View source for Frisians

==History==
{{see also|History of Frisia}}
[[File:Europe and the Near East at 476 AD.png|thumb|left|[[List of early Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] in the 5th century]]
The earliest references to the Frisians are found in the works of Roman and Greek authors such as [[Tacitus]], as in his {{lang|la|[[Germania (book)|Germania]]}}, and [[Ptolemy]], in his ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geography]]'', calling these tribes the {{langr|la|[[Frisii]]}} and the {{langr|la|[[Frisiavones]]}}.<ref>{{multiref|{{harvnb|Bremmer|2009|p=1}}.|{{harvnb|Bazelmans|2009|p=323}}.}}</ref>{{efn|The {{langr|la|Frisii}} are sometimes known as the {{lang|la|Frisii minores}} as well.{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|p=323}}}} Both Tacitus and Ptolemy describe the {{langr|la|Frisii}} as living from north of the [[estuary]] of the [[Rhine]] to around the [[Ems (river)|Ems]] river. Although they were not a part of the [[Roman Empire]], the areas comprising [[Frisia]] were akin to a [[tributary state]] and some Frisians served as [[mercenaries]] in the [[Roman army]].{{sfn|Bremmer|2009|p=1}} The {{langr|la|Frisii}} appear to enter recorded history in [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]]'s account of the war against the Rhine Germans and the [[Chauci]] in 12&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{Citation |last=Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus |author-link=Cassius Dio |year=229 |translator-last=Cary |translator-first=Earnest |contribution=Book LIV, Ch 32 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wa5fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA365 |title=Dio's Roman History |volume=VI |publisher=William Heinemann |publication-date=1917 |location=London |page=365 }}</ref>{{npsn|date=April 2026}} They occasionally appear in the accounts of Roman wars against the Germanic tribes of the region, up to and including the [[Revolt of the Batavi]] around 70&nbsp;AD. Frisian mercenaries were hired as cavalry to assist the [[Roman conquest of Britain|Roman invasion of Britain]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Potter |first1=Timothy W. |last2=Johns |first2=Catherine |title=Roman Britain |series=Exploring the Roman world |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California |year=1992 |isbn=9780520081680 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LY9rEvdEKkwC&pg=PA190 |page=190 }}</ref> They are not mentioned again until {{circa}} 296, when they were deported into Roman territory as ''[[laeti]]'' (i.e., Roman-era [[serf]]s; see [[Binchester Roman Fort]] and [[Cuneus Frisionum]]).<ref>{{Citation |last=Grane |first=Thomas |year=2007 |contribution=From Gallienus to Probus – Three decades of turmoil and recovery |title=The Roman Empire and Southern Scandinavia–a Northern Connection! (PhD thesis) |publisher=University of Copenhagen |publication-date=2007 |location=Copenhagen |page=109 }}</ref> The discovery of a type of earthenware unique to fourth century [[Frisia]], called ''terp Tritzum'', shows that an unknown number of them were resettled in [[Flanders]] and [[Kent]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Looijenga |first=Jantina Helena |year=1997 |editor-last=SSG Uitgeverij |contribution=History, Archaeology and Runes |title=Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150–700; Texts and Contexts (PhD dissertation) |publisher=Groningen University |publication-date=1997 |location=Groningen |page=30 |isbn=978-90-6781-014-2 |url=http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502101056/http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf |archive-date=2005-05-02 |url-status=live}}. Looijenga cites Gerrets' ''The Anglo-Frisian Relationship Seen from an Archaeological Point of View'' (1995) for this contention.</ref> probably as ''laeti'' under Roman coercion.{{cn|date=April 2026}} It is unlikely that these Frisians described by the Romans were Germanic-speaking peoples.{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|p=327}} [[Onomastics|Evidence from proper names]] suggests they spoke an [[Indo-European language]] that was neither [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] nor [[Celtic languages|Celtic]].{{sfn|Bremmer|2009|p=1}}
[[File:Frisians.png|thumb|Historical settlement areas of the Frisians, and areas where a Frisian language is spoken]]

