The Frisian–Frankish wars were a series of conflicts between the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

and the Frisian kingdom in the 7th and 8th centuries. The wars were mainly about control of the Rhine delta. After the death of the Frisian king Redbad, the Franks gained the upper hand. In 734 at the Battle of the Boarn the Frisians were defeated and the Franks annexed the Frisian lands between the Vlie and the

Lauwers The Lauwers () is a river in the Netherlands. It forms part of the border between the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. From the 730s to Widukind's defeat in 785, it was part of the border of the Frankish Empire. The former Lauwerszee an ...

. Only the Frisians east of the

remained independent. In 772 they lost their independence as well. The wars ended with the last revolt of the Frisians in 793 and the pacification of the Frisians by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

Background

The displacements of peoples during the

Migration Period The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

resulted in the Frisian settlements in the north and the west of the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

in the east, the Warnen at the mouth of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

further south around the

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

. There, under the leadership of their

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

kings, they had an important role in the politics in northern

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. The Frisians consisted of loosely bonded tribes centered on war bands but without great power. In the second half of the 7th century the Frisian kingdom reached its maximum geographic development. The Frisian kings became interested in former Frankish lands; under the leadership of the predecessors of Aldgisl they expanded their power to the heart of the Low Countries. The presence of the Warnen at the mouth of the Rhine remains unclear, but it appears they were likely crushed between the Frisians and Franks.

Rhine delta control

The

king of

Neustria Neustria was the western part of the Kingdom of the Franks during the Early Middle Ages, in contrast to the eastern Frankish kingdom, Austrasia. It initially included land between the Loire and the Silva Carbonaria, in the north of present-day ...

Chilperic I Chilperic I ( 539 – September 584) was the king of Neustria (or Soissons) from 561 to his death. He was one of the sons of the Franks, Frankish king Clotaire I and Queen Aregund. Life Immediately after the death of his father in 561, he ...

(561–584) is mentioned in Frankish sources as the "terror of the Frisians and the

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

". A few coins commemorating an otherwise obscure figure named Audulf survive from the late 6th or early 7th century. Their reverse inscription (possibly intending "Victory by Audulf") is sometimes conjectured to celebrate a victory by Audulf over the Franks, although this remains uncertain. By 630 the situation had changed. The Merovingian king

Dagobert I Dagobert I (; 603/605 – 19 January 639) was King of the Franks. He ruled Austrasia (623–634) and Neustria and Burgundy (629–639). He has been described as the last king of the Merovingian dynasty to wield real royal power, after which the ...

brought the Frankish Empire under one banner again and conquered the lands south of the Oude Rijn. This time they brought

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

to the Frisian lands and built a church in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. After Dagobert died the Franks could not hold their position there, and around 650 the central river area, including Dorestad became Frisian again. The manufacturing of Frankish coins stopped and the city of

became the residence of the Frisian kings. Under the rule of King Aldgisl the Frisians came into conflict with the Neustrian

mayor of the palace Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace or majordomo, ( or ) was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. He was the head of the Merovingian administrative ladder and orchestrated the operation of the entire court. He ...

Ebroin Ebroin (died 680 or 681) was the Frankish mayor of the palace of Neustria on two occasions; firstly from 658 to his deposition in 673 and secondly from 675 to his death in 680 or 681. In a violent and despotic career, he strove to impose the ...

(675-681). This time the conflict was about the old Roman border fortifications. Aldgisl kept the Franks at a bay with his army maneuvers. In 678 he welcomed the English

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and beca ...

, who like him was not a friend of Ebroin. Frisia sceatta 715 701246

Under the successor of Aldgisl, Redbad, the tide turned in favour of the Franks; by 689 Neustria, Austrasia and Burgundy were united under

Pepin of Herstal. In 690 Pepin was victorious in the battle of Dorestad. Though not all the consequences of this battle are clear, Dorestad became Frankish again, as did the castles of

and Fechten. It is thought that the influence of the Franks now extended from south of the Oude Rijn to the coast, but this is not entirely clear because the Frisians did not entirely lose control over the central river area. In any case there was an Archbishopric or

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of the Frisians founded for Willibrord and a marriage was held between Grimoald the Younger the oldest son of Pepin, and Thiadsvind, the daughter of Redbad in 711. After Pepin died in 714, Redbad took part in the battle for succession in Frankish lands. He concluded a treaty with the new Neustrian mayor of the palace Ragenfrid and in 716 their armies entered Austrasian territory as far as

