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One Day, All the Sunken Church Bells Will Surface and Speak to Us Sternly
Imagine a time unlike ours. When there were no engines, amplifiers, and speakers, and the sounds you heard were made by the actions of men, beasts, or the elements of nature. Be quiet and listen. Can you hear the chatter of children and vendors, and the hooves of horses on the streets? Can you hear…
Der Friesenwall. An Unfinished Last-Ditch Coastal Defence System
On 28 August 1944, a desperate Hitler ordered the construction of a massive defensive line in northern Germany, stretching from the Netherlands to Denmark. Intended as a safeguard in case the Allies opened a fourth front, it followed the model of the Atlantikwall and was named der Friesenwall. The name also reflected the twisted Nazi…
Did the Proverbial Two Captains on the Same Ship Make the Frisians Free?
The much-celebrated Frisian Freedom refers to the period roughly between 1250 and 1500, when the Frisian terrae (‘lands’) — bearing beautiful, exotic names like Drechterland, Vier Noorder Koggen, Westergo, Oostergo, Humsterland, Hunsingo, Fivelingo, Rheiderland, Emsingo, Federgo, Norderland, Harlingerland, Wangerland, Östringen, Rüstringen, Wursten, and Butjadingen — were small, self-governed communities. A string of so-called marsh republics…
The Waugal, Protector of Fresh Water and New Life — Hiking the Bibbulmun Track
In the final two weeks of December 2024, one of the bastards of the Frisian Coast Trail solo hiked the coastal section of the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia. Naturally, it had to be the coast. This section runs between the towns of Albany and Walpole, with only a brief brush with civilization halfway through,…
The Old Man (and Woman) and the Sea — Hiking the Likya Yolu
April 2024. One of the bastards of the Frisia Coast Trail hiked a stretch of the Lycian Way — Likya Yolu in Turkish. This coastal track spans over 700 kilometers along Turkey’s southern shore, often tracing ancient paths once used by the Greeks and Romans. Lycia is the historical name for the Teke Peninsula, a…
Comb as You Are, as You Were
There are theories suggesting that the tribal name ‘Frisians’ originates from the Old Frisian word frisle, meaning ‘lock of hair’ — a term that may itself derive from Latin (Van Renswoude 2012). Compare, for instance, the French verb friser, meaning ‘to curl’. While this etymology is incorrect — the true origin relates more to hauling…
Between Leffinge and Misthusum — Understanding the Basics of Terps
Man-made hills to dwell upon. Long thought of as typically Frisian, but they are anything but unique. Consider the Kincaid Mounds of the Mississippian people along the Cumberland and Mississippi rivers in the United States. Or the lomas (‘hills’) deep in Bolivia’s Beni district, raised above the Amazon’s seasonal floodwaters to provide ground for living…
“Ich Mag Ihre Pelzer- und Schustertöchter Nicht!” — And a Kiss of Death
Like everywhere along the Wadden Sea shores in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the small republics of the tidal marshlands fought battle after battle against foreign aggressors seeking to subdue them. Counts, bishops, and cities alike tried to lay their hands on these fertile and strategically located lands. And if the threat was not from…
Odin’s Ravens Ruled the Southern Shores. Not the Hammer of Thor
When re-enactors bring early-medieval Frisia to life, they are often seen wearing a small iron hammer on a leather cord around their neck — symbolizing Mjölnir, the mighty weapon of the Norse god Thor. We regret to inform them that Mjölnir was not at all fashionable along the southern shores of the North Sea —…
Hengist and Horsa — Frisian Horses from Overseas That Founded the Kentish Kingdom
It is at the inn The Prancing Pony in the village of Bree that the Hobbits find refuge from the screeching Nazgûl on their coal-black horses. It is also here that they encounter Strider, the mysterious wanderer who is later revealed to be Aragorn — future king of the Reunited Kingdom. Horses, wanderers, fugitive royalty,…
“The Man Wants Another Steak!” She Snapped at the Waitress — Hiking the GR20
When thru-hiking, special encounters are part of the experience. One such encounter happened when one of the Frisian bastards completed the GR20 on the island of Corsica in the months of September and October 2018. It is a story that teaches you always to keep an open mind towards every person you meet and not…
Where Are the Corps and Student Associations? When Do the Corpsbrüder and Frats Rise Up?!
Recently, the regional newspaper Leeuwarder Courant published an article about how the town of Stavoren was tampering with the stones of the grave of King Aldgillis (Walinga 2024), a king of Frisia in the seventh century. This grave used to be the spot where the members of the Frisian student association D.S.S.F.S. Aldgillis of Delft…
The Chronicles of Warnia. When History Seems a Fantasy Story
The fate of tribes and their names in the age of the Great Migration, between the fourth and sixth centuries, was anything but certain. Most simply disappeared. Celtic and Germanic peoples alike faded from the stage of history — some crushed by alliances of stronger tribes, others absorbed into new tribes, and still others vanishing…
Guerrilla in the Polder. The Battle of Vroonen in 1297
What is the use of celebrating only the battles you have won? Feeling proud and superior as a nation over others, with the differences emphasized in the process. Why not follow the example of the Scots? Every year, they commemorate their defeat at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1746 — fought between the…
The Bishop From Frisia Who Proceeded the Hunger Games
Katniss Everdeen, portrayed by American actress Jennifer Lawrence, is both a survivor and victor of The Hunger Games. She comes from District 12, the impoverished mining region of the country called Panem. In fact, Katniss was never meant to be a tribute in the games. Her younger sister was originally chosen, but Katniss volunteered to…
Stavoren. Balancing on a Slack Rope of Religion, Trade, Land, Water, Holland, and Frisia
For many turbulent centuries, the town of Stavoren was a tightrope walker before it finally settled as a small harbour at the Lake IJsselmeer. Living in retirement from well-to-do owners of white yachts, sailing boats, and other pleasure vessels. Now it looks back on when Saint Odulf arrived in the ninth century to convert the…
Surf on Someone Else’s Turf — Hiking the Rota Vicentina
Boxing Day 2022. The Frisian bastard woke up in the small village of Aljezur in the southwest of Portugal. It was day ten of his hike along the Rota Vicentina, with three more days ahead. Like the Frisia Coast Trail, the Rota Vicentina follows the shoreline. A path shaped by wind, cliffs, and the constant…
The Deer Hunter of Fallward, and His Throne of the Marsh
Near a terp called Fallward, close to the village of Wremen in the region of Land Wursten, archaeologists uncovered a remarkable site that opens a rare window onto life during the Migration Period — the world of the so-called ‘Old Saxons’ who once inhabited the tidal marshes of the Wadden Sea at the mouth of…
A Collection of Frisian Forenames of the First Millennium
Despite the fact that some Frisian forenames still find their way into modern name-giving, like Bente, Dirk, Doutzen, Eske, Femke/Famke, Fenna, Finn, Froukje, Gemma, Hauk, Hiske, Jildou, Jitske, Sjoerd, Tammo, Treintje, Ubbo, etc., on the whole, authentic Frisian names are losing ground. It is a shame because the name-giving culture of Frisia is actually extremely…
Scratching Runes Was Not Much Different From Spraying Tags
Carving runes into combs and stones is basically the same as spraying tags on subway cars and bicycle tunnels. Those who create runes or graffiti are called writers. More precisely, rune writers and graffiti writers. The word graffiti stems from the Italian word graffio, which means ‘scratch’ and invented in the context of the Pompeii…
Golden Calves, or Bursting Udders on Bony Legs?
Beauty is the best guarantee for quality and success. At least, this is how farmers in the province of Friesland thought of dairy cattle for (too) long. The better the exterieur ‘exterior’ of a cow, the better its milk yield. Velvety hide, size, expressive head, straight back, strong legs, sharply defined black and white spotted…
How Great Was Great Pier? (the Sequel III)
To understand the ‘greatness’ of Great Pier (or Grutte Pier), we decided to look into his ‘achievements’. As a freedom fighter (or pirate, if you like) his core business was to ransack ships and towns. If you listen or read about the places Great Pier sacked the area and number are quite impressive. Considering Great…
When the Gate of Hell Opened at the Golden Necklace
When you enter the province of Friesland from the west by car via the Afsluitdijk (‘closure dam’) and continues on the A7 Hwy, you will pass a viaduct carrying the name Okkehel. If your destination is the port of Harlingen, also in the area, you might spot in its harbour bright green sloops of the…
A Dutch King Once Yelled: “Je Suis Frison, et Je Suis Plus Têtu Que Vous!”
