Kenau (2014)

[sksvlad]

This movie is about the siege of Haarlem in 1572 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2512170/. Kenau Simonsdochter Hasselaer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenau_Simonsdochter_Hasselaer was a female wood merchant who after losing her daughter to Catholic vs Protestant struggle actively persuaded the city of Haarlem council not to surrender to the advancing Spanish army. Even though the ensuing long siege was successful at the end, with the total loss of the inhabitants, it slowed down the conquest and eventually led to the establishment of the Kingdom of the Nederlands. The movie itself, whilst beautifully filmed, is not overly inspiring, BUT it made me learn some ancient history by looking it up.
The name of the woman itself became embedded into the Dutch language. Kenau means "shrew" like a mouse like animal. I guess it is something that survives against all odds with giant things literally walking over it.
Maybe somebody with a better grasp of Dutch can provide a better explanation.

 

[sksvlad]

OK, I asked somebody at work who speaks Dutch. Kenau does mean shrew, but only pertaining to a human female, not a tiny animal. Kenau means a difficult woman, like in "The taming of the shrew" by William Shakespeare. The tiny animal is "spitsmuis" in Dutch.