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, where they were victorious in the Battle of Cologne. In this way all lands south of the Rhine became Frisian again. The army returned to the north with much war loot. Redbad made plans to invade the Frankish empire for the second time and mobilised a large army. But before he could do this he fell ill and died in the autumn of 719. After the battle of Soissons (718) Neustria and Austrasia were reunited under Mayor of the Palace

Charles Martel Charles Martel (; – 22 October 741), ''Martel'' being a sobriquet in Old French for "The Hammer", was a Franks, Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of ...

and nominal king Chilperic II. It is not certain who the successor of Redbad was. It is believed that there were troubles with the succession, because the Frankish opponent

easily invaded Frisia and subjugated the territory. The resistance was so weak that Charles Martel not only annexed ''Frisia Citerior'' ("nearer" Frisia south of the Rhine), but he also crossed the Rhine and annexed "farther" Frisia, to the banks of the river Vlie.

End of independent Frisia

In 733,

sent an army against the Frisians. The Frisian king Poppo was defeated and his army pushed back to Eastergoa. The next year, Charles ferried an army across the

Almere Almere () is a Planned community, planned List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Flevoland, Netherlands across the IJmeer fro ...

with a fleet that enabled him to sail up to De Boarn. The Frisians were defeated in Battle of the Boarn that followed, and their king, Poppo, was killed. The victors plundered and burned non-Christian sanctuaries. Charles Martel returned with much loot, and broke the power of the Frisian kings for good. The Franks annexed the Frisian lands between the Vlie and the

Annexation of East Frisia

The Frankish king

brought an end to the independence of the Frisians east of the

as well, expanding the Frankish Empire further to the east. The war began with a campaign against the East Frisians and was then continued against the

, where the

Saxon Wars The Saxon Wars were the campaigns and insurrections of the thirty-three years from 772, when Charlemagne first entered Saxony with the intent to conquer, to 804, when the last rebellion of tribesmen was defeated. In all, 18 campaigns were fou ...

would last thirty-two years. In 772, Charles attacked the Frisians east of the Lauwers and the Saxons with a large army. He defeated them in several battles and so the last independent Frisian lands and the lands of the Saxons came into Frankish hands.

Frisian revolts

After their defeat, the Frisians rebelled against the Franks several times.

Murder of Saint Boniface

The first Frisian bishop

Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of the church i ...

set out for Frisia in 754 with a small retinue. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

at a place not far from Dokkum, between Franeker and

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

. Instead of the converts he expected, a group of armed inhabitants appeared. They slewed the aged archbishop because, according to Boniface's hagiographer, they believed the chests he carried with him contained gold and other riches. They were dismayed when they discovered that the chest only contained the bishop's books.Talbot, C. H., ed. ''The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface''. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954.

Revolt of 782–785

Under the leadership of

Widukind Widukind, also known as Wittekind and Wittikund, was a leader of the Saxons and the chief opponent of the Frankish king Charlemagne during the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Charlemagne ultimately prevailed, organized Saxony as a Frankish provinc ...

the Saxons continued to resist the Franks. In 782 the Frisians east of the

also began a revolt against the Franks. The revolt expanded to Frisian lands in the west that had been pacified earlier. This led to an en masse return to

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

by the population. Marauders burned churches and the priests, including Ludger, had to flee south. In response

organized a new campaign in 783 to restore control, first over the Saxons and later over the Frisians. The Frisians aided Widukind against the Franks in 784 by sending him an army. It did not help much and he had to surrender in 785 and the Frisian revolt was severely repressed by the Franks.

Revolt of 793

In 793 the Frisians rebelled for the last time against

. The reason for this was the forceful recruiting of Frisians and Saxons for the war against the Avars in the east. Under the leadership of

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

s Unno and Eilrad, a revolt arose east of the

and spread to other Frisian lands. This led to a temporary return to paganism, and again priests had to flee. This revolt was also suppressed by the Franks.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisian-Frankish wars Wars involving the Frisians Wars involving Germanic peoples Wars of the Middle Ages 7th-century conflicts History of Frisia 8th-century conflicts Wars involving Francia Persecution of Pagans