Ethnic group native to Germany and the Netherlands
This article is about the modern Frisians. For the ancient Germanic tribe also called Frisians, seeFrisii. For other uses, seeFrisian (disambiguation).
There are several theories about the origin of the name of the Frisians, which is derived fromFrisii orFresones, names used by the Romans to describe a Germanic tribe that inhabited the same region but disappeared during the 5th century before the appearance of the Frisians. Most probably the name is derived from the verbfresare in Vulgar Latin, meaning 'milling, cutting, grooving, crushing, removing shells'; this name may have been given to the Frisii because they 'cut the land': digging ditches and dykes to drain the wet marshlands where they lived.[10] Comparefresar el paisaje in the Romance language Spanish. Another theory is the name derives fromfrisselje (to braid, thus referring to braided hair).
Germanic tribes in the 5th centuryHistorical settlement areas of the Frisians, and areas where a Frisian language is spoken
From the third through the fifth centuries, Frisia sufferedmarine transgressions that made most of the land uninhabitable, aggravated by a change to a cooler and wetter climate.[15][16][17][18] Whatever population may have remained dropped dramatically, and the coastal lands remained largely unpopulated for the next two centuries. When conditions improved, Frisia received an influx of new settlers, mostlyAngles andSaxons.[19] These people would eventually be referred to as 'Frisians' (Old Frisian:Frīsa,Old English:Frīsan), though they were not necessarily descended from the ancient Frisii.[citation needed] It is these 'new Frisians' who are largely the ancestors of the medieval and modern Frisians.[20]
By the end of the sixth century, Frisian territory had expanded westward to theNorth Sea coast and, in the seventh century, southward down toDorestad. This farthest extent of Frisian territory is sometimes referred to asFrisia Magna. Early Frisia was ruled by aHigh King, with the earliest reference to a 'Frisian King' being dated 678.[21]
In the early eighth century, the Frisians mostly worshippedGermanic gods such asThor andOdin outside the vicinity ofUtrecht.[22] Slightly later, the Frisian nobles came into increasing conflict with theFranks to their south, resulting in aseries of wars in which theFrankish Empire eventually subjugated Frisia in 734. These wars benefited attempts by Anglo-Irish missionaries (which had begun withSaint Boniface) to convert the Frisian populace toChristianity, in whichSaint Willibrord largely succeeded.[23]
Some time after the death ofCharlemagne, the Frisian territories were in theory under the control of theCount of Holland, but in practice the Hollandic counts, starting withCount Arnulf in 993, were unable to assert themselves as the sovereign lords of Frisia. The resulting stalemate resulted in a period of time called the 'Frisian freedom', a period in whichfeudalism andserfdom (as well as central or judicialadministration) did not exist, and in which the Frisian lands only owed their allegiance to theHoly Roman Emperor.
During the 13th century, however, the counts of Holland became increasingly powerful and, starting in 1272, sought to reassert themselves as rightful lords of the Frisian lands ina series of wars, which (with a series of lengthy interruptions) ended in 1422 with the Hollandic conquest of Western Frisia and with the establishment of a more powerful noble class in Central and Eastern Frisia.
In 1524, Frisia became part of theSeventeen Provinces and in 1568 joined theDutch revolt againstPhilip II, king of Spain, heir of the Burgundian territories; Central Frisia has remained a part of the Netherlands ever since. The eastern periphery ofFrisia would become part of various German states (later Germany) and Denmark. An old tradition existed in the region of exploitation of peatlands.
