In this video Yolande Hisgen (Direct Dutch) talks about Dutch helden (heroes).
‘Held’ is the Dutch word for Hero.
‘Held’ was first used in 1250. In 1250 ‘held’ used to mean brave warrior or ‘dappere strijder’.
Every country has its own epic stories. An ‘EPOS’ (which means epic) is an exciting story about the adventures of a heroic figure. An ‘EPOS’ provides us with a glimpse into the history, the traditions, and the identity of a people or a nation at that moment in time.
Greece has Odyssey, England has Beowulf… The Netherlands has…….Hmmm… which ‘EPOS’ with ‘helden’ does the Netherlands have? Sadly none, we do not have our own heroic story.
But… we are lucky to have a lot of Dutch ‘helden’. Have you ever heard of Anne Frank? or perhaps Willem van Oranje? Well they and many more like them, they are Dutch ‘helden’.
Further reading
If you would like to know more about the origin of the word ‘held’, please check out these articles from our Word of the Day archives:
Word of the Day HELD (hero) detailed article from 2013
Word of the Day MOED (courage) detailed article from 2013