[1] One account written in Latin from Delft, mentioned Kenau by name as an unusually fearless woman who worked night and day carrying earth to the city walls to rebuild the defense line.

[2] This (anonymous) account mentioned in the next paragraph how the people of Haarlem stood on these earthworks and threw burning tar wreaths around the necks of the enemy, and described how one Spanish soldier jumped into the river Spaarne to douse the flames only to drown from the weight of his armor.

Kenau’s role as an earth carrier was soon glorified into a full-fledged soldier who was honored at the centennial celebrations of independence from Spain in 1673 and again during the bicentenary in 1773.

It was the Haarlem doctor and historian Dr. C. Ekama who first questioned the Kenau legend in 1872 on the eve of the tricentenary celebrations.

[1] In fact she went to great trouble in 1585 to receive money from the Haarlem council for wood delivered during the siege that was never paid for.

[1] The captain was taken hostage and Kenau went to great lengths to have him released, but apparently she travelled north and became the victim of pirates herself, according to her daughters.

Originally, it stood for female bravery, but as social role models developed, the word kenau came to stand for "shrew".