The Dutch Vikings: Frisians Full History

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Sources
Naturalis historia, Pliny the Elder

Annales, Tacitus

Germania, Tacitus

Historia Romana, Lucius Cassius Dio.

Royal Frankish Annals

Codex Unia

Gesta Danorum

Historia de Sancto Cuthberto

Annales Lindisfarnenses et Dumelmenses

Gesta Normannorum Ducum, William of Jumièges

Heimskringla

Skaldic Poems

Egils Saga/Saga of the Icelanders

Jus Municipale Fresonum

Rüstringer Recht

The Frisii were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and the River Ems, and the presumed or possible ancestors of the modern-day ethnic Dutch. The Frisii lived in the coastal area stretching roughly from present-day Bremen to Bruges, including many of the smaller offshore islands. In the 1st century BC, Romans took control of the Rhine delta but Frisii to the north of the river managed to maintain some level of independence. Some or all of the Frisii may have joined into the Frankish and Saxon peoples in late Roman times, but they would retain a separate identity in Roman eyes until at least 296, when they were forcibly resettled as laeti (i.e., Roman-era serfs) and thereafter disappear from recorded history. Their tentative existence in the 4th century is confirmed by archaeological discovery of a type of earthenware unique to 4th-century Frisia, called terp Tritzum, showing that an unknown number of Frisii were resettled in Flanders and Kent, likely as laeti under the aforementioned Roman coercion. The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group indigenous to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia (which was a part of Denmark until 1864). The Frisian languages are spoken by more than 500,000 people; West Frisian is officially recognised in the Netherlands (in Friesland), and North Frisian and Saterland Frisian are recognised as regional languages in Germany.

[sarahjane]

My Pake and Beppe immigrated from Friesland to Canada after WWII, they were a big part of my life and I cherish my Frisian heritage - so thank you for this!

[jeltehoogterp]

Any other Frisians around?? Beautiful history, still being kept alive by the modern day Frisians!

[rspklbb]

Hey I’m actually Frisian from the province of Friesland.
And I really enjoyed this video. You actually said some things I didn’t even know about our history,
Although there are some other cool facts about frisia.
-we have our own rune’s (futhorc)
- we have our own names for the gods
Like Weda (Odin) or Thuner (Thor).
-we have a badass amulet depicting thuner wearing a helmet (found in
Wijnaldum )

[robjorna]

My Opa was born in Friesland. Our family name of Jorna, from research, shows it is Norwegian and is a short form of Jorunna and derived from the Old Norse name ‘Iórunnr’. I find learning about this fascinating and interested to find out how the name evolved and travelled from Norway.

[richardhale]

Frisian descendant here in Tennessee. Thanks to Family Tree DNA I have discovered many things about my origins. This video was very helpful, thanks for all the great information.

[tristar]

One of the best viking history channels on Youtube!

[ingemariesongbird]

Thank you. I want my German and Norwegian ancestors to have honor and truth. I am a proud Germanic woman. Your videos are truly amazing.

[DanTheZombieGaming]

I found it really interesting thanx brother. Living in south africa having mainly dutch ancestry . I went now and looked at traditional Frisian clothing. Now I see where my south african boer clothing cones from. I saw old family photos in my grandparent's houses when I was a child, and the clothing they wore and there perants is similar if not identical to Frisian clothing. I speak Afrikaans but I can also speak Dutch and im learning myself Norsk now.

[VeronicaHoltskog]

Great reading :) I am Norwegian and married to a Dutch :) Interesting facts is that the oak poles under Amsterdam came from Norway (and Poland) The wood from Norway was shipped from Åsgårdstrand mainly, same area I am from :)

[RareRootsOfJoyMelbourne]

I get I’m a year late. But thank you so much for this video. I’m Australian but my mother is Dutch and I’m only now getting into learning about Dutch history. Your video is amazing. So informative, thank you 🙏🏼 and it’s given me so many things to look into.

[Greye]

This is an excellent video. You talked about some things I've not heard about before and I appreciate that. The length of the video is just fine. If you are willing to talk about something, then I am more than willing to listen. Even if your videos are all three hours long, I'll still watch and listen. You have great content and you would make a fantastic historian/teacher. I find your videos to be of high quality and well worth watching. Thank you for all of the time and effort you put in to them. Many blessings and best wishes.

[ingwiafraujaz]

Here is some literature for folks who would like to read some books on Fridians:

- Redbad by Willem Schoorstra is about the life of the pagan Frisian king Radboud (Redbad) seen through the eyes of his best friend.

- The Descendant of Almar Otten mainly takes place in the Deventer of today (and the Saksenland of today) but is about what happened to the Irminsul after Charlemagne defeated the Saxons.

- The Edge of the World by Michael Pye, a very readable history book, which also heavily features the Frisian-Norse ties. I'd recommend that one as well.

These writers have done a lot of research for their books and for contemporary Dutch readers the books are a feast of recognition.

About Redbad, the feared pagan warlord generally thought to have been the last independent king of Frisia:

It was during the year 678 that Wilfrid, the recently deposed and now exiled bishop of York, crossed over the English channel to mainland Europe with the intention of travelling to Rome to seek papal support for his eventual reinstatement as Northumbria's foremost churchman. It wasn't to be this simple however and before long he and his men realised that they had not landed in Francia, but the neighbouring land of Frisia; a harsh and unforgiving realm of sea faring raiders and pagan war lords situated upon the very periphery of the Christian world.

Much to their relief, Wilfrid and his men were received kindly by the man alleged to have been the overall king of Frisia at the time, Aldegisel, who may very well have been simply one ruler amongst many. Wilfred and his retinue decided to stay in Frisia and winter with the king, and in doing so managed to convert him to the Christian faith, allegedly along with most of the major chiefs and lords and thousands of their followers. The conversion of the Frisian king was a great success for the church at the time, and would be the first step towards the eventual conversion of all the various Germanic peoples, a task made all the more meaningful by the ever present knowledge of the Germanic origins of the Anglo-Saxon churchmen themselves, who now sought to convert their kinsmen on the continent.

Wilfred continued on his journey to Rome, content in the knowledge that he and his followers had begun the conversion of the Frisians. Just two years later however, a new and very different king rose to prominence in Frisia. His name was Redbad, and unlike his predecessor, he was a staunch follower of the ancient customs and religion of his people. He was a warrior king and a lord of war who firmly opposed the Christian missionaries and Frankish territorial expansion into Frisian lands for close to four decades. A fierce and charismatic ruler, Redbad is generally remembered as the last independent king of Frisia.

Very little is known of Redbad before his emergence as king in 680. Generally thought to have been the son of the previous king Aldegisel, he fiercely rejected the spiritual reform instigated by his father and almost immediately upon coming to power ejected the various Christian missionaries from Frisia. To the southwest lay the powerful Merovingian kingdom of the Franks, under the strong hand of Pepin of Herstal. For almost two centuries since the time of the first Frankish king, Clovis, the lands of the Franks had gradually expanded, incorporating more and more subject peoples into their realm, and converting the new subjects to Christianity in the process.

Redbad resented this Seventh Century imperialism and apparently made it his business to oppose the Franks at every turn, expelling them from his lands time and time again throughout his long reign. He was initially successful as Pepin spent the first potion of his own reign in attempting to consolidate his own realm and quell any internal disputes within his large and disparate kingdom. By 689 however he was ready to devote his full attention to Frisia, and launched a full scale invasion with a large army.

At the important mercantile centre of Dorestad, the large and tactically superior force of the Franks inflicted a heavy defeat upon the outnumbered Frisians, pushing Redbad far to the east and winning not only Dorestad but the entirety of West Frisia. Over the next two years the similarly important trade centre of Utrecht fell to Pepin's forces, giving him access to the rich trade routes along the Rhine into the North Sea. Redbad was again forced to retreat to the peripheral areas of his realm for a time, possibly seeking refuge upon the island of Heligoland for a time in 697, and certainly retreating to the northern/eastern part of the modern day Netherlands, still known today as Friesland.

By the beginning of the Eighth Century, although the Franks had made significant progress into Frisia, establishing a bishopric as a starting point for more conversions to come, vast tracts of wilderness and cultivated farmland still lay in the hands of Redbad and his warriors, who still inspired terror in the hearts of most residents of Frankia.

