Frisians: Encyclopedia II - Frisians - History

Frisians - History

The Roman historian Tacitus, in his Germania, mentioned the Frisians among people he grouped together as the Ingvaeones. Two different types, or classes are mentioned by Tacitus, the maiores Frisii and the minores Frisii. Divided by the soil of their farmlands, the maiores Frisii or Clay Frisians populated fertile clay soil increasing the size of their harvests, lifestock and even their posture. The small and relatively unhealthy minores Frisii (Sand Frisians) farmed on sand lands and subsequently their crops lacked size or number compared to those of the maiores Frisii. According to Tacitus even the armies of the maiores were larger and better equipped.

They were probably a people of seafarers, the North Sea spanning from Bretagne to Eastern Denmark, was referred to as the Mare Frisia at that time. Small groups of Frisians settled the surrounding lands and their settlements have been traced to England, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, France and obviously to The Netherlands.

Their territory followed the coast of the North Sea from the mouth of the Rhine river up to that of the Ems, their eastern border according to Ptolemy's Geographica. Pliny the Elder states in Belgica that they were conquered by the Roman general Drusus in 12 BC, after that several uprisings have been mentioned by Tacitus. The most noted of these is their partake in the Batavii Rebellion. Thereafter the Frisians largely sank into historical obscurity, until coming into contact with the expanding Merovingian and Carolingian empires.

In the 5th Century, during this period of historical silence, many of them no doubt joined the migration of the Anglo-Saxons who went through Frisian territory to invade Britain, while those who stayed on the continent expanded into the newly-emptied lands previously occupied by the Anglo-Saxons. By the end of the sixth century the Frisians occupied the coast all the way to the mouth of the Weser and spread farther still in the seventh century, southward down to Dorestad and even Bruges. This farthest extent of Frisian territory is known as Frisia Magna.

The empire that came in to being after the fall of the Western Roman Empire was governed by a king or a duke. The earliest document referring to an independ state ruled by a king is dated 678. Early attempts of to Christianize Frisia were unable to convert the fierce pagan Frisians and various monks were murdered or banished, with the legendary example of the murder of Bonifatius in Dokkum. King Radbod was even ably to beat the mighty Charles Martel in 714 to preserve independence. Twenty years later Charles Martel got his revenge and effectively subjugated the entire Frisian empire. Christianity was also enforced by the Christian Franks and in Utrecht a Bishop was installed to see to Christian affairs in Frisia. Not until the early 800s did they fully reclaim their independence from the Frankish grip. Christianity had however taken root and had been adopted by most Frisians.

Frisians - Dukes of Friesland

• Sibbelt ???-???
• Ritzard ???-???

• Aldegisel ???-680
• Radbod 680-719
• Poppo 719-734
• Radbod ???-???

Frisians - Friesland in the middle ages

Frisians - Modern history

The modern remnants of Frisia Magna are small and scattered. Most of it became dominated by its expanding neighbors: the Saxons (who were moving north and west) and the Franks (who were pushing north and east). Western and Middle Frisia are solidly within the modern state of the Netherlands, which now includes the "heartland" of the Frisians from the North Sea coast from Alkmaar in the modern province of Noord-Holland, along the coasts of the modern provinces of Friesland and Groningen, and up to the mouth of the Ems. Culturally, it has shrunk down to the province of Friesland alone. The Frisian language is now spoken only there and in parts of only the Wadden Sea islands of Terschelling and Schiermonnikoog. East and North Frisia have been absorbed into the northern states of Germany, with only the marshes of Saterland, well inland from the coast, still retaining any cultural identity. There are also descendants of Frisians living on the coast of the Jutland peninsula and nearby islands. It is unclear when they arrived there, or even whether they lived first on the islands and then spread to the mainland, or vice-versa. What remains of their language is under heavy pressure from Low German, standard German, and Danish, and faces possible extinction.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki