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102-584: Friesland ( / ˈ f r iː z l ə n d / FREEZ -lənd , Dutch: [ˈfrislɑnt] ; official West Frisian : Fryslân [ˈfrislɔ̃ːn] ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia , named after the Frisians , 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 Flevoland , northeast of North Holland , and south of

204-530: A farm crisis during which some 20,000 Frisians emigrated to the United States . [REDACTED] Since the late Middle Ages, Friesland has been renowned for the exceptional height of its inhabitants. Even early Renaissance poet Dante Alighieri refers to the height of Frisians in his Divine Comedy when, in the canticle about Hell , he talks about the magnitude of an infernal demon by stating that "not even three tall Frieslanders, were they set one upon

306-422: A Dutch newspaper. However, the same test also revealed that native Dutch speakers understood 63.9% of a spoken Frisian text, 59.4% of a spoken Afrikaans text and 89.4% of a spoken Dutch text, read aloud by native speakers of the respective languages. The saying "As milk is to cheese, are English and Fries" describes the observed similarity between Frisian and English. One rhyme that is sometimes used to demonstrate

408-457: A few runic inscriptions from the region which are probably older and possibly in the Frisian language. These runic writings, however, usually do not amount to more than single- or few-word inscriptions, and cannot be said to constitute literature as such. The Middle Frisian language period ( c.  1550 – c.  1820 ) is rooted in geopolitics and the consequent fairly abrupt halt in

510-655: A flood in 1228. When, around 800, the Scandinavian Vikings first attacked Frisia , which was still under Carolingian rule, the Frisians were released from military service on foreign territory in order to be able to defend themselves against the heathen Vikings. With their victory in the Battle of Norditi in 884 they were able to drive the Vikings permanently out of East Frisia , although it remained under constant threat. Over

612-532: A full member of the independent Dutch Republic , a federation of provincies. In economic and therefore also political importance, Friesland was next in rank to the provinces of Holland and Zeeland . In 1798, three years after the Batavian Revolution , the provincial lordship of Frisia was abolished and its territory was divided between the Eems and Oude IJssel departments. This was short-lived, however, as Frisia

714-551: A prominent grammatical feature in almost all West Frisian dialects, with the notable exception of Súdwesthoeksk . Therefore, the New Frisian period is considered to have begun at this time, around 1820. Most speakers of West Frisian live in the province of Friesland in the north of the Netherlands . Friesland has 643,000 inhabitants (2005), of whom 94% can understand spoken West Frisian, 74% can speak West Frisian, 75% can read West Frisian, and 27% can write it. For over half of

816-545: A striking similarity to Old English . This similarity was reinforced in the late Middle Ages by the Ingvaeonic sound shift, which affected Frisian and English, but the other West Germanic varieties hardly at all. Both English and Frisian are marked by the suppression of the Germanic nasal in a word like us ( ús ), soft ( sêft ) or goose ( goes ): see Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law . Also, when followed by some vowels

918-704: Is Arno Brok . The Provincial Council of Friesland has 43 seats. The Provincial Executive was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Appeal, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy , the Labour Party and the Frisian National Party (FNP), until 2023 when new provincial elections saw a different composition in the provincial council. The four motorways in the province are A6 , A7 ( E22 ), A31 , and A32 . The main railway station of Friesland

1020-610: Is Leeuwarden , which connects the railways Arnhem–Leeuwarden , Harlingen–Nieuweschans , and Leeuwarden–Stavoren which are all (partially) located in the province. Ameland Airport near Ballum and Drachten Airfield near Drachten are the two small general aviation airports in the province. The Royal Netherlands Air Force uses Vlieland Heliport and the Leeuwarden Air Base . Friesch Dagblad and Leeuwarder Courant are daily newspapers mainly written in Dutch. Omrop Fryslân

1122-488: Is a decree of 400 AD in the Codex Theodosianus which authorises a magister militum praesentalis to enlist Alamanni and Sarmatian laeti , together with other groups such as the sons of veterans. This probably implies that laeti were seen as part of the general pool of recruits. In this case, the praefecti laetorum/gentilium may have been purely administrative roles, especially charged with ensuring

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1224-660: Is evidence that the practice of settling communities of barbari inside the Empire stretches as far back as the founder-emperor Augustus himself (ruled 42 BC – 14 AD): during his time, a number of subgroups of German tribes from the eastern bank of the Rhine were transferred, at their own request, to the Roman-controlled western bank, e.g. the Cugerni , a subgroup of the Sugambri tribe, and

1326-579: Is no difference between ei and ij , whereas in Clay Frisian, there is no difference between ei and aai . Other phonological differences include: Some lexical differences between Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian include: West Frisian uses the Latin alphabet. A, E, O and U may be accompanied by circumflex or acute accents. In alphabetical listings both I and Y are usually found between H and J. When two words differ only because one has I and

1428-490: Is no mention in the sources of laeti in the Eastern section of the Empire. Literary sources mention laeti only from the late 3rd and 4th centuries. Although the literary sources mention laeti only from the 4th century onwards, it is likely that their antecedents existed from as early as the 2nd century: the 3rd-century historian Dio Cassius reports that emperor Marcus Aurelius (ruled 161–180) granted land in

1530-560: Is not a proper Frisian") was used, according to legend, by the 16th century Frisian rebel and pirate Pier Gerlofs Donia as a shibboleth that he forced his captives to repeat to distinguish Frisians from Dutch and Low Germans . Here is a short example of the West Frisian language in comparison with English , Old English , and Dutch . Not all Frisian varieties spoken in Dutch Friesland are mutually intelligible . The varieties on

1632-589: Is occasionally referred to as "Frisia" by, amongst others, Hanno Brand, head of the history and literature department at the Fryske Akademy since 2009. However, the English-language webpage of the Friesland Provincial Council refers to the province as "Fryslân". The Frisii were among the migrating Germanic tribes that, following the breakup of Celtic Europe in the 4th century BC, settled along

1734-618: Is only used outside the Netherlands, to distinguish this language from the closely related Frisian languages of East Frisian , including Saterland Frisian , and North Frisian spoken in Germany . Within the Netherlands, however, "West Frisian" refers to the West Frisian dialect of the Dutch language while the West Frisian language is almost always just called "Frisian" (in Dutch: Fries for

1836-592: Is or was spoken in North Friesland , alongside the North Sea coast and on the islands of Schleswig-Holstein . The named Frisian languages are historically related to Old English , which points towards the fact that Angles and Saxons , eventually accompanied by Frisians, came from these areas. In Stellingwerf , in south-east Friesland, a dialect of Low Saxon is spoken, as is in the northeast in Kollumerpomp . In

1938-452: Is possible that their constitutions were standard, or alternatively that the terms varied with each individual settlement. There is also doubt about whether the terms governing laeti were distinct from those applying to gentiles ("natives") or dediticii ("surrendered barbarians") or tributarii (peoples obliged to pay tribute). It is possible that these names were used interchangeably, or at least overlapped considerably. On

2040-562: Is problematic; most likely the text is corrupt. However, it has been suggested that these names may relate to Roman people displaced from their home areas. Title XLII of the Western part contains two lists of laeti prefects, one for the praefecti laetorum in Gaul, and one for the praefecti gentilium Sarmatarum (prefects of Sarmatian gentiles , i.e. "natives") in Italy and Gaul, all under

2142-543: Is situated at 53°8′N 5°49′E  /  53.133°N 5.817°E  / 53.133; 5.817 in the northwest of the Netherlands , west of the province of Groningen , northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel , north of Flevoland , northeast of the IJsselmeer and North Holland , and south of the North Sea . It is the largest province of the Netherlands if one includes areas of water; in terms of land area only, it

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2244-462: Is that in the Old Frisian period ( c.  1150 – c.  1550 ) grammatical cases still occurred. Some of the texts that are preserved from this period are from the 12th or 13th, but most are from the 14th and 15th centuries. Generally, these texts are restricted to legal documents. Although the earliest definite written examples of Frisian are from approximately the 9th century, there are

2346-445: Is that the praefecti laetorum or gentilium mentioned in the Notitia were each in command of a regiment composed of the laeti ascribed to them. Some regiments of laeti certainly existed. The praesentales armies in both East and West contained scholae (elite cavalry units) of gentiles . There is also a mention of a regular regiment called Laeti in

2448-605: Is the King's Commissioner in the province. A coalition of the Christian Democratic Appeal , the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy , the Labour Party , and the Frisian National Party forms the executive branch. The area of the province was once part of the ancient, larger region of Frisia , which gave the province its name. The land is mostly made up of grassland and it has numerous lakes . The official languages of Friesland are West Frisian and Dutch . In 1996,

2550-416: Is the native language of 54.3% of the inhabitants of the province of Friesland, followed by Dutch with 34.7%, and speakers of other regional languages, most of these restricted to Friesland, with 9.7%, and in the end other foreign languages with 1.4%. Frisian speakers are traditionally underrepresented in urban areas, and predominant in the countryside. West Frisian is also spoken in a small adjacent part of

2652-405: Is the public broadcaster with radio and TV programs mainly in Frisian. West Frisian language West Frisian , Frisian, or English on Expert (West Frisian: Frysk [frisk] or Westerlauwersk Frysk ; Dutch : Fries [fris] , also Westerlauwers Fries ), is a West Germanic language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland ( Fryslân ) in the north of

