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 startedContinue reading “To the End Where It All Began: the Ribbon-Like Town of Ribe”
Tag Archives: Vikings
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.Continue reading “Walfrid, You’ll Never Walk Alone”
Well, the Thing Is…
The heart of Western democracies is the joint assembly of Parliament, Cabinet, and High Councils of State. Its Celtic-Germanic origin is the thing, also called ting, ding, or þing in other writings. Today, national assemblies in Scandinavian countries still refer to this ancient tradition. For example, the parliaments of the Faroes Løgting, of Greenland Landsting,Continue reading “Well, the Thing Is…”
With a Noose through the Norsemen’s Door
Although the conversion of the Woden-devoted Frisians was a slow and cumbersome process that only succeeded in depth in the tenth century, Frisia subsequently turned into the richest ecclesiastical area of Europe. Nowhere else on the Isles and the Continent were there this many monasteries and churches packed together. Even though nearly all monasteries haveContinue reading “With a Noose through the Norsemen’s Door”
Frisia, a Viking Graveyard
Hjoggum vér með hjörvi — ‘we swung our swords’ — as all the stanzas of the twelfth-century epic poem Lay of Kraka begin, the tale of Ragnar Lothbrok’s death. When reading about the famous deeds of great Viking warriors, little attention is given to their moments of failure. Little is written about where and when thoseContinue reading “Frisia, a Viking Graveyard”
Our Civilization — It All Began With Piracy
The arrival of the Romans in north-western Europe at the beginning of the Common Era, with the River Rhine as their northern frontier, marked the starting point for five centuries of widespread piracy. These raids affected not only the coasts of Britannia and northern Gaul but rippled as far as the Mediterranean and the BlackContinue reading “Our Civilization — It All Began With Piracy”
A Theel-Acht. What a Great Idea!
By the middle of the ninth century, the Vikings had carved out a more or less permanent foothold in Frisia, in the pagus ‘territory’ of Nordendi, also known as Norditi. But by the year 884, the Frisians had had enough. They forged swords and axes, raised an army, and drove the Norsemen out once andContinue reading “A Theel-Acht. What a Great Idea!”
The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty
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 theirContinue reading “The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty”
Foreign Fighters Returning From Viking Warbands
From 2012 onward, about 5,000 foreign fighters from various European countries travelled to the Levant to join the fighting. Six years later, roughly fifteen percent had died in combat. Others remained in the Middle East — imprisoned or drifting toward new conflict zones as terrorist groups lost ground. But some returned home. This wave ofContinue reading “Foreign Fighters Returning From Viking Warbands”
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”
Frisia Coast Trail 