''Eala Frya Fresena'' is the motto for the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

of East Frisia in northern

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The motto is often mistranslated as "Hail, free Frisians!", but it was the reversal of the feudal prostration and is better translated as "Stand up, free Frisians!". According to 16th century sources, it was spoken at the Upstalsboom in

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both i ...

where Frisian judges meet on Pentecost and it is traditionally answered with ''Lever dood as Slaav'', or in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, ''rather dead than slaves''. The motto refers to the legendary "Frisian freedom," a right to accept no rule besides the Holy Roman Emperor and the Christian God. The right was in the Middle Ages supposed to have been granted by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...

for Frisian support of Pope Leo IV (who was not contemporary with Charlemagne). It was said to have been renewed by

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

in 885 for saving him from

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

. The Frisian freedom basically meant a claim of freedom from tax and fief, to defend themselves against the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

and the northern sea. Friesland offered unclaimed land for everyone, however the unclaimed land of the country was under water half of the day. The daily fight against the northern sea ensured equality of the people who were living on warfs during this time. Tax and fief was therefore replaced by the duty to build dikes.

Motto

For the interjection ''eala'' compare

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

''éala'' in '' Crist A'' (104), :''éala éarendel engla beorhtast'' "hail Earendel, brightest of angels!"

History

The number of Frisian sealands grew from the original seven up to 27 at their height in the early 14th century. Each Frisian sealand sent two seajudges during Pentecost to an annual meeting at Upstalsboom, to discuss disputes between the tribes. Friesland had a nearly democratic government, unlike most of Europe during Middle Ages. While the seajudges had been delegated to rule legally, the hovedlinge had been self-elected by their wealth to rule the military. Several of them became known for supporting pirates to refinance their wealth. For example, the hoveling Keno ten Broke hosted the famous

Klaus Störtebeker "Nikolaus" Storzenbecher or "Klaus" Störtebeker (1360 – supposed 20 October 1401) was reputed to be leader of a group of privateers known as the Victual Brothers (german: Vitalienbrüder). The Victual Brothers ( la, victualia) were ...

. In the late Middle Ages,

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

had no central government, but was ruled by either their local chieftains or changing foreign powers. The Frisians revolted often against the foreigners. The Stedinger revolt of 1233–34 caused

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...

to call a crusade against them, marking the decline of Frisian freedom. Frisian freedom officially ended in 1498 when Emperor Maximilian I gave Friesland as a fief to Albert, Duke of Saxony to pay a 300,000-

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' " gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Emp ...

debt, but Albert had to conquer Friesland himself first.

In popular culture

The band Eastfrisian Terror, from Emden, Germany, released their debut EP "Lever Dood As Slav", the third song of which was titled ''Eala Frya Fresena''.

References

{{Reflist

Additional links

* Frisia History of East Frisia frr:Leewer duad üs Slaaw