2754-832: Is the third-largest province. Most of Friesland is on the mainland, but it also includes a number of West Frisian Islands , including Vlieland , Terschelling , Ameland and Schiermonnikoog , which are connected to the mainland by ferry. The province's highest point is a dune at 45 metres (148 ft) above sea level, on the island of Vlieland. There are four national parks of the Netherlands located in Friesland: Schiermonnikoog , De Alde Feanen , Lauwersmeer (partially in Groningen), and Drents-Friese Wold (also partially situated in Drenthe). The ten urban areas in Friesland with

2856-612: Is the treaty with Rome of the Batavi tribe of Germania Inferior in the 1st century. It has been calculated that in the Julio-Claudian era, as many as half of all Batavi males reaching military age were enlisted in the Roman auxilia . There is considerable dispute about whether recruits from laeti settlements formed their own distinct military units or were simply part of the general pool of army recruits. The traditional view of scholars

2958-577: The ' ethelings ( nobiles in Latin documents; adel in Dutch and German) and frilings ( vrijen in Dutch and Freien in German), who together made up the "Free Frisians" who might bring suit at court, and the laten or liten with the slaves , who were absorbed into the laten during the Early Middle Ages , as slavery was not so much formally abolished, as evaporated. The laten were tenants of lands they did not own and might be tied to it in

3060-431: The praefectus laetorum gentilium Svevorum at Bayeux and the praefectus laetorum gentilium at Reims. Reproductively self-sufficient groups of laeti (i.e. including women and children) would be granted land ( terrae laeticae ) to settle in the empire by the imperial government. They appear to have formed distinct military cantons , which probably were outside the normal provincial administration , since

3162-489: The Afûk organization, which offers language courses and actively promotes Frisian in all sectors of society as well as the corporate domain which as a rule is dominated by Dutch and English. The province also promotes a wide range of art and entertainment in Frisian. The province is famous for its speed skaters , with mass participation in cross-country ice skating when weather conditions permit. When winters are cold enough to allow

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3264-582: The Battle of Dorestad . In 733, Charles Martel sent an army against the Frisians. The Frisian army was pushed back to Eastergoa . The next year the Battle of the Boarn took place. Charles ferried an army across the Almere with a fleet that enabled him to sail up to De Boarn. The Frisians were defeated in the ensuing battle, and their last king Poppo was killed. The victors began plundering and burning heathen sanctuaries. Charles Martel returned with much loot, and broke

3366-554: The Friso-Hollandic Wars , Frisia saw an economic downturn in the mid-14th century. Accompanied by a decline in monasteries and other communal institutions, social discord led to the emergence of untitled nobles called haadlingen ("headmen"), wealthy landowners possessing large tracts of land and fortified homes who took over the role of the judiciary as well as offering protection to their local inhabitants. Internal struggles between regional leaders resulted in bloody conflicts and

3468-619: The Netherlands , mostly by those of Frisian ancestry . It is the most widely spoken of the Frisian languages . In the study of the evolution of English , West Frisian is notable as being the most closely related foreign tongue to the various dialects of Old English spoken across the Heptarchy , these being part of the Anglo-Frisian branch of the West Germanic family. The name "West Frisian"

3570-506: The Provincial Council of Friesland resolved that the official name of the province should follow the West Frisian spelling rather than the Dutch spelling, resulting in "Friesland" being replaced by "Fryslân". In 2004, the Dutch government confirmed this resolution, putting in place a three-year scheme to oversee the name change and associated cultural programme. The province of Friesland

3672-696: The Raetian provinces). These Marcomanni were probably laeti also and may be the descendants of tribespeople settled in the area in the 2nd century by Marcus Aurelius. Alternatively (or additionally), they may have been descended from Germans settled in Pannonia following Gallienus 's treaty with King Attalus of the Marcomanni in AD 258 or 259. The Notitia thus contains 34 entries concerning laeti . But some entries relate to several settlements, not just one, e.g.

3774-455: The Ubii . In 69, the emperor Otho is reported to have settled communities of Mauri from North Africa in the province of Hispania Baetica (modern Andalusia, Spain). Given the attestation of several auxiliary regiments with the names of these tribes in the 1st and 2nd centuries, it is likely that their admission to the empire was conditional on some kind of military obligations (Tacitus states that

3876-593: The Wadden Sea . As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km (2,221 sq mi). The province is divided into 18 municipalities. The capital and seat of the provincial government is the city of Leeuwarden (West Frisian: Ljouwert , Liwwaddes: Liwwadde ), a city with 123,107 inhabitants. Other large municipalities in Friesland are Sneek (pop. 33,512), Heerenveen (pop. 50,257), and Smallingerland (includes town of Drachten , pop. 55,938). Since 2017, Arno Brok