How the original {{langr|la|Frisii}} and {{langr|la|Frisiavones}} were originally supplanted is somewhat unclear; Roman sources on the Frisians precede the earliest medieval ones by over three hundred years.{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|p=330}} From the third through the fifth centuries, Frisia suffered [[marine transgression]]s that made most of the land uninhabitable, aggravated by a change to a cooler and wetter climate.<ref>{{Citation |last=Berglund |first=Björn E. |year=2002 |contribution=Human impact and climate changes—synchronous events and a causal link? |title=Quaternary International |volume=105 |publisher=Elsevier |publication-date=2003 |page=10 |issue=1 }}</ref><ref name=Ejstrud>{{Citation |last1=Ejstrud |first1=Bo |year=2008 |editor1-last=Ejstrud |editor1-first=Bo |editor2-last=Maarleveld |editor2-first=Thijs J. |title=The Migration Period, Southern Denmark and the North Sea |publisher=Maritime Archaeology Programme |publication-date=2008 |location=Esbjerg |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/14806111/The-Migration-Period-southern-Denmark-and-the-North-Sea |isbn=978-87-992214-1-7 |display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Issar |first=Arie S. |year=2003 |title=Climate Changes during the Holocene and their Impact on Hydrological Systems |publisher=Cambridge University |publication-date=2003 |location=Cambridge |bibcode=2003cchi.book.....I |isbn=978-0-511-06118-9 }}</ref><ref name=Louwe>{{Citation |last=Louwe Kooijmans |first=L. P. |year=1974 |title=The Rhine/Meuse Delta. Four studies on its prehistoric occupation and Holocene geology (PhD Dissertation) |publisher=Leiden University Press |publication-date=1974 |location=Leiden |hdl=1887/2787}}</ref> Whatever population may have remained dropped dramatically, and the coastal lands remained largely unpopulated for the next two centuries.<ref name="white" >{{Cite journal |last=White |first=David L. |title=Reasons to Think That Anglo-Frisian Developed in Britain |journal=Anglica|number=27/2 |date=2018 |pages=5–31 |doi=10.7311/0860-5734.27.2.01 |url=https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/888979#:~:text=It%20seems%20that%20the%20later,Frisian%20is%20descended%20from%20English. |access-date=2025-07-05|doi-access=free }}</ref> 
One theory is that the area became effectively abandoned by its original inhabitants and a Germanic group moved in, taking over the local name.{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|p=326}}{{sfn|Nijdam|Hallebeek|de Jong|2023|p=4}} The German linguist [[Elmar Seebold]] suggests, for example, that the [[Jutes#Possible synonymy with the Frisians|Jutes integrated into the group relatively peacefully]] and the new Jutish–Frisian entity became a Jutish-speaking group, but ultimately assumed the Frisian name.{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|p=326}} Another theory suggests that the [[Franks|Frankish]] elite named the region using the works of classical scholars and the name was eventually adopted locally; the Franks sometimes referred to areas on the periphery of [[Frankish Empire|their empire]] by Roman-era names, including {{lang|la|[[Traiectum (Utrecht)|Traiectum]]}} for modern-day [[Utrecht]] and {{lang|la|[[Toxandria]]}} for the [[Pagus of Brabant|''pagus'' of Brabant]].{{sfn|Bazelmans|2009|pp=331–332}}

The Frisians then spread considerably over the following two hundred years, dominating the [[North Sea]] region. This period is marked by the rule of [[warlord]]-like kings and a [[Maritime transport|maritime economy]] augmented by considerable cattle-breeding skill. Frisian domination of North Sea trade during this era led some contemporary non-Frisian documents to refer to the North Sea as the Frisian Sea ({{langx|la|Mare Frisicum}}) and the term ''Frisian'' was used in [[Dorestad]] to mean any merchant, not necessarily an ethnic Frisian.<ref>{{multiref|{{harvnb|Bremmer|2009|p=2}}.|{{harvnb|Looijenga|2003|pp=69–70}}.|{{harvnb|Nijdam|Hallebeek|de Jong|2023|p=4}}.}}</ref> This farthest extent of Frisian territory is sometimes referred to as {{lang|la|[[Frisian Kingdom|Magna Frisia]]}} ('Greater Frisia'). This period saw Frisia ruled by a [[high king]], with the earliest reference to such a leader being dated to 678{{nbsp}}AD.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Halbertsma|first=H.|title=Frieslands oudheid : het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang|date=2000|publisher=Matrijs|others=E.H.P., historicus Cordfunke, Herbert Sarfatij|isbn=90-5345-167-6|location=Utrecht|oclc=905441031}}</ref> 

In the early eighth century, the Frisians mostly worshipped [[Germanic paganism|Germanic gods]] such as [[Thor]] and [[Odin]] outside the vicinity of [[Utrecht]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Rietbergen |first=P. J. A. N. |title=A Short History of the Netherlands: From Prehistory to the Present Day |publisher=Bekking |year=2000 |isbn=90-6109-440-2 |edition=4th |location=Amersfoort |pages=25 |oclc=52849131}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, the Frisian nobles came into increasing conflict with the [[Franks]] to their south, resulting in a [[Frisian–Frankish wars|series of wars]] in which the [[Frankish Empire]] eventually subjugated Frisia in 734. These wars benefited attempts by Anglo-Irish missionaries (which had begun with [[Saint Boniface]]) to convert the Frisian populace to [[Christianity]], in which [[Saint Willibrord]] largely succeeded.<ref>{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=St. Willibrord}}</ref>

Some time after the death of [[Charlemagne]], the Frisian territories were in theory under the control of the [[Count of Holland]], but in practice the Hollandic counts, starting with [[Arnulf, Count of Holland|Count 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 which [[feudalism]] and [[serfdom]] (as well as central or judicial [[administration (government)|administration]]) did not exist; the Frisian lands only owed their allegiance to the [[Holy 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 in [[Friso-Hollandic Wars|a 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 the [[Seventeen Provinces]] and in 1568 joined the [[Dutch revolt]] against [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], king of Spain, heir of the Burgundian territories; Central Frisia has remained a part of the Netherlands ever since. The eastern periphery of [[Frisia]] would become part of various German states (later Germany) and Denmark. An old tradition existed in the region of exploitation of peatlands.