The Miller
In addition to sail-powered transport, wind was also used as a source of power for manufacturing in the Netherlands around 1300. The first Western European windmills appeared in the Netherlands around 1221 in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. During the 14th century, more and more windmills were built in the Netherlands, primarily for milling grain, and around the 15th century, the first windmills designed to drain polders were constructed. (21) Managing water with wind was a specialty. The Dutch had always struggled with water, but perhaps we managed to overcome that to some extent with the power of the wind. For example, during the reclamation of the Beemster polder in 1607, no fewer than 43 windmills were used to pump out the water. (20)
Alongside the development of windmill technology, there was also a cultural evolution. It was no longer just agriculture and water transport that depended on the weather, but also productive capacity. This dependence on nature’s immediate resources gave rise to a new way of life that took root in nearly every village or town. Working with a windmill meant constantly negotiating with a force that could not be controlled. It required keen attention and observation of cloud patterns, wind directions, and signals from the landscape to achieve the necessary output. (22,23) It is a problem that, of course, the wind does not always blows on land. As a result, millers sometimes had to work day and night for several days in a row when the wind was blowing to produce the right amount of a product. (22,23)
If there is no Weather app, satellite, or computer-generated weather model available to predict the weather for you, how do you build a life based on the force of the wind?
Just as with the cardinal wind directions and millennia-old observations, Dutch culture also featured hundreds of sayings, proverbs, and centuries-old folk meteorological methods for predicting the local weather. The remains of these traditions are all kinds of sayings. You can “go with the wind,” “throw something to the wind,” “take the wind out of someone’s sails,” “go with the flow,” “have the wind at your back,” and “get some fresh air.” (“Je kan voor de wind gaan, iets in de wind slaan, iemand de wind uit de zeilen nemen, met alle winden mee draaien, er de wind onder hebben en eventjes uitwaaien.”) I think I could fill a book with these, and some of them aren’t even that far-fetched to use when you want to express yourself clearly. Their origins stem from a way of life that was extremely dependent on the weather and the wind. Weather proverbs are a collection of sayings used in folk meteorology to predict which way the wind would blow or what kind of season would come with it. These sayings are based on centuries-old observations passed down through generations, often orally; as a result, they need to be easy to remember and sometimes even rhyme. Weather proverbs are grounded in observations that take a holistic view of the weather. They examine changes in the behavior of clouds, stars, wind, animals, plants, and people to predict the weather for the next 12–48 hours, days, and sometimes even months. (26) Below, I’ve compiled a brief collection of these sayings to provide an overview.
Kleine skôpjes, grote drôpkes (26)
“Small sheep, big Drops”
Refers to a cirrocumulus cloud (3), also known as small sheep-like clouds. This type of cloud generally occurs in a low-pressure system that causes warm air to rise. This creates small clouds due to an uneven distribution of warm air and, consequently, the saturation of moisture in the air. This can only mean one thing… a storm!
Wees voor een weeromslag niet beducht,
als er geen wind is in de lucht. (26)
“Don’t worry about a change in the weather
if there’s no wind in the air.”
The wind is often a sign of a weather change. If there is little wind, this will result in stable weather, which often forms in high-pressure systems.
'morgens een kind
'middags een vent
'avonds an het end’ (26)
“A child in the morning,
a man in the afternoon,
and at the end of the day”
A north wind has a strong daily cycle.
‘Wind in de nacht
water in de gracht’ (24)
“Wind at night, water in the canal”
If the wind picks up during the night, there is a chance that a low-pressure system (with a warm front) is approaching, and so a chance of rain. (4)
Hoe losser de wind, hoe vaster weer.’ (26)
“The lighter the wind, the more stable the weather.”
Wind is a good indicator of changing weather, because differences in atmospheric pressure create wind between low- and high-pressure areas. When the wind is “light,” it means it comes in small gusts and does not produce strong bursts of wind with a clearly defined direction. Lighter winds bring less significant weather changes.
‘Insecten vliegen hoog met mooi weer’ (24)
“Insects fly high in good weather”
Insect activity is a clear indicator of weather changes. On warm, predictable days, they fly high and move about more, whereas on days that bring rain or storms, this does not happen. This is followed by: “Insects fly low when it rains”
‘Gaat de oostenwind tegen de avond liggen
dan waait hij de volgende dag opnieuw’ (26)
“If the east wind dies down toward evening, it will pick up again the next day”
An easterly wind is stable and lasts a long time.
It’s a fairly practical way of looking at the hidden relationships in a landscape, but what’s remarkable is that they’re often correct. In this case, paying attention may actually be more valuable than a mathematical model. The direction and strength of the wind can also be determined by all sorts of things other than an anemometer (an instrument for measuring wind speed). The Beaufort scale also includes accurate descriptions of situations corresponding to each wind force, such as wind force 3: hair gets messed up, and clothing starts to flutter. (27) There are also several terms that are no longer in use, such as “Labberkoelte.”(28) A “Labberkoelte” is a cool breeze that exerts only a little pressure, sometimes dying down and sometimes giving a brief nudge.