3978-826: The "barbarisation" theory of the fall of the Roman empire. This view ultimately originates from Edward Gibbon 's magnum opus , the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire . According to this view, a critical factor in the disintegration of the western Roman empire in the 5th century was the Romans' ever-increasing reliance on barbarian recruits to man (and lead) their armies, while they themselves became soft and averse to military service. The barbarian recruits had no fundamental loyalty to Rome and repeatedly betrayed Rome's interests. This view does not distinguish between laeti , foederati and mercenaries. This view has remained in history writing since

4080-486: The 11 towns, use two names (both Dutch and West Frisian) or only a West Frisian name. Within ISO 639 West Frisian falls under the codes fy and fry , which were assigned to the collective Frisian languages. The mutual intelligibility in reading between Dutch and Frisian is poor. A cloze test in 2005 revealed native Dutch speakers understood 31.9% of a West Frisian newspaper, 66.4% of an Afrikaans newspaper and 97.1% of

4182-460: The 1970s. Frisian is still spoken by some Dutch Canadians , Dutch Americans , Dutch Australians and Dutch New Zealanders . Apart from the use of West Frisian as a first language, it is also spoken as a second language by about 120,000 people in the province of Friesland. West Frisian is considered by UNESCO to be a language in danger of becoming extinct , officially listed as "vulnerable". In 1951, Frisian language activists, protesting at

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4284-588: The 4th century is confirmed by archaeological discovery of a type of earthenware unique to 4th-century Frisia , called terp Tritzum , showing that an unknown number of Frisii were resettled in Flanders and Kent , likely as laeti under the aforementioned Roman coercion. The lands of the Frisii were largely abandoned by c.  400 as a result of the conflicts of the Migration Period , climate deterioration, and

4386-599: The Clay Frisian and Wood Frisian dialects are the words my ("me"), dy ("you"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we"), and by ("by"), which are pronounced in the Wood Frisian as mi , di , hi , si , wi , and bi and in Clay Frisian as mij , dij , hij , sij , wij , and bij . Other differences are in the pronunciation of the diphthongs ei , ai , and aai which are pronounced ij , ai , and aai in Wood Frisian, but ôi , òi , and ôi in Clay Frisian. Thus, in Wood Frisian, there

4488-580: The Frisian landscape. In the western and north-western parts of the province, the region where Clay Frisian is spoken, the soil is made up of thick marine clay, hence the name. While in the Clay Frisian-speaking area ditches are used to separate the pastures, in the eastern part of the province, where the soil is sandy, and water sinks away much faster, rows of trees are used to that purpose. The natural landscape in which Wâldfrysk exists mirrors The Weald and North Weald areas of south-eastern England –

4590-450: The Frisian language and Westfries for the Dutch dialect). The unambiguous name used for the West Frisian language by linguists in the Netherlands is Westerlauwers Fries [ˈʋɛstərˌlʌu.ərs ˈfris] (West Lauwers Frisian), the Lauwers being a border river that separates the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen . In the early Middle Ages the Frisian lands stretched from

4692-414: The Frisian poet Gysbert Japiks (1603–1666), a schoolteacher and cantor from the city of Bolsward ( Boalsert ), who largely fathered modern West Frisian literature and orthography, was an exception to the rule. His example was not followed until the 19th century, when entire generations of Frisian authors and poets appeared. This coincided with the introduction of the so-called newer breaking system,

4794-484: The Frisian speakers in East Friesland and North Friesland a continuous linguistic area existed between Amsterdam and the present day Danish-German border. The mutual intelligibility in reading between Dutch and Frisian is limited. A cloze test in 2005 revealed native Dutch speakers understood 31.9% of a West Frisian newspaper, 66.4% of an Afrikaans newspaper and 97.1% of a Dutch newspaper. In 2007, West Frisian

4896-461: The Frisian speaking districts. Bilingual (Dutch–Frisian) and trilingual (Dutch–English–Frisian) schools in the province of Friesland use West Frisian as a language of instruction in some lessons, besides Dutch in most other lessons and alongside them English. Literacy in Frisian however, is not often a core aim and that makes the number of Frisians speakers able to write in Frisian only 12%. The provincial government takes various initiatives to preserve

4998-450: The Germanic k developed into a ch sound. For example, the West Frisian for cheese and church is tsiis and tsjerke , whereas in Dutch they are kaas and kerk . Modern English and Frisian on the other hand have become very divergent, largely due to wholesale Norse and French imports into English and similarly heavy Dutch and Low German influences on Frisian. One major difference between Old Frisian and modern Frisian

5100-406: The Germanic peoples of the region as having elected kings with limited powers and influential military leaders who led by example rather than by authority. The people lived in spread-out settlements. He specifically noted the weakness of Germanic political hierarchies in reference to the Frisii, when he mentioned the names of two kings of the 1st century Frisii and added that they were kings "as far as

