Frisians

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the modern Frisians. For the ancient Germanic tribe also called Frisians, see Frisii.

Frisians
Friezen
Roman Catholic
minority

The Frisians are an

Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia (which was a part of Denmark until 1864).[10]

There are many theories about the origin of the name of the Frisians, Frisii or Fresones in the Latin language as first documented in the first century AD. Most probably the name is derived from the verb fresare in the Vulgar Latin language in the meaning of 'milling, cutting, grooving, crushing, removing shells'. A name given to the Frisians because they 'cut the land': digging countless ditches and dykes to irrigate the wet marshlands they lived at.[11] Compare fresar el paisaje in the Roman language Spanish. Another theory is the name derives from frisselje (to braid, thus referring to braided hair).

The

Friesland), and North Frisian and Saterland Frisian
are recognised as regional languages in Germany.

History

The ancient

Binchester Roman Fort and Cuneus Frisionum).[14] 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,[15]
probably as laeti under Roman coercion.

Germanic tribes in the 5th century
Historical settlement areas of the Frisians, and areas where a Frisian language is spoken

From the third through the fifth centuries, Frisia suffered

Old English: Frīsan), though they were not necessarily descended from the ancient Frisii. It is these 'new Frisians' who are largely the ancestors of the medieval and modern Frisians.[20]

By the end of the sixth century, Frisian territory had expanded westward to the

High King, with the earliest reference to a 'Frisian King' being dated 678.[21]

In the early eighth century, the Frisians mostly worshipped

Saint Willibrord largely succeeded.[23]

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 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) did not exist, and in which 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 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

Dutch revolt against 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.

Migration to England and Scotland

Though it is impossible to know exact numbers and migration patterns, research has indicated that many Frisians were part of the wave of ethnic groups to colonise areas of present-day England alongside the Angles, Saxons and Jutes,[24] starting from around the fifth century when Frisians arrived along the coastline of Kent.[25][26]

Frisians principally settled in modern-day Kent, East Anglia,[27] the East Midlands, North East England,[28] and Yorkshire. Across these areas, evidence of their settlement includes place names of Frisian origin, such as Frizinghall in Bradford and Frieston in Lincolnshire.[29][24]

Similarities in dialect between Great Yarmouth and Friesland have been noted, originating from trade between these areas during the Middle Ages.[30] Frisians are also known to have founded the Freston area of Ipswich.[31]

In Scotland, historians have noted that colonies of Angles and Frisians settled as far north as the River Forth. This corresponds to those areas of Scotland which historically constituted part of Northumbria.[32][33]

Frisians in Denmark

The earliest traces of Frisians in modern-day Denmark date back to the 11th century when Frisians settled around Tøndermarsken west of Tønder. The evidence for this are the Warften (værfter) in the area that are built after the same method as the ones alongside the Wadden Sea towards the Netherlands.[34] They have also been found in Ribe.[35]

In 1637, chronicler Peter Sax [de] wrote that the Frisian newcomers learned the Danish language but did not become Danish, holding on to Frisian language, custom, manners, working methods and so on.[36]

In modern times, Frisian culture in Denmark is described as assimilated and most do not consider themselves Frisian. In regards to the Frisian language, very few may speak it as first language but it was traditionally spoken in few polder hamlets near the border with Germany. One estimate puts the Frisian population in Denmark somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000.[34][36]

Language

Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
  West Frisian
  North Frisian
  Saterland Frisian

As both the

Anglo-Frisian family. Old Frisian is the most closely related language to Old English[37]
and the modern Frisian dialects are in turn the closest related languages to contemporary English that do not themselves derive from Old English (although the modern Frisian and English are not mutually intelligible).

The Frisian language group is divided into three mutually unintelligible languages:

Of these three languages both Saterland Frisian (2,000 speakers) and North Frisian (10,000 speakers)[38] are endangered. West Frisian is spoken by around 350,000 native speakers in Friesland,[39] and as many as 470,000 when including speakers in neighbouring Groningen province.[4] West Frisian is not listed as threatened, although research published by Radboud University in 2016 has challenged that assumption.[40]

Identity

Main article: Frisian nationalism

Today there exists a tripartite division, of North, East and West Frisians, caused by Frisia's continual loss of territory in the Middle Ages. The West Frisians, in general, do not see themselves as part of a larger group of Frisians, and, according to a 1970 poll, identify themselves more with the Dutch than with the East or North Frisians.[41]

