Master blacksmith Wayland is well known from Germanic mythology. According to legend, he was imprisoned on a small island at sea but escaped using wings of his own making. Saxons, Anglo-Saxons, Norwegians, Icelanders, Goths — in fact nearly all early Germanic peoples — preserved stories or artifacts relating to Wayland. Even the Franks did. AllContinue reading “Weladu the Flying Blacksmith. Tracing the Origin of Wayland”
Category Archives: legends & sagas
One of History’s Most Enlightening Hikes: That of Bernlef and Ludger
This blog post is not about the Westfrisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937–2012), better known by his pen name Bernlef. Nor is it about the student association F.F.J. Bernlef in the town of Groningen, the Netherlands. No — this is about the original Bernlef, the bard and harp player who lived in Frisia sometime betweenContinue reading “One of History’s Most Enlightening Hikes: That of Bernlef and Ludger”
Burn Beacon Burn. A Coastal Inferno – Nordfriesland
Nordfriesland or North Frisia. The western coast and islands of the region of Schleswig. Stretching from the Danish town Tønder in the north to the River Eider in the south, it is a broad strip of land by the sea, together with fifteen islands and Hallig-islands in front of it. It is here where aContinue reading “Burn Beacon Burn. A Coastal Inferno – Nordfriesland”
In Debt to the Beastly Westfrisians
This blog post is about the town of Medemblik — the grande dame of the Westfriesland region in the province of Noord Holland in the Netherlands. A place steeped in legend, said by some to have been the seat of the heathen King Radbod. But more than myths, Medemblik stands at the heart of aContinue reading “In Debt to the Beastly Westfrisians”
Walcheren Island. Once the Sodom and Gomorrah of the North Sea
In contrast to today’s Sunday rest, for centuries the island of Walcheren was a pagan stronghold and a safe haven for Vikings with their slightly aggressive business model. Heathen beliefs were deeply rooted on the island. Even in the eleventh century, the Roman Catholic Church feared that its inhabitants might revert to their former paganContinue reading “Walcheren Island. Once the Sodom and Gomorrah of the North Sea”
Tolkien Pleaded in Favour of King Finn. An Immortalized Royal Tragedy
Around the year 440 (Shippey 2022), a betrayal unfolded on the southern shores of the North Sea — a tragedy not forgotten in north-western Europe, echoing even in distant Bavaria. And it never will be. We are talking about the bloody battle at the citadel of King Finn — or Fin Folcwalding Fresna cynne, asContinue reading “Tolkien Pleaded in Favour of King Finn. An Immortalized Royal Tragedy”
How a Town Drowned Overnight. The Case of Rungholt
Rungholt. A thriving and wealthy town of the archipelago of the Wadden Sea that disappeared in the waves overnight in the year 1362. For six centuries, only legends have told us about what happened to Rungholt. A town submerged in the sea as the wrath of God. According to these medieval legends, you could stillContinue reading “How a Town Drowned Overnight. The Case of Rungholt”
Terrorist Fighters from the Wadden Sea. The Era of the Crusades
When it comes to the deradicalization of foreign terrorist fighters in modern Western societies, the Frisians — meaning here the present-day regions of Ostfriesland and Land Wursten in Germany, and the provinces of Friesland and Groningen in the Netherlands — have neither a strong track record nor notable expertise to offer. Their only meaningful contributionContinue reading “Terrorist Fighters from the Wadden Sea. The Era of the Crusades”
Legend of Esonstad: One of the Many Sunken Towns
When, on a moonlit night, you stand atop the dyke at Lake Lauwersmeer and gaze out over the water, you might just catch a glimpse of the spire of the lost city of Esonstad shimmering in the distance. A drowned city — also written as Ezonstad, and known in the early seventeenth century as Esonstadium.Continue reading “Legend of Esonstad: One of the Many Sunken Towns”
Frisia Coast Trail 