5202-428: The Germanic words wald and weald are cognate. Although Klaaifrysk and Wâldfrysk are mutually very easily intelligible, there are, at least to native West Frisian speakers, a few very conspicuous differences. These include the pronunciation of the words my ("me"), dy ("thee"), hy ("he"), sy ("she" or "they"), wy ("we") and by ("by"), and the diphthongs ei and aai . Of

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5304-555: The Germans are under kings". In the 1st century BC, the Frisii halted a Roman advance and thus managed to maintain their independence. Some or all of the Frisii may have joined into the Frankish and Saxon peoples in late Roman times, but they would retain a separate identity in Roman eyes until at least 296, when they were forcibly resettled as laeti (Roman-era serfs) and thereafter disappear from recorded history. Their tentative existence in

5406-452: The Netherlands economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €26,700 or 89% of the EU27 average in the same year. Friesland is one of the twelve provinces of the Netherlands to have its national language that is recognized as such, West Frisian . Before the 18th century, varieties of Frisian were also spoken in the provinces of North Holland and Groningen , and together with

5508-485: The North Sea. They came to control the area from roughly present-day Bremen to Bruges , and conquered many of the smaller offshore islands. What little is known of the Frisii is provided by a few Roman accounts, most of them military. Pliny the Elder said their lands were forest-covered with tall trees growing up to the edge of the lakes. They lived by agriculture and raising cattle. In his Germania , Tacitus described all

5610-551: The Sarmatian settlements in Apulia and Calabria. Furthermore, more than two pages of entries appear to be missing. The number of settlements may thus have been in the hundreds, in the western half of the empire alone. The Notitia lists of laeti settlements, incomplete as they are, show their considerable proliferation over the fourth century. This, together with the large numbers of military units with barbarian names, gave rise to

5712-844: The Ubii were given the task of guarding the West bank of the Rhine) i.e. that they were laeti in all but name. The name Laeti may have become more widely used after Quintus Aemilius Laetus managed the support of the Danubian Legions for Septimius Severus and eventually took 15 thousand Danubians to the Praetorian Guards in Rome. The Severan dynasty lasted for 42 years, during which Danubians served as Praetorian Guards . The precise constitutions which regulated laeti settlements are obscure. It

5814-409: The West Frisian language. All parents in Friesland receive, at their children's birth, information about language and multilingualism (e.g. 'taaltaske'). To support the use of Frisian in public and at public events, the province also invests in the development of speech pathology materials and strives to create information technology devices for the West Frisian language. The Frisian government subsidizes

5916-770: The alignment of regions along two opposing parties: the Fetkeapers and Skieringers . On 21 March 1498, a small group of Skieringers from Westergo secretly met with Albert III, Duke of Saxony , the Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands , in Medemblik requesting his help. Albrecht, who had gained a reputation as a formidable military commander, accepted and soon conquered all Friesland. Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg appointed Albrecht hereditary potestate and gubernator of Friesland in 1499. In 1515, an army of haadlingen and peasants, with

6018-429: The area around Bruges , in what is now Belgium , to the river Weser , in northern Germany . At that time, the Frisian language was spoken along the entire southern North Sea coast. Today this region is sometimes referred to as "Greater Frisia " or Frisia Magna , and many of the areas within it still treasure their Frisian heritage, even though in most places the Frisian language has been lost. Old Frisian bore

6120-437: The black Frisian horse originated here. Tourism is another important source of income: the principal tourist destinations include the lakes in the southwest of the province and the islands in the Wadden Sea to the north. There are 195 windmills in the province of Friesland, out of a total of about 1200 in the entire country. The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 19.8 billion € in 2018, accounting for 2.6% of

6222-432: The blame on the authorities. After this he gathered angry peasants and some petty noblemen from Frisia and Gelderland and formed the Arumer Zwarte Hoop .The rebels received financial support from Charles II, Duke of Guelders , who claimed the Duchy of Guelders in opposition to the House of Habsburg. Charles also employed mercenaries under command of his military commander Maarten van Rossum in their support. However, when

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6324-427: The border regions of Germania , Pannonia , Moesia and Dacia , and even in Italy itself, to groups of Marcomanni , Quadi and Iazyges tribespeople captured during the Marcomannic Wars (although Marcus Aurelius later expelled those settled in the peninsula after one group mutinied and briefly seized Ravenna , the base of the Adriatic fleet ). These settlers may have been the original laeti . Indeed, there

6426-462: The centuries, whilst feudal lords reigned in the rest of Europe, no aristocratic structures emerged in Frisia. This ' Frisian freedom ' was represented abroad by redjeven who were elected from among the wealthier farmers or from elected representatives of the autonomous rural municipalities. Originally the redjeven were all judges, so-called Asega , who were appointed by the territorial lords. After significant territories were lost to Holland in

