Kingdoms of the Netherlands - Offo Kings / Dukes of West Frisia

The coastal area of today's upper Netherlands sits between the Scheldt estuaries of the south-west and the mouth of the Weser, in today's Germany in north-western Europe and not inside the Low Countries. There exist several Frisian chronicles, epic sagas, and myths when it comes to the history of Pre-Roman Frisia, which attempt to cover the earliest foundation events in Frisian territories.

The Frisii of the late Roman empire period in the Low Countries were bordered to the north-east by the Saxon tribes and to the south by the Franks. Both Frisians and Saxons began forming their own states around this time, while Roman forces were shrinking away from their southernmost territories into the domain of Soissons.

The Romans knew of the Frisians through their fisheries near Leeuwarden, and there were Frisians in the Roman army, some of whom were stationed in Britain. Something of Tacitus' division of the Frisians probably remained in the heroic age of the fifth century (noted in Beowulf and Widsith).

The 'Greater Frisians' (Fresena cyn or 'kin', Frysna hwylc or 'folk', otherwise known as Frysland or Fresnaland, along with many other variants) formed the main mass of those peoples who were governed (at least nominally) by the kings of Frisia.

The 'Lesser Frisians' had by now joined with the Hetware and the Franks to the south, while the Chamavi who were part of the Frankish confederation were settled to the east of the coastal Frisians. These 'Lesser Frisians' may be the Frisavones of the previous Ubbo period of Frisian history.

Frisians in general seem to have been a major sea power in the region, perhaps even the dominant power, helped by the fading of 'Saxon' piracy as migration to Britain got underway in the fifth to early seventh centuries, accompanied by Frisians in some numbers. Frisian wealth through trading quickly grew during the sixth and seventh centuries, leaving it in a very powerful position.

The Franks united in this century to form a vast kingdom on the southern borders of Frisian territory, a cause of eventual grief for the Frisian tribes. In the north an even more imminent threat was the growing dominance of the Scandinavians, especially the Danes.

After the highly dubious pseudo-history of the earlier Folk Mothers and the Ubbo kings (even though there exists a sprinkling of historical names amongst the latter), Frisia becomes more solidly historical from the fifth century AD onwards. New settlers from southern Scandinavia and Saxony repopulated the region, establishing themselves on some of the former terps.

In the fictional story Thet Oera Linda Bok (The Oera Linda Book - see feature link) these immigrants came to be known as 'New' Frisians. Interestingly some early ruler names are (probably) Celtic while those which followed definitively were Germanic. The change appears to take place as northern Germanic elements gained dominance in the region.

These historical Frisians seem to have been key traders in north-western Europe. The combination of farmers, traders, and merchants is somewhat characteristic of this period. These Frisians helped to develop the cloth industry, becoming well known for their 'Pallia Fresonica' (the 'Frisian sheet'). Sheep wool was no longer produced only locally though, with some being obtained mostly likely from Flanders.

According to archaeological evidence Frisians sailed up the Scheldt and frequently were trading visitors of the ports of Ghent, Ename, and Tournai, with Valenciennes as their destination. From the sixth century onwards evidence shows that some Frisians and Saxons lived and/or traded farther south, from what is now Zeeland, West Flanders, and French Flanders (now in northern France), and even beyond to Boulogne-sur-Mer (western Austrasia), to the mouth of the Seine, and even to Paris.

The Merovingians conquered the Frisians at the end of the seventh century. Frisia was recategorised into three subdivisions: west, east, and 'Middle Frisia'. Those regions were each further subdivided into gaue ('gowes' or pagi), each with its own administrative sub-units.

At the end of the eighth century Frisia found Merovingian controls exchanged for Carolingian controls. All of Frisia was a vassal state, including the land between Sincfala (Zwin) and Wisara (Weser). Frisia at this time was a class-based society, as mentioned in the primary clauses of the Lex Frisionum. During the same period Anglo-Saxon and Frankish missionaries started visiting Frisian territory so that they could endow these pagan natives with the Christian faith.

A controversial hypothesis from several historians which includes Albert Delahaye (Netherlands), Jacques Fermaut (France), and Joël Vandemaele and Luc Vanbrabant (of Flemish Belgium) situates a state of 'Frisia' between the third and the tenth centuries in northern France and Flanders.

Their hypothesis places Frisa to the south because they contend that the coast of the northern Low Countries was uninhabitable due to prolonged floods. They have used historical, toponymical, and etymological evidence to back up their work, claiming that St Willibrord, St Boniface, and other preachers, along with Charlemagne, Frisians, Franks, and Saxons, have all been placed in this flooded area based on inaccurate assumptions. They claim that all named locations and rivers have available alternatives in northern France or Flanders.

Amongst other facts, they situate Trajectum as a bishopric, first in Tournehem-sur-la-Hem in northern France from the end of the seventh century and the beginning of the tenth century before it moved to Utrecht (also called Trajectum).

According to several genealogical sources most Frisian rulers between the fifth and eighth centuries were born or died in Tournehem or Boulogne-sur-Mer in northern France. There exists very little archaeological evidence about Frisians or the Vikings from this period to prove either hypothesis or accepted historical locations, but Old Frisian is very close to the Old Westflemish which survives in modern form in northern Flanders and northern France.

Note that all dates and names of rulers may vary depending on the sources being consulted, whether medieval, modern, or nineteenth century fabrications. Details are included where possible to provide explanations.

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