In our recent blog post Barbarians Riding to the Capital to Claim Rights on Farmland, we recounted the famous story of the two Frisian kings who travelled to Rome 2,000 years ago to seek an audience with Emperor Nero. In this blog post, the roles are reversed. Nearly two centuries ago, a delegate from Rome…
Barbarians Riding to the Capital to Claim Rights on Farmland
This is not a blog post about the current agriculture and nitrogen debates between the government in Brussels and farmers in Flanders, Germany, and the Netherlands. Not about farmers driving to The Hague capital with their tractors. No, this is the two-millennia-old story of two Frisian kings who travelled all the way to Rome, the…
A Croaking Ode to the Haubarg by the Eiderstedter Nachtigall
Haubargs. Cathedral-like farmsteads with hipped roofs soaring up to twenty meters high, icons of the Eiderstedt peninsula in the region of Nordfriesland. These monumental farms embody the peak of the friesische Großhäuser building tradition — yet also its end. This tradition, characteristic of the marshlands along the southern North Sea coast from Amsterdam to Husum, flourished…
What Killed the Radio Star? The Frisian Claim to Radio Fame
The Second World War. Despite a clear warning from the German Wehrmacht to buzz off, the nosy and inquisitive Hanso Idzerda returned to the crash site of a V2 rocket on Parkweg Road in Scheveningen — not far from his own home. Ignoring the warning, he was caught a second time by a Wehrmacht patrol.…
How Great Was Great Pier? (the Sequel II)
Breaking! Great Pier (or Grutte Pier) measured around 2.30 meters in height! This question has been bugging the Frisians for centuries. Now we know. How? Keep reading… Granted. We asked ourselves this very same question in a previous blog post. We explored how great Pier was… as a leader. This time we are asking the…
How Great Was Great Pier? (the Sequel I)
Most Frisians know the name of Great Pier, or ‘Grutte Pier’ in Frisian. But what do we really know about him? Well, all we know for sure is that he was tall. Very tall. Spoiler alert: his name gave away that he was tall, right? If you would ask your friends and family what they…
The Many Faces of Friesland, Including That of a Coast Trail Bastard
May 8, 2021. Visual artist, photographer Arie Bruinsma approached one of the Frisian bastards. Arie explained to him that his wife Cynthia and he were working on a new project, namely It Gesicht fan Fryslân ‘The Face of Friesland’. It had to be a compilation of 111 portraits of known, lesser-known, and unknown Frisians. Of…
Who’s Afraid of Voracious Woolf? — The Dread Beast Is Back
Who’s afraid of Jóða Fenris, ‘the offspring of Fenrir’? Afraid of hund hrynsævar hræva, ‘the hound of the roaring sea of corpses’? Who, today, fears the wolf? The dark creature that once haunted the shadowed forests of the East is rising again in Europe. Nearly two centuries have passed, yet the wolf has returned to…
A Frisian Warlord Who Ruled in Brittany, Until His Wife Cheated on Him
Where the English Channel meets the Celtic Sea, the ships of the Frisian brothers Corsold and Coarchion are said to have sailed, raided, and held sway in the early sixth century. For a time, they may even have established a short-lived kingdom in Brittany. Breton legend holds that the village of Kersaout — modern-day Corseul…
Naranjas and Reservoir Dogs — Hiking the Coast to Coast Walk in Andalusia
In the final two weeks of 2021, one of the Frisian bastards hiked most of the Andalusian Coast to Coast Walk in Spain — a route stretching from Nerja to Bolonia, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. As hikers of the Frisia Coast Trail, any long-distance coast-to-coast path holds natural appeal. And hiking…
Late Little Prayers at the Lorelei Rock. Reckless Rhine Skippers in Distress
On the west bank of the mighty River Rhine, halfway between the cities of Koblenz and Mainz, lies the town of Sankt Goar. Named after Saint Goar of Aquitaine, a hermit who retreated here in the sixth century. Diagonally across the river stands the famous and mystical Lorelei Rock: steep and over 130 meters high.…
Three Books (and a Comic) Reviewed on Frisia. Is History Evidence Based?