6528-432: The clash between emperors Constantius II and Julian in 361; and a regiment called Felices Laetorum in 6th century Italy. The units ala I Sarmatarum and numerus Hnaufridi attested in 3rd century Britain may have been formed of laeti . But Elton and Goldsworthy argue that laeti were normally drafted into existing military units, and only rarely formed their own. The main support for this view

6630-417: The command of the magister peditum praesentalis , the commander of the imperial escort army in Italy (despite his title, which means "master of infantry", this officer commanded cavalry as well as infantry units). The Notitia also mentions a tribunus gentis Marcomannorum under the command of the dux Pannoniae et Norici and a tribunus gentis per Raetias deputatae (tribune of natives in

6732-427: The empire and land grants, the laeti settlers were under an obligation to supply recruits to the Roman army , presumably in greater proportions than ordinary communities were liable to under the regular conscription of the late empire. The treaty granting a laeti community land might specify a once-and-for-all contribution of recruits. Or a fixed number of recruits required each year. A possible parallel

6834-496: The exclusive use of Dutch in the courts, caused a riot in Leeuwarden . The resulting inquiry led to the establishment of a committee of inquiry. This committee recommended that the Frisian language should receive legal status as a minority language. Subsequently, the Use of Frisian in Legal Transactions Act of 11 May 1956 was passed, which provided for the use of Frisian in transactions with the courts. Since 1956, West Frisian has an official status along with and equal to Dutch in

6936-507: The flooding caused by a rise in the sea level. The area lay empty for one or two centuries, when changing environmental and political conditions made the region habitable again. At that time, during the Migration Period, "new" Frisians (probably descended from a merging of Frisii , Angles , Saxons and Jutes ) repopulated the coastal regions. These Frisians consisted of tribes with loose bonds, centred on war bands but without great power. The earliest Frisian records name four social classes,

7038-401: The former municipality of het Bildt the Hollandic dialect of Bildts is spoken. It contains a lot of Frisian influence. In most of the cities of Leeuwarden, Town Frisian is spoken. As with Bildts, these variants are Hollandic dialects with Frisian influence. The language policy in Friesland is preservation. West Frisian is a mandatory subject in Friesland in primary and secondary schools of

7140-403: The freshwater canals to freeze hard, the province holds its traditional Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour), a 200-kilometre (120 mi) ice skating tour. A traditional sport is Frisian handball . Another Frisian practice is fierljeppen , a sport with some similarities to pole vaulting. A jump consists of an intense sprint to the pole ( polsstok ), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to

7242-447: The full military levy from their cantons each year. Much of our information on laeti is contained in the Notitia Dignitatum , a document drawn up at the turn of the 4th/5th centuries. The document is a list of official posts in the Roman Empire, both civil and military. It must be treated with caution, as many sections are missing or contain gaps, so the Notitia does not account for all posts and commands in existence at

7344-584: The help of mercenaries known as the Arumer Zwarte Hoop , started a fight for freedom from oppression by the Habsburg authorities. One of the leaders was Pier Gerlofs Donia , whose farm had been burned down and whose kinfolk had been killed by a marauding Landsknecht regiment . Since the regiment had been employed by the Habsburg authorities to suppress the civil war of the Fetkeapers and Skieringers , Donia put

7446-461: The inhabitants of the province of Friesland, 55% ( c.  354,000 people ), West Frisian is the native language. In the central east, West Frisian speakers spill over the province border, with some 4,000–6,000 of them actually living in the province of Groningen , in the triangular area of the villages Marum (West Frisian: Mearum ), De Wilp ( De Wylp ), and Opende ( De Grinzer Pein ). Also, many West Frisians have left their province in

7548-458: The islands are rather divergent, and Glottolog distinguishes four languages: The dialects within mainstream mainland West Frisian are all readily intelligible. Three are usually distinguished: The Súdwesthoeksk ("South Western") dialect, which is spoken in an area called de Súdwesthoeke ("the Southwest Corner"), deviates from mainstream West Frisian in that it does not adhere to

7650-421: The largest population are: The province is divided into 18 municipalities , each with local government (municipal council, mayor and aldermen). The province of Friesland, like the rest of the Netherlands, has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). In 2023, Friesland had a population of 659,551 and a population density of 197/km (510/sq mi). The years 1880–1900 show slower population growth due to

7752-461: The last 60 years for more prosperous parts of the Netherlands. Therefore, possibly as many as 150,000 West Frisian speakers live in other Dutch provinces, particularly in the urban agglomeration in the West, and in neighbouring Groningen and newly reclaimed Flevoland . A Frisian diaspora exists abroad; Friesland sent more emigrants than any other Dutch province between the Second World War and

