INTROD CTION U . IN the ea 1 B D sus t m ne al wh . C he . u R o an e o was , y r 3 , r , g r , afte wa ds su named Ge mani us found a t ibe of Germans r r r r c , r , alled b themsel es esa and b the R omans isii dwell c y v Fr r y Fr , in on the north- west oast of G man between the mouth f g c er y, o the Rhine and of the Ems to ethe with the Bata i Bracteri , g r v , , and Chan i and not far emo ed f om thei mo e no the n c , r v r r r r r b eth n th n l t d a ons e e A es Ju es an S . r r , g , , x We find ' referencés made to them b Plin Ta itus and y y, c , Ptolem all la in them i tuall in the same osition y, p c g v r y p . They came into collision with Drusus and experienced a ter i l e e t ut in t li ted u on the R m ns b e d f b 2 8 . D e a a a A . o a b r , r p y l ion st m h how isin in ebe l a ain the . T e we e e soon r g r g y r , ver, a a n brou ht into sub e tion and et sho tl the eafte b e an g i g j c , y r y r r g to e and thei bo de s ab so bin the Chauci o u in the xp r r r , r g , cc py g lands to the southwa d as fast as a ated b the ranks and r v c y F , s eadin alon the sho e of the German O ean to Jutland pr g g r c , whe e the w e e kno n s St and risians We soon los r y r w a r F . e si ht of them as onne ted with the Roman Em i e and in g c c p r , the fifth and sixth centuries the Germanic flood swept away all t es of th Im e l dominion o e them rac e p ria v r . The Frisians did not as a body accompany the other mem be s of the ommon Gothi sto k to G eat B itain but the e r c c c r r , r are scattered evidences to show that many adventurers of h h slands t at tribe did find a ome in those western i . It is even said (in old Dutch) of the redoubtable Hengist himself Een hi et En i tus een Vriese een Sas g s , , , ” Die ute Land verdreven was. Th re was Hen ist a Fris an or a Saxon e g , i , ” Who was banished fromhi s land. iv INTRODUCTION. It has been characteristic of the Frisians that they have i thei imiti lo ation Ex etained as a nat on e . ever r , , r pr v c antiquissimis Germaniae populis sola Frisiorumgens et sedem suam quamab initio aerae Christianas ac temporibus primorum sarum tenuit et idem nomen sine mutatione ad hae us ue Cae , c q ” a r tin rit retine t ue — mmius in P tem o e ue a . E m ad ref Fris p r q fi . Thei lan ua e has been e uall endu in thou h now r g g q y r g, g k en ut a small numbe of e son spo byb r p r s. In the seventh and eighth centuries their dominions were the most e tensi e and du in those entu ies the ame in x v , r g c r y c onta t with the ankish owe In 68 Radbod thei c c Fr p r. 9 , r hief was defeated b Pe in de éristaL These we e the c , y p H r Frisii Ma ores or West isians and the we e om elled to j , Fr , y r c p mb e s i nit e a Ch i t a . P o o the hief of the East F isians r c r y pp , c r , was defeated in b Cha les Ma tel who sent to them as 734 y r r , , an a ostle St Bonifa e. p , . c In 8 the we e nall subdued b Cha lema ne who a e 7 5 y r fi y y r g , g v ” to them a ode of laws in Latin te med the Lex Frisonum c r . For some time thereafter the country was under the control of the anks and in 8 F isia was di ided into th ee a ts Fr , 43 r v r p r , Lewis the Ge man e ei in East and C ent al isia and r r c v g r Fr , Charles the Bald the West. Shortly after its subj ection by the Franks Frisia was over run b the No mans until A D 1 0 2 Afte thei de a tu e y r . 4. r r p r r the country was parcelled out among several petty princes and owe s and so em ined until m e mes has a od n ti . p r , r r Old Friesic literature consists almost exclusively of law h is t h in w b ooks ea d t i a its o n. The ha e been inted , c r c v g y v pr in full b Ri hthofen and Hettema in a ious w ks Thei y c v r or . r laws extend from the twelfth century to a date late in the fteenth and onsist of the followin —The laws of the Rust fi , c g in e those of the Brocmen the Emsi e Re ht the laws of r g r, , g r c , Westerwold Lan ewold Fivel o Hunsin o Fredewold Se en , g , g , g , , v wold No th iesland D enthe Eide stede and th i be , r Fr , r , r , e S e n h rdenbelie These laws ossess the s e i a bung. p am pec uliarit es as those in o ue amon the othe an ient Ge mans The v g g r c r . spirit of the hardy Gothic race was such that it could not INTR ODUCTION. the idea of im isonment a unishment for ime brook pr as p cr , t imes we e unished b fine and the o deal bu cr r p y r . he lan ua e is one of the L ow German famil e simila T g g y, v ry r l - a on It is indeed stated that the missiona ies to An o S x . r g — — - sent to the Frisians who were Anglo Saxons immediately upon their arrival in those regions commenced active labour amon the eo le ea hin and e ho tin and ex erienc g p p , pr c g x r g, p ing no difficulty in making themselves understood by their hea e s —su h was the lose a eement of thei es e ti e r r , c c gr r r p c v fo ms of s ee h It is e ulia in this that u to om a a r p c . p c r , p c p r tivel mode n times it etained its a hai urit so that y r , r rc c p y, w hile other members of the common stock were undergoing a han e into thei middle and mode n as e ts it was still c g r r p c , s ok n i r mti home Thus p e n uncor upted form in its pri i ve . about the time of C haucer might perhaps be placed its most fl u ishin e iod o r g p r . isia ro er a o din to Halbertsma is a dist i t sur Fr p p , cc r g , r c ounded b the Zu der e on the no th-west and south r y y Ze r , almost fo min a eninsul He e was the o i inal seat of r g p a. r r g the isia s n de n home iesland is n a d he e is th i mo . Fr , r e r r Fr divided at present into the provinces of East and West Fries d m ollan Onl lan e b a ed s e ti el in Hano e and H d. , r c re p c v y v r y the Count iesi No th iesi Saterlandic Schiermonni ry Fr c, r Fr c, , k oo ian and Hindelo ian ha e emained until these times as g , p v r s oken diale ts Th l i k n oo on the islands . e an ua e s s o e t p c g g p , , of oh S lt and Am um F r, y , r . The Frisian whi ch is spoken on a small area on the north weste n oast of Ge man etw the S heldt and Jutland r c r y, b een c , and on the islands nea the sho e whi h has been s ok en r r , c p the e for at least two thousand ea s and whi h ossesses r y r , c p lite a do uments as old as the twelfth entu is b oken r ry c c ry, r ’ ‘ u into endless lo al dial s I uote f om ohl s Travels p c ect .