The Frisian languages are a closely related group of West Germanic languages, spoken by about 400,000 Frisian people, who live on the southern fringes of the North Sea in the Netherlands and Germany. The Frisian languages are the closest living language group to the Anglic languages; the two groups make up the Anglo-Frisian languages group and together with the Low German dialects these form the North Sea Germanic languages. However, modern English and Frisian are not mutually intelligible, nor are Frisian languages intelligible among themselves, owing to independent linguistic innovations and foreign influences.
Friesland, historically and traditionally known as Frisia, named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi).
The Frisians are an ethnic group indigenous to the coastal regions of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark, and during the Early Middle Ages in the north-western coastal zone of Flanders, Belgium. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia.
Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of ‘Frisia’ may include the island of Rem and the other Danish Wadden Sea Islands. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Germanic ethnic group.
East Frisia or East Friesland is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the west of Landkreis Friesland.
Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian farmer, rebel leader, and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname Grutte Pier, or by the Dutch translation Grote Pier, which referred to his legendary size, strength, and bravery.
The Frisii were an ancient tribe, living in the low-lying region between the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and the River Ems, sharing some cultural and linguistic elements with the neighbouring Celts. The newly formed marshlands were largely uninhabitated until the 6th or 5th centuries BC, when inland settlers started to colonize the area. As sea levels rose and flooding risks increased, the inhabitants learned to build their houses on village mounds or terps. The way of life and material culture of the Frisii hardly distinguished itself from the customs of the Chaucian tribes living farther east. The latter, however, were considered to be part of the Germanic tribal confederation.
The Battle of Warns was a battle of the Friso-Hollandic Wars between Count William IV of Holland and the Frisians which took place on 26 September 1345. The annual commemoration of the battle is important for many nationalist Frisians. The Frisians won the battle and repelled the 'Hollanders' from the eastern coast of the Zuiderzee.
Wijerd Jelckama was a Frisian military commander, warlord and member of the Arumer Zwarte Hoop. He was the lieutenant of Pier Gerlofs Donia and fought along his side against the Saxon and Hollandic invaders. Jelckama took Donia's place as freedom fighter after Donia retired in 1519.
Magnus Forteman (809) was the legendary first potestaat and commander of Frisia which is now part of Germany and the Netherlands. His existence is based on a saga's writings.
Frisia has changed dramatically over time, both through floods and through a change in identity. It is part of the Nordwestblock which is a hypothetical historic region linked by language and culture,where they may have spoken an Indo-European language which was neither germanic nor celtic.
The Frisian Kingdom, also known as Magna Frisia, is a modern name for the post-Roman Frisian realm in Western Europe in the period when it was at its largest (650–734). This dominion was ruled by kings and emerged in the mid-7th century and probably ended with the Battle of the Boarn in 734 when the Frisians were defeated by the Frankish Empire. It lay mainly in what is now the Netherlands and – according to some 19th century authors – extended from the Zwin near Bruges in Belgium to the Weser in Germany. The center of power was the city of Utrecht.
Friso-Saxon is a group of West Germanic dialects found around the North Sea coast of the Netherlands and Germany, in an area historically known as Frisia. They are dialects of Low German/Low Saxon that have experienced strong influence from a Frisian language.
Adelbold was the second Duke of Frisia, according to apocryphal works and pseudo-histories of Frisian historiography, which were common from the Middle Ages up to the nineteenth century. He is considered a a wholly mythical ruler of Frisia.
The Lordship of Frisia or Lordship of Friesland was a feudal dominion in the Netherlands. It was formed in 1498 by King Maximilian I and reformed in 1524 when Emperor Charles V conquered Frisia.
Maarten Hamckema, sometimes anglicized as Marten Hamkes and mainly known by his pen name Martinus Hamconius, was a Frisian writer, poet and historian best known for his apocryphal history books on the Kingdom of Frisia.
Saint Fris, also known as Fris de Bassoues, is a saint worshiped in the region Aquitaine, département Gers, in France. Especially in the communities of Bassoues, Gazax-Baccarisse, Lupiac, Peyrusse-Vieille, Préneron, Saint-Go and in Vic-Fezensac, devotion Saint Fris exists or existed. The basilica of Bassoues is named Basilique Saint-Fris. The nearby lake is named Lac de Saint-Fris. Saint Fris is associated with curing ailments and is the patron of those with plague and crippled young women.
Frisian nationalism refers to the nationalism which views Frisians as a nation with a shared culture. Frisian nationalism seeks to achieve greater levels of autonomy for Frisian people, and also supports the cultural unity of all Frisians regardless of modern-day territorial borders. The Frisians derive their name from the Frisii, an ancient Germanic tribe which inhabited the northern coastal areas in what today is the northern Netherlands, although historical research has indicated a lack of direct ethnic continuity between the ancient Frisii and later medieval 'Frisians' from whom modern Frisians descend. In the Middle Ages, these Frisians formed the Kingdom of Frisia and later the Frisian freedom confederation, before being subsumed by stronger foreign powers up to this day.
The Battle of Heiloo was a battle during the Friso-Hollandic Wars and the culmination of Count Floris V's first military expedition to West Frisia in 1272. The battle is described in Melis Stoke's Rijmkroniek van Holland and the chronicle of Johannes de Beke. Although the battle was won by Floris' forces, his goal of conquering West Frisia had not been achieved, and the count retreated shortly after.