Though it is impossible to know exact numbers and migration patterns, research has indicated that many Frisians were part of the wave of ethnic groups to colonise areas of present-day England alongside the Angles, Saxons andJutes,[24] starting from around the fifth century when Frisians arrived along the coastline of Kent.[25][26]
Similarities in dialect betweenGreat Yarmouth and Friesland have been noted, originating from trade between these areas during the Middle Ages.[30] Frisians are also known to have founded theFreston area ofIpswich.[31]
In Scotland, historians have noted that colonies of Angles and Frisians settled as far north as theRiver Forth. This corresponds to those areas of Scotland which historically constituted part ofNorthumbria.[32][33]
The earliest traces of Frisians in modern-day Denmark date back from the 8th century, when Frisian traders and craftsmen settled down inRibe.[34] In the Later Middle Ages, Frisian farmers settled around Tøndermarsken west ofTønder. The evidence for this are the dwelling mounds orterps (værfter) in the area that are built after the same method as the ones alongside theWadden Sea further south.[35] Colonists from the south also settled down inMisthusum in the Ballum marshes nearSkærbæk during the 12th of 13th century. According to documents around 1400 at least some of them were considered as "Hollanders".[36]
In modern times, Frisian culture in Denmark is described as assimilated and most people of Frisian descent do not consider themselves Frisian. In regards of the Frisian language, very few may speak it as first language but it was traditionally spoken in severalpolder hamlets near the border with Germany. One estimate puts the Frisian population in Denmark somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000.[35] This number, however, might be grossly exaggerated. Frisian identity in Denmark was promoted by theEiderstedt farmer and political activist Cornelius Petersen, who built a traditional Frisian farmstead inMøgeltønder in 1914 and founded the rural protest movementBondens Selvstyre ("Farmers' self-government"). More recently, the retired journalist Benny Siewertsen wrote a partisan pamphlet on Frisian heritage in Denmark.[36][37]
As both theAnglo-Saxons of England and the early Frisians were formed from similar tribal confederacies, their respective languages were very similar, together forming theAnglo-Frisian family.Old Frisian is the most closely related language toOld English[38] and the modern Frisian dialects are in turn the closest related languages to contemporary English that do not themselves derive from Old English (although modern Frisian and English are not mutually intelligible).
The Frisian language group is divided into three languages:
Of these three languages both Saterland Frisian (2,000 speakers) and North Frisian (10,000 speakers)[39] are endangered. West Frisian is spoken by around 350,000 native speakers in Friesland,[40] and as many as 470,000 when including speakers in neighbouring Groningen province.[4] West Frisian is not listed as threatened, although research published by Radboud University in 2016 has challenged that assumption.[41]
Today, there exists a tripartite division ofNorth,East andWest Frisians; this was caused byFrisia's continual loss of territory in theMiddle Ages. The West Frisians, in general, do not see themselves as part of a larger group of Frisians, and, according to a 1970 poll, identify themselves more with the Dutch than with theEast orNorth Frisians.[42]
^"Die friesische Volksgruppe".Minderheitensekretariat der vier autochthonen nationalen Minderheiten und Volksgruppen (in German). Retrieved6 January 2020.Geschätzt 60.000 Menschen sind ihrem Selbstverständnis nach Friesen. [an estimated 60,000 people self identify as Frisian]
^Potter, Timothy W.; Johns, Catherine (1992).Roman Britain. Exploring the Roman world. Berkeley: University of California. p. 190.ISBN9780520081680.
^Grane, Thomas (2007), "From Gallienus to Probus – Three decades of turmoil and recovery",The Roman Empire and Southern Scandinavia–a Northern Connection! (PhD thesis), Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen, p. 109
^Berglund, Björn E. (2002), "Human impact and climate changes—synchronous events and a causal link?",Quaternary International, vol. 105, Elsevier (published 2003), p. 10
^Louwe Kooijmans, L. P. (1974),The Rhine/Meuse Delta. Four studies on its prehistoric occupation and Holocene geology (PhD Dissertation), Leiden: Leiden University Press,hdl:1887/2787
^Halbertsma, H. (2000).Frieslands oudheid : het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang. E.H.P., historicus Cordfunke, Herbert Sarfatij. Utrecht: Matrijs.ISBN90-5345-167-6.OCLC905441031.
^Rietbergen, P. J. A. N. (2000).A Short History of the Netherlands: From Prehistory to the Present Day (4th ed.). Amersfoort: Bekking. p. 25.ISBN90-6109-440-2.OCLC52849131.
^Gooskens, Charlotte (2004). "The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area". In Gilbers, D. G.; Knevel, N. (eds.).On the Boundaries of Phonology and Phonetics. Groningen: Department of Linguistics.
Verhart, Leo (2006),Op Zoek naar de Kelten, Nieuwe archeologische ontdekkingen tussen Noordzee en Rijn (Searching for the Celts, new archaeological Discoveries between North Sea and Rhine) (in Dutch), Matrijs,ISBN978-90-5345-303-2
Greg Woolf, "Cruptorix and his kind. Talking ethnicity on the middle ground", Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.),Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 207–218.
Jos Bazelmans, "The early-medieval use of ethnic names from classical antiquity. The case of the Frisians", in Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.),Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 321–329.
