Waterwolf getemd. Over geschiedenis en volksleven van Haarlemmermeer, edited by TJ. W.R. de Haan, with contributions by W. Jappe Alberts, Tj. W. R. de Haan, Historical Committee Haarlemmermeer, Polder Board of the Haarlemmermeer, and the Haarlemmermer town archives, Kruseman's Uitgeversmaatschappij, The Hague, 1970, OCLC ocm37651338

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