See also

References

  1. ^ Number is the number of native West Frisian speakers.
  2. ^ Native West Frisian speakers excluding those in Friesland.
  3. ^ Although only 12,000 are native speakers.
  1. ^ "Groep fan Auwerk". www.groepfanauwerk.com. 30 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Interfriesische Flagge". www.interfriesischerrat.de.
  3. ^ Gooskens, Charlotte; Heeringa, Wilbert. "The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area". Researchgate. University of Groningen. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  4. ^ a b Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version.
  5. ^ "Die friesische Volksgruppe". Minderheitensekretariat der vier autochthonen nationalen Minderheiten und Volksgruppen (in German). Retrieved 6 January 2020. Geschätzt 60.000 Menschen sind ihrem Selbstverständnis nach Friesen. [an estimated 60,000 people self identify as Frisian]
  6. ^ "Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables". www12.statcan.gc.ca/. Statistics Canada. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  7. ^ Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version.
  8. ^ "Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2 December 2010.
  9. ^ Faber, Hans (8 August 2021). "A Frontier known as Watery Mess: the Coast of Flanders". Frisia Coast Trail.
  10. ^ "Herzlich Willkommen". interfriesischerrat.de.
  11. ^ Faber, Hans (14 August 2022). "A severe case of inattentional blindness: the Frisian tribe's name". Frisia Coast Trail.
  12. ^ Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (229), "Book LIV, Ch 32", in Cary, Earnest (translator) (ed.), Dio's Roman History, vol. VI, London: William Heinemann (published 1917), p. 365 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help)
  13. ISBN 9780520081680
    .
  14. ^ Grane, Thomas (2007), "From Gallienus to Probus - Three decades of turmoil and recovery", The Roman Empire and Southern Scandinavia–a Northern Connection! (PhD thesis), Copenhagen: University of Copenhagen, p. 109
  15. ISBN 978-90-6781-014-2, archived
    (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2005. Looijenga cites Gerrets' The Anglo-Frisian Relationship Seen from an Archaeological Point of View (1995) for this contention.
  16. ^ Berglund, Björn E. (2002), "Human impact and climate changes—synchronous events and a causal link?", Quaternary International, vol. 105, Elsevier (published 2003), p. 10
  17. ISBN 978-87-992214-1-7
  18. ISBN 978-0-511-06118-9
  19. hdl:1887/2787
  20. ISBN 978-90-8964-078-9
    , retrieved 9 March 2024
  21. OCLC 905441031
    .
  22. OCLC 52849131
    .
  23. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "St. Willibrord" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  24. ^
    ISBN 9789061715979
  25. ^ Schulz, Matthias (16 June 2011). "The Anglo-Saxon Invasion: Britain is More Germanic than It Thinks". Spiegel Online.
  26. ^ "The History of the Frisian Folk".
  27. JSTOR 2590857
    .
  28. ^ "The Frisians, their tribes & allies".
  29. ^ Frisian Place-Names in England. PMLA. January 1918.
  30. ^ Gooskens, Charlotte (2004). "The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area". In Gilbers, D. G.; Knevel, N. (eds.). On the Boundaries of Phonology and Phonetics. Groningen: Department of Linguistics.
  31. ^ "How I came face-to-face with East Anglia's 'twin'". Eastern Daily Press. 8 May 2018.
  32. ^ Brown, Peter Hume (1911). History of Scotland to the Present Time. Cambridge University Press. p. 11.
  33. ^ McLure, Edmund (1910). British place-names in their historical setting. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. p. 120.
  34. ^ a b Bech-Danielsen, Anne (9 January 2022). "På jagt efter de sidste frisere i Danmark" (in Danish). Politiken. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  35. ^ Rasmussen, Alan Hjorth (1973). "Frisiske kulturelementer : en introduktion og foreløbig oversigt". Folk og Kultur, årbog for Dansk Etnologi og Folkemindevidenskab (in Danish). 2 (1): 79.
  36. ^
    ISBN 978-90-6171-0165
    .
  37. University of Leiden. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2007.
  38. ^ "Die friesische Volksgruppe in Schleswig-Holstein" (in German). Diet of Schleswig-Holstein. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  39. ^ Matras, Yaron. "Frisian (North)". Archive of Endangered and Smaller Languages. University of Manchester.
  40. ^ Menno de Galan & Willem Lust (9 July 2016). "Friese taal met uitsterven bedreigd? (Frisian language threatened with extinction?)". Nieuwsuur (in Dutch). NOS. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  41. ^ Tamminga, Douwe A. (1970). Friesland, feit en onfeit [Frisia, 'Facts and Fiction'] (in Dutch). Leeuwarden: Junior Kamer Friesland.

Works cited

  • Tacitus, Publius Cornelius (n.d.), "Germania", Internet Medieval Sourcebook
  • Verhart, Leo (2006), Op Zoek naar de Kelten, Nieuwe archeologische ontdekkingen tussen Noordzee en Rijn (Searching for the Celts, new archaeological Discoveries between North Sea and Rhine) (in Dutch), Matrijs,
    ISBN 978-90-5345-303-2

Further reading

  • Greg Woolf, "Cruptorix and his kind. Talking ethnicity on the middle ground", Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.), Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 207–218.
  • Jos Bazelmans, "The early-medieval use of ethnic names from classical antiquity. The case of the Frisians", in Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.), Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 321–329.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frisians&oldid=1213377149"