You might say: “Sure, the study of history is evidence-based and free of politics. For this reason, it is called a science, isn’t it? It is more than just telling a story.” The truth — though slippery in this context — is that politics occasionally do surface in history books. The history of Frisia is…
Don’t Believe Everything They Say About Sweet Cunera
Imagine this: one day your husband brings home a young, unmarried woman. A virgin, even. He simply takes her into your house, openly shows her affection — and who knows what else. But that is not all. He also gives this maiden full access to your pantry and your savings account, which she — for…
A Severe Case of Inattentional Blindness; the Frisian Tribe’s Name
The name Frisii for the people who lived along the southern coast of the North Sea is ancient — very ancient. It dates back to Late Antiquity. Today, we call them Frisians. Roman and Greek historians, as well as bureaucrats, recorded the tribe’s name nearly two millennia ago. Because of this, modern Frisians carry one…
From Patriot to Insurgent: John Fries and the First Tax Rebellions
On the Facebook page ‘Frisian Americans’, the question popped up regarding the role certain Frisians played in the Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794. We checked, and the short answer is: none. The Whiskey Rebellion was a revolt of the so-called Pennsylvania Dutch farmers resisting the taxation of whiskey. It was crushed — without ice…
Joan of Arc, an Inspiration for Land Wursten
In the year 1500, a girl by the name Tjede Peckes was born in the hamlet of Padingbüttel in the region of Land Wursten on the eastern banks of the River Weser. It was a salt marsh area the Wurstfriesen (‘Wurst-Frisians’) had managed to embank and cultivate. For centuries, they had enjoyed living in a…
To the End Where It All Began: the Ribbon-Like Town of Ribe
Let’s go to the omega. To the end of the Frisia Coast Trail. To Ribe in southern Jutland, Denmark. The oldest town in Scandinavia. A town located on the banks of the Ribe Å. A modest river that flows out into the Wadden Sea stoically slow, opposite the islands of Fanø and Mandø. Ribe started…
Dissolute Elisabeth and Her Devil
In the Middle Age lived a once promiscuous girl named Elisabeth. She had come to repentance, found honourable employ as a maid, and had established herself at the hamlet of Vrieswijc, modern Friezenwijk. This hamlet is located near the scenic village of Heukelum in the region of Batavia (viz. the region of Betuwe) in the…
Walfrid, You’ll Never Walk Alone
This blog post is not about Aindreas Ó Céirín (1840-1915), better known as Brother Walfrid from Ireland and who founded the Scottish football club Celtic. No, this blog post is about the original, the one and only. The Frisian named Walfrid. Who was murdered by a bunch of roaming Vikings in the late tenth century.…
Harbours, Hookers, Heroines, and Women in Masquerade
Dockyards, quays, terminals, warehouses, wharves, anchorages, lighthouses, and beacons. Craftsmen, shipping companies, customs offices, pilot services, and other port authorities. Fish auctions, boarding houses, lodgings, packing sheds — you name it. Seaports exist to meet the needs of everything that arrives from the sea or sets out to it. But beyond commerce, ports have traditionally…
Movie Star Ben-Hur Made Peace With Frisian Raiders
Who does not know the epic movie Ben-Hur, released on the big screen in 1959? A movie in which Hollywood actor and civil rights activist Charlton Heston (1923–2008) played the role of Judah Ben-Hur, for which he was awarded an Oscar. Six years later, Heston played Chrysagon in The War Lord — a much braver…
A Horsewoman from Harlingen in the Highlands — Hiking the Cape Wrath Trail
May 2017. One of the Frisian bastards set out to hike the Cape Wrath Trail in Scotland — a roughly 300-kilometer trek through the remote upper north-western Highlands. The journey began at the settlement of Inbhir Garadh (Invergarry) and stretched all the way to the isolated lighthouse on the cliffs of Cape Wrath, and its…
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Frisia Coast Trail 