List of rulers of Frisia

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Flag of Frisia, with seven lilies
Flag of Frisia, with seven lilies

Of the first historically verifiable rulers of Frisia, whether they are called dukes or kings, the last royal dynasty below is established by the chronicles of Merovingian kings of the Franks, with whom they were contemporaries. In these contemporary chronicles, they were styled dux, a Latin term for leader which is the origin of the title duke and its cognates in other languages (duc, duce, doge, duque, etc). They were independent until the death of Radbod at the earliest.

Finn, son of Folcwald, is a semi-legendary figure, but J. R. R. Tolkien (Finn and Hengest) is convinced that he was a historical ruler in the 5th century. He was killed by Hengest, who later migrated to Britain and founded the Kingdom of Kent. For rulers prior to Finn the later Frisians developed a rich store of legend and myth, and these too are listed here in chronological order.

After coming under Frankish rule the Frisians elected their own governors known as potestates. In the early 16th century Pier Gerlofs Donia, a legendary Frisian folk hero and freedom fighter, declared himself King of the Frisians, but died without succesors (his rebellion had been overrun, and the members of his war band, the Arumer Black Heap, were killed). After him, no man has ever assumed the title again.

Contents

[edit] Historical rulers

In 775 the Franks under Charlemagne took control of what remained of Frisian territory and incorporated it into their kingdom, forcibly converting the Frisians to Christianity. In 800 Charlemagne became Holy Roman Emperor, and Frisia (or Friesland) remained under the sovereignty of the Holy Roman Emperors until the 16th century.

[edit] Counts

Appointed by the Frankish rulers to govern Frisia.

  • Abba, 777-786 (Alfbad) (first Christian ruler of the Frisians)
  • Nordalah, 786-806 (the last pagan stronghold, Ameland, fell in 806)
  • Dirk, 806-810 (Radbod III)
  • Godfrey, 810-839 (a Danish invader)
  • Rorik, 839-875 (cousin of Godfrey)
  • Gerulf I, 875-883
  • Gerulf II, 883-916 (Friesland incorporated into the County of Holland in 922)

[edit] Potestates

The potestate was a magistrate elected by the Frisians under the Holy Roman Empire.

[edit] Potestates (hereditary)

With the victory of the Schieringers against the Vetkopers, power passed to the dukes of Saxony.

[edit] Kings

In rebellion against the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor.

  • Pier Gerlofs Donia, 1515-1519 (d. 1520) (a farmer who declared himself King of the Frisians)
  • Wijerd Jelckama, 1520-1523 (nephew of the former, beheaded in 1523 thus ending the monarchy)

[edit] Stadtholders

Originally stewards appointed by the Holy Roman Emperor, after 1581 the office of stadtholder became hereditary.

[edit] Legendary rulers

[edit] Kings

[edit] Rulers in literary hoaxes

A description of a course at the University of Amsterdam states ""One of the characteristics of Frisian historiography and literature from the Middle-Ages up to the nineteenth and twentieth century is the existence of a comprehensive corpus of fantastic, apocryphal and mystified historic works, which deal with the origins and identity of the Frisians. Well known examples are medieval myths of origin like the Gesta Frisiorum or the Tractatus Alvini, sixteenth-century humanistic scholarly books by e.g. Suffridus Petrus, Ocko van Scarl en Martinus Hamconius and nineteenth-century forgeries like the Tescklaow and the infamous Oera Linda Book."[1]

The 17th century chronicle Frisia seu de viris rebusque illustribus, by Martinus Hamconius, purported to list the ancient kings of Frisia, beginning with Friso who had allegedly migrated from India during the time of Alexander the Great. A 19th century work, the Oera Linda Book (authorship uncertain but considered to be a hoax), embellished these stories further by describing an ancient and glorious history for the Frisians extending back thousands of years, during which time they were supposedly ruled over by a line of matriarchs known as folk-mothers, founded by the eponymous goddess Frya, ancestress of the Frisians.

[edit] Goddess

According to the Oera Linda Book.

  • Frya, ?-2194 BC (eponymous ancestress of the Frisians, who supposedly inhabited all of Northern and Western Europe)

[edit] Folk-mothers

According to the Oera Linda Book.

  • Fasta, 2194-after 2145 BC (appointed by Frya when the latter ascended to the stars during a terrible flood)
  • Medea
  • Thiania
  • Hellenia
  • (unknown)
  • Minna, fl. 2013 BC (faced and invasion of Finns from the east, who settled in the Frisian lands in Scandinavia)
  • (unknown)
  • Rosamond, 1631-? BC (the Frisians in Western Europe revolted and became the Celts)
  • Hellicht, fl. 1621 BC
  • (unknown)
  • Frana, ?-590 BC (murdered by the Finns during an invasion)
  • Adela (de facto), 590-559 BC (supposedly ordered the compilation of what became the Oera Linda Book)
  • (vacant)
  • Gosa, 306-before 264 BC (elected after a long vacancy, Frisian rule confined to approximately the modern Netherlands)
  • (vacant)
  • Prontlik, fl. c. 60 BC (puppet folk-mother appointed by King Asinga Ascon)

[edit] Kings

According to the Frisia seu de viris rebusque illustribus (and the Oera Linda Book).

  • Friso, 313-245 BC (Adel I Friso (de facto), 304-264 BC) (established a militaristic hereditary monarchy)
  • Adel, 245-151 BC (Adel II Atharik, 264-? BC)
  • Ubbo, 151-71 BC (Adel III Ubbo)
  • Asinga Ascon, 71 BC-AD 11 (Adel IV Asega Askar, or Black Adel) (reviled for employing foreign troops and bringing plague)
  • Diocarus Segon, 11-46
  • Dibbaldus Segon, 46-85 (? Verritus) (forced to accept Roman protection, and may have visited Rome in person)
  • Tabbo, 85-130 (? Malorix)

[edit] Dukes

According to the Frisia seu de viris rebusque illustribus.

  • Asconius, 130-173 (title downgraded to duke as a Roman client)
  • Adelboldus, 173-187
  • Titus Boiocalus, 187-240
  • Ubbo, 240-299
  • Haron Ubbo, 299-335
  • Odilbaldus, 335-360
  • Udolphus Haron, 360-392

[edit] Kings

According to the Frisia seu de viris rebusque illustribus (and Merovingian chronicles).

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Historical Frisian Literature: Fakes and Forgeries, myths and mystifications in Frisian Literature [1]

[edit] References