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The monk Ecgberht of Ripon was the driving force behind the Christianization of the defiant heathens of Frisia. From the influential monastery of Rath Melsigi in Ireland, he launched wave after wave of monks, priests, and other clergy toward the Frisian coast. Among his spiritual soldiers were the monks Willibrord and Adalbert. After receiving their education at Rath Melsigi, both were fired off as well, and landed on the windswept beaches of Frisia. Their spiritual D-Day wa

At the intersection of land and sea—where it is hard to tell where one ends and the other begins—life is harsh. The corrosive salt of the...

In this blog post, we will argue that the Frisian lands might just as well be called the United Frisian Emirates. Granted, there are a few superficial differences with the modern United Arab Emirates. The Emiratis have camels and goats; the Frisians have cows and sheep. Their climate is hot and dry; the Frisians’ is wet and cold—for now. With global warming, palm trees may soon line the long dykes of the Wadden Sea and turn its barrier islands into Maldivian-style retreats. A

It was a Yankee by the name of Mary Mapes Dodge who wrote ‘Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates: A Story of Life in Holland’. The book was published in New York in 1865. It is about poor, 15-year-old Hans and his sister, Gretel. Gretel wins the Silver Skates, the prize for winning an ice skating race. After that, everything turns out for the best, and the Brinkers are one big happy family. The book also contains the story of the Hero of Haarlem. It is the world-famous story of

We retrace our steps to the sixteenth century, a time when the potato was still an exotic newcomer. Today, children grow up on pasta,...

In the series Myths of Nations, we disclose to you this time that the Frisians, in fact, didn't come from India, as the old legends tell us. A bummer, we know. And, what's proven yet again in this post, we should listen more often to Led Zeppelin. In particular, to their Immigrant Song. Install yourself, click  this link  to listen to Robert Plant’s whining and crying voice, and, above all, read about the nonsense and truth behind the origin of nation myths. We come from the

With the upcoming seasonal festivities at the end of the year, it is appropriate to serve you a flavourful cocktail. It is a cocktail from the list 'Myths of Nations', namely the 'Frisians Cocktail'. Its recipe is not as old as some people thought it was, or would like it to be, but it is still quite a reasonable drink to serve before, during, and after Christmas dinners, or as an aperitif on New Year's Eve! What the heck, on every Sunday morning with strawberries for breakfa

How to settle the scores in medieval Frisia when you killed someone: the function of a weregeld.

This blog is a virtual hike. Grab a coffee and go 200 kilometers per hour. When ploughing through piles of research on where the Frisians roamed, we stumbled upon interesting Frisian place names. A few weeks ago we, the two Frisian bastards, took another hike. We walked a track of 31 km along the river Vecht . In the early medieval times this river was the most important water highway between Dorestad and Scandinavia. In this period mostly Vikings and Frisian traders roamed

Liudger succeeded where other evangelists failed. He finally managed to convert the pagan Frisians to Christianity, because he “spoke their language”. Did he really? A very thorough study from Hinne Wagenaar reveals quite a startling truth about this Frisian apostle. Some time ago I stumbled upon an article from Hinne Wagenaar, called " Liudger, apostle of the Frisians ". A question in Cameroon sparked his interest in this Frisian apostle. As a professor in theology he was

Nordfriesland or North Frisia. The western coast and islands of the region of Schleswig. Stretching from the Danish town Tønder in the...

September 2018, one of the bastards hiked the Grande Randonnée 20 in Corsica. Or, as the French say, la GR-vingt . The GR20 is considered Europe’s toughest long-distance trail. And one of the most dangerous, as it turned out. The bastard wanted to experience the similarities of hiking trails that cover territories of Europe’s autochthonous minorities. In this case, comparing the GR20 on Corsica territory with that of the Frisia Coast Trail. And, like hiking the FCT, the GR20

Here are some maps that help you locate the Frisians in the early Middle Ages (500-800 AD). We combined old maps, archaeological finds, old scriptures and historical research. In our previous blog post we pinpointed several locations where the 5 Frisian kings set foot. In this blog post we focus on the Frisian territories of those kings. Here we go. When you look for maps to locate the Frisian territories around 500 and 800 AD you will often bump into the Magna Frisia map.

We plotted the exact locations of the whereabouts of the five Frisian kings Finn, Audulfus, Aldgils, Redbad, and Poppo. We might have even hit some royal DNA samples. GPS, ready, go! Just follow and click the blue pins on the map below. Plotting the Frisia Coast Trail hike When shaping the Frisian Coast Trail we are especially interested in historical Frisian locations. Where well known medieval Frisian kings lived is a vital part of the Frisia Coast Trail. In this blog pos

This blog post is not about the Westfrisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937–2012), better known by his pen name Bernlef . Nor is it...