Pepin was either unable or unwilling to wage further wars with Redbad for the rest of his reign, settling instead upon a diplomatic marriage between Grimoald, the son of the Frisian king, and his own daughter Thiadsvind, in an arrangement aimed at keeping the peace between the two distinct cultures, and hopefully in time bring the Frisians successfully into the Christian faith.

Numerous attempts were made throughout this period to convert Redbad himself, who refused time and time again. His mentality is perhaps best exemplified by his alleged conversation with Wulfram, an ex archbishop of Sens who tried to convert him in the early Eighth Century. It is said that Redbad's baptism was very nearly successful, only failing upon his realisation that he would not be able to find any of his ancestors after his death, as he was told they would all be in hell. Redbad responded that he would much rather spend eternity in hell with his pagan ancestors than in heaven with his enemies.

This uneasy peace between Redbad and Pepin seems to have lasted for close to two decades, but everything was to change upon the Frankish king's death in 714. Seizing his chance to reclaim the west of Frisia which had been claimed by the Franks close to two decades before, Redbad gathered his warriors together and descended upon his enemies for one last time, causing abject terror in his wake and streams of refugees fleeing westwards. He forced the Frankish appointed bishop Willibrord and his monks to flee out of Frisia and advanced his forces as far as the city of Cologne in modern day Germany, where in 716 he inflicted a severe defeat upon the forces of the young successor to Pepin, Charles Martel, who was still very much staking his claim to the Frankish throne.

Unfortunately for Redbad however, Martel was every bit the tactician and strategist that his father had been, and after a short time he was able to raise a new force of men of his own which he used to reverse the Frisian gains in just a few short years, compelling much of the Frisian population to submit to Frankish rule once more, and most importantly, allow their missionaries relatively safe passage again.

Martel's successes culminated with the death of Redbad in 719 in unknown circumstances, although his followers would continue to wage war against the Franks wherever and whenever they could for at least three more decades, leading a long insurgency against both the Christian faith and Frankish overlordship of their lands.

Frisia continued to be a fiercely independent-minded border region for centuries to come, weathering persistent incursions by Scandinavians whilst developing strong trade links throughout Europe. By the Early Modern Period, Frisia was eventually incorporated into the modern nation state of the Netherlands but still harbours elements of regionalist political thinking today.

[tenzin]

FINALLY!! I've been waiting. I found out around 3 yrs. ago my mother's family is Frisian. We always knew we were Dutch. Then I did a ancestry DNA test and started researching where they were from, Groningen. I found out we're actually Frisian, I had never heard of these people, but now I am so proud!! My mother's maiden name is Swarthout, Zwartwoude in Frisian. I almost have tears in my eyes. Thank you so much!!

[naninegoossens]

Thank you for this information. I'm from the Netherlands and born in Haarlem the north of the Netherlands. But I feel my all life a connection with the Vikings and Scandinavian people. My ancestors also come from Friesland. All the pieces fall together Thank you so much!

[richardhouben]

Mooi stukje nederlandse history, bedankt voor de passie die je in het verhaal stop kan er op deze manier uren naar luister.beter dan de geschiedenis lessen op school👍👊.

[iJurre]

Hi brother,

I live in Friesland too and really loved your video and history lesson. Keep up the great work. Tusen Takk.

[SirThomasJames]

From a half-Frisian: It's really nice you bring up our unsung heroes and give them the attention they deserve. No one cares for our origins anymore, but honouring our ancestors and the great deeds they did (fight for their freedom to their own lands and beliefs!) should be done much more nowadays. I for one revere them as some of the greatest people that ever lived.

[deidrac]

Hi Thor,
My ancestor is Gottfrid, I am thankful for the information that you are sharing . I have spent 2 years researching my heritage and feel the history you are sharing is assisting me on my journey. Thank you!

[mattvdh]

Makes me proud of my Dutch heritage...great video, thanks man!

[age-freerkbokma]

Tige tank foar dizze ynformative fideo! Ik bin hikke en tein yn Fryslân, mar wenje al jierren yn it bûtenlân.
Dochs fiel ik my altyd sterk ferbûn mei myn heitelân en de Fryske taal, kultuer en mentaliteit. Fryslân boppe! ;)