7854-450: The manner of serfs , but in later times might buy their freedom. Under the rule of King Aldgisl , the Frisians came in conflict with the Frankish mayor of the palace Ebroin , over the old Roman border fortifications. Aldgisl could keep the Franks at a distance with his army. During the reign of Redbad , however, the tide turned in favour of the Franks; in 690, the Franks were victorious in

7956-413: The more than 200 years since Gibbon wrote his narrative. In recent times the views of Gibbon has been generally discounted. According to Goldsworthy, there is no evidence that barbarian officers or men were any less reliable than their Roman counterparts. Instead, the evidence points to the conclusion that laeti were a crucial source of first-rate recruits to late Roman army. Recruitment of Barbarians

8058-454: The oath in Frisian in courts anywhere in the Netherlands . Primary education in Friesland was made bilingual in 1956, which means West Frisian can be used as a teaching medium. In the same year, West Frisian became an official school subject, having been introduced to primary education as an optional extra in 1937. It was not until 1980, however, that West Frisian had the status of a required subject in primary schools, and not until 1993 that it

8160-510: The other hand, they may refer to juridically distinct types of community, with distinct sets of obligations and privileges for each type. Most likely, the terms laeti and gentiles were interchangeable, as they are listed in the same section of the Notitia Dignitatum , and both referred to voluntary settlements. In addition, the Notitia often places the two terms together, e.g.

8262-423: The other one has Y (such as stikje and stykje ), the word with I precedes the one with Y. In handwriting, IJ (used for Dutch loanwords and personal names) is written as a single letter (see IJ (digraph) ), whereas in print the string IJ is used. In alphabetical listings IJ is most commonly considered to consist of the two letters I and J, although in dictionaries there is an entry IJ between X and Z telling

8364-506: The other, would have matched his height". Religion in Friesland (2015) In 2015, 28.5% of the population belonged to the Protestant Church in the Netherlands , while 6.6% were Roman Catholic , 1.1% were Muslim and 6.5% belonged to other churches or faiths. Over half of the population (57.2%) identified as non-religious. Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The black and white Frisian cattle , black and white Stabyhoun and

8466-479: The palpable similarity between Frisian and English is "Bread, butter and green cheese is good English and good Fries", which does not sound very different from " Brea, bûter en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk ". Another rhyme on this theme, " Bûter, brea en griene tsiis; wa't dat net sizze kin is gjin oprjochte Fries " ( example ; in English, "Butter, bread and green cheese, whoever can't say that

8568-479: The peasants' revolt, as Stadtholder to rule over the province in his stead. When Charles abdicated in 1556, Frisia was inherited by Philip II of Spain along with the rest of the Netherlands. In 1566, Frisia joined the Dutch Revolt against Spanish rule. In 1577, George de Lalaing, Count of Rennenberg was appointed Stadtholder of Frisia and other provinces. A moderate, trusted by both sides, he tried to reconcile

8670-506: The power of the Frisian kings for good. The Franks annexed the Frisian lands between the Vlie and the Lauwers . They conquered the area east of the Lauwers in 785, when Charlemagne defeated Widukind . The Carolingians laid Frisia under the rule of grewan , a title that has been loosely related to count in its early sense of "governor" rather than " feudal overlord ". About 100,000 Dutch drowned in

8772-450: The province of Friesland . It is used in many domains of Frisian society, among which are education, legislation, and administration. In 2010, some sixty public transportation ticket machines in Friesland and Groningen added a West Frisian-language option. Although in the courts of law the Dutch language is still mainly used, in the province of Friesland , Frisians have the right to give evidence in their own language. Also, they can take

8874-526: The province of Groningen . Up to the 18th century Frisian was spoken in the, at that time Prussian and Hanoverian, lordships of East Friesland ). Since then the East Frisian population switched to East Frisian ( Ostfriesisch ) , a Low German dialect. Only in some, formerly remoted, East Frisian villages ( Saterland ) a variety of historically East Frisian ( Seeltersk ) is still in use but by an older generation. A collection of dialects named North Frisian ,

8976-545: The rebels with the Crown. But in 1580, Rennenburg declared for Spain. The States of Frisia raised troops and took his strongholds of Leeuwarden, Harlingen and Stavoren. Rennenburg was deposed and Frisia became the fifth Lordship to join the rebels' Union of Utrecht . From 1580 onward, all stadtholders were members of the House of Orange-Nassau . With the Peace of Münster in 1648, Frisia became

9078-474: The settlements were under the control of a Roman praefectus laetorum (or praefectus gentilium ), who were probably military officers, as they reported to the magister peditum praesentalis (commander of the imperial escort army) in Italy. This officer was, in the late 4th/early 5th centuries, the effective supreme commander of the Western Roman army. In return for their privileges of admission to

