Modern Europe

Editor's Note: This story was written almost certainly in the nineteenth century, and its ethnic classifications heavily support the Northern European world view of that time, one which has since been consigned to history's dustbin.

The story of the 'Eeremoeders', the folk mothers of a legendary ancient Frisia, starts circa 2400 BC with a collection of laws and moralising texts, a great Frisian past, and the series of known leaders of Frisia (principes, dukes, and counts), down to the establishment of the Roman or Carolingian presence.

This ancient, fabricated Frisia has a religion which is monotheistic, two and-a-half millennia before the birth of Christianity but 'only' a little under a millennium before Akhenaten's monotheistic movement in Egypt.

World creation myth

The supreme, perfect, and omnipotent being is Wralda (Old Frisian for 'Old World'). Time commences when Wralda creates the beginning, Irtha (the earth mother, or Aldland, Atland, 'Old Land'), along with everything else. Irtha later gives birth to three daughters who became primeval mothers (founders of a matriarchal dynasty) and they in turn produce three human ethnic groups (complete with highly suspicious and highly generalised nineteenth century racial labelling): firstly Lyda (meaning 'black') in Africa, then Finda ('yellow') in Asia, and finally Frya ('white') in northern and Western Europe.

Lyda's 'children' possess neither intelligence nor morals. Finda's 'children' are intelligent, but have no morals. The Lydas and Findas wage endless wars and are despotically ruled. Designing and imposing religious doctrines and the appointment of priests ensures that any desire for spiritual freedom is effectively stifled.

Frya's children combine intelligence with high morals and good sense. They live in peace and possess a high degree of civilisation without priests or churches. The Fryas excel in self-control and their love of virtue, and realise that life without freedom is meaningless.

The faked runes and Old Frisian text of Thet Oera Linda Bok which tells an invented creation story for ancient Frisians who never existed

As primeval mother, Frya controls the whole of 'Fryasland' bordering the Baltic Sea with settlements in Denmark, and Twiskland ('Tussenland', now in Germany), and along the Rhine.

Tar, pitch, and copper are yielded from Twiskland. Britain is the domain of the exiles, where tin is yielded. Frya's ships sail to the Mediterranean as far as modern Libya for intense trade with the descendants of the Lydas of Africa. Peace and prosperity reign throughout Frya’s realm.

Apparently catastrophe occurs in 2193 BC. Earthquakes and tidal waves ravage the earth, Aldland sinks beneath the sea, and the impenetrable forests burn, the natural barrier against Asia in Twiskland.

Burg mothers

Frya has just given her 'Tex' to the seventh generation of all her children, this being the 'Text of the First Law', a form of constitution which is written by Frya around 2400 BC. As a result a smooth-running system has been created in Fryasland. It is based on a structure which has the folk mother as the oldest and most important of all the 'burg moeders' ('burg mothers', essentially settlement chieftains).

Frya has ruled the entire land, supervising the burg mothers from her residence in Fryasburg, the main burg which has been built on Texland (now the isle of Texel). This had been named after her 'Tex' which has been carved onto the walls of the burg.

Each of the burgs (the settlements, early villages) is guarded by a burg mother who is supported by messengers, assistants, and a 'burg maagd' , an unmarried burg virgin who in turn is the head of several other subordinate 'fámna' or unmarried virgin priestesses.

This vast map covers just about all possible tribes which were documented in the first centuries BC and AD, mostly by the Romans and Greeks, with the early Saxons shown just to the south of today's Denmark, prior to expansion and absorption of other tribes (click or tap on map to view full sized)

The latter are responsible for the maintenance of the 'foddik' (the ever-lit lamp, the lamp of wisdom) which gave Frya's people the eternal light (seemingly not unlike J R R  Tolkien's light of the two trees of Valinor in Lord of the Rings). They keep the lamp burning. Whenever a new burg is built its lamp has first to be lit at Fryasburg. Each burg virgin also has her own assistants and messengers just like the folk mother.

The folk mother system of governance cannot be considered a full matriarchy since Frya does not have absolute power. Although counts or dukes are not allowed to do anything without her advice and approval, national defence, seafaring, and trade are all men's work, and a good balance seemingly exists between both genders.

Catastrophe

The catastrophe now results in a major displacement of people both southwards and northwards. A great scattering occurs of the remaining Fryas, with many fleeing south to Lyda's land or north to Finda's land but being threatened by the people there.

The 'Golen' - the Gauls and their druids in the south - are much hated by Frya's people and they seemingly return the sentiment [1].

The Findas grouping refers to descendants of the legendary Turanians: the later Huns, plus various Finno-Ugric peoples [2].

Through cunning and violence the Findas have succeeded over the centuries in corrupting and driving back the Fryas. As a result Fryasland shrinks quite considerably, having once stretched from Scandinavia to Iberia and from the British Isles to Poland and Greece.

Due to the catastrophe there is also much suffering on the shores of the Mediterranean. Many of Finda's people migrate northwards from Crete and the North African coast, and these migrations become the starting point of a new timeline of its own.

Leeuwarden was a centre of the North Sea fisheries industry even during the fifth century AD, and the Romans knew of the Frisians through this connection

During their legendary decline, the Frisian descendants of Frya significantly change the world. Minerva (Roman) or (Ne)hellenia (Frisian/Greek) or Pallas Athena (Greek) leads the Frisians to Attica, founds Athens, becomes a folk mother, and introduces democracy there. Other Frisians sail on to India, where they found a settlement named Geertmania with its capital of Minnagara, a name which was noted by Ptolemy in the second century AD. The claim here is made that Buddhism is based on Frya's teachings thanks to those Frisians who live in Geertmania between 1500-300 BC.

Led by the semi-historical Friso, they return to their motherland after being forced by Alexander the Great to assist his Macedonian army in its retreat from India.

Finally, Odysseus is said to have spent several years in a Frisian burg on the former isle of Walcheren in Zeeland [3].

The book claims Frisian culture as forming the cradle of all other European cultures, with the Greek, Latin, and Phoenician alphabets being derived from the Frisian alphabet, and all languages descending from Frisian, the divine language.

In Norse/Germanic mythology, Fr(e)ya is a love and fertility goddess, and the 'linde' (lime tree) which is associated with Freya is a symbol of peace, truth, and justice.

Text copyright © William Willems. An original feature for the History Files.