9180-401: The so-called newer breaking system, a prominent grammatical feature in the three other main dialects. The Noardhoeksk ("Northern") dialect, spoken in the north eastern corner of the province, does not differ much from Wood Frisian. By far the two most-widely spoken West Frisian dialects are Clay Frisian ( Klaaifrysk ) and Wood Frisian ( Wâldfrysk ). Both these names are derived from

9282-685: The tides turned against the rebels after the Donia's death in 1520, Charles withdrew his support, without which the rebels could no longer afford to pay their mercenary army. The revolt was put to an end in 1523 and Frisia was incorporated into the Habsburg Netherlands , bringing an end to the Frisian freedom. Charles V , the Holy Roman Emperor, became the first lord of the Lordship of Frisia . He appointed Georg Schenck van Toutenburg , who had crushed

9384-517: The time of compilation. Furthermore, the lists for the two halves of the Empire are separated by as much as 30 years, corresponding to ca. 395 for the Eastern section and ca. 425 for the West . Therefore, not all posts mentioned were in existence at the same time, and not all posts that were in existence are shown. The surviving Notitia only mentions laeti settlements in Italy and Gaul – and even

9486-403: The top while trying to control the pole's forward and lateral movements over a body of water and finishing with a graceful landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point. Because of all the diverse skills required in fierljeppen, fierljeppers are considered to be very complete athletes with superbly developed strength and coordination. In the warmer months, many Frisians practice wadlopen ,

9588-615: The traditional art of wading across designated sections of the Wadden Sea at low tide. Friesland has lots of waterways and lake s there for Sailcontests with a Skutsje or frisian Tjalk is done during the summer on various lakes. There are currently two professional football clubs playing in Friesland: SC Cambuur from Leeuwarden (home stadium Cambuur Stadion ) active in de keuken kampioen divisie(2nd div.) and SC Heerenveen (home stadium Abe Lenstra Stadion ) active in de Eredivisie(1st div.). The King's Commissioner of Friesland

9690-550: The two lists of laeti prefects extant are incomplete. But the Notitia suggests that laeti settlements may have existed in the Danubian provinces also. Furthermore, the lists probably contain errors. The list of praefecti laetorum in Gaul contains prefects for the Lingones , Nervii and Batavi : but these tribes had been inside the empire since its inception under Augustus . Thus, their classification as laeti

9792-474: The two, Wâldfrysk probably has more speakers, but because the western clay area was originally the more prosperous part of the mostly agricultural province, Klaaifrysk has had the larger influence on the West Frisian standardised language. There are few if any differences in morphology or syntax among the West Frisian dialects, all of which are easily mutually intelligible , but there are slight variances in lexicon . The largest difference between

9894-442: The use of Frisian as a written language. Until the 16th century, West Frisian was widely spoken and written, but from 1500 onwards it became an almost exclusively oral language, mainly used in rural areas. This was in part due to the occupation of its stronghold, the Dutch province of Friesland ( Fryslân ), in 1498, by Albert III, Duke of Saxony , who replaced West Frisian as the language of government with Dutch. This practice

9996-462: The user to browse back to I. Laeti The laeti may have been groups of migrants drawn from the tribes that lived beyond the Empire's borders. These had been in constant contact and intermittent warfare with the Empire since its northern borders were stabilized in the reign of Augustus in the early 1st century. In the West, these tribes were primarily Germans , living beyond the Rhine . There

10098-414: Was continued under the Habsburg rulers of the Netherlands ( Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , and his son Philip II, King of Spain ). When the Netherlands became independent in 1585 , West Frisian did not regain its former status, because Holland rose as the dominant part of the Netherlands and its language, Dutch, as the dominant language in judicial, administrative and religious affairs. In this period

10200-502: Was given the same position in secondary education. In 1997, the province of Friesland officially changed its name from the Dutch form Friesland to the West Frisian Fryslân . So far 4 out of 18 municipalities ( Dantumadiel , De Fryske Marren , Noardeast-Fryslân , Súdwest-Fryslân ) have changed their official geographical names from Dutch to West Frisian. Some other municipalities, like Heerenveen and

10302-457: Was not something new and had been present since the days of the Roman Republic , Julius Caesar and Marc Antony recruited defeated Gallic and German horsemen which served in their campaigns. The practice was taken up by the first emperor Augustus with the establishment of the auxiliaries, incorporating the defeated Barbarians into the Roman army. The Laeti , like the auxiliaries, were set on

10404-636: Was revived as a department in 1802. When the Netherlands were annexed by the First French Empire in 1810, the department was in French renamed Frise . After Napoleon was defeated in 1813 and a new constitution was introduced in 1814, Friesland became a province of the Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands , then of the unitary Kingdom of the Netherlands a year later. Friesland

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