Early medieval Western European war
Frisian-Frankish War
|
---|
Map of the Frankish Empire from 481 to 814
|
Date
| 7th and 8th century
|
---|
Location
| The Netherlands and Germany
|
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Result
|
Pacification of the Frisians
|
---|
|
Belligerents
|
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Frankish kingdom
|
Frisian kingdom
|
The
Frisian?Frankish wars
were a series of conflicts between the
Frankish Empire
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
. Only the Frisians east of the
Lauwers
remained independent. In 772 they lost their independence as well. The wars ended with the last uprising of the Frisians in 793 and the pacification of the Frisians by
Charlemagne
.
Background
[
edit
]
The displacements of peoples during the
Migration Period
resulted in the
Frisian
settlements in the north and the west of the
Low Countries
,
[1]
: 792
the
Saxons
in the east, the
Warnen
at the mouth of the
Rhine
and the
Franks
further south around the
Scheldt
. There, under the leadership of their
Merovingian
kings, they had an important role in the politics in northern
Gaul
.
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.
[2]
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.
[3]
Rhine delta control
[
edit
]
The
Merovingian
king of
Neustria
Chilperic I
(561?584) is mentioned in Frankish sources as the "terror of the Frisians and the
Suebi
".
[
citation needed
]
A few coins commemorating an otherwise obscure figure named
Audulf
survive from the late 6th or early 7th century.
[4]
Their reverse inscription
victvria avdvlfo
(possibly intending "Victory by Audulf") is sometimes conjectured to celebrate a victory by Audulf over the Franks, although this remains uncertain.
[5]
By 630 the situation had changed. The Merovingian king
Dagobert I
brought the Frankish Empire under one banner again and conquered the lands south of the
Oude Rijn
. This time they brought
Christianity
to the Frisian lands and built a church in
Utrecht
. 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
Utrecht
became the residence of the Frisian kings.
[
citation needed
]
Under the rule of King
Aldgisl
the Frisians came into conflict with the Neustrian
mayor of the palace
Ebroin
(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
Wilfrid
, who like him was not a friend of Ebroin.
[1]
: 792
Under the successor of Aldgisl,
Redbad
, the tide turned in favour of the Franks; by 689 Neustria, Austrasia and Burgundy were united under
mayor of the palace
Pepin of Herstal
.
[6]
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
Utrecht
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
of the Frisians founded for
Willibrord
[7]
and a marriage was held between
Grimoald the Younger
the oldest son of Pepin, and
Thiadsvind
, the daughter of Redbad in 711.
[1]
: 794
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
, where they were victorious in the
Battle of Cologne
.
[8]
In this way all lands south of the Rhine became Frisian again.
[1]
: 794
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.
[9]
: 90
After the
battle of Soissons (718)
Neustria and Austrasia were reunited under Mayor of the Palace
Charles Martel
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
Charles Martel
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
.
[1]
: 795
The end of independent Frisia
[
edit
]
In 733,
Charles Martel
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
with a fleet that enabled him to sail up to
De Boarn
. The Frisians were defeated in
Battle of the Boarn
[1]
: 795
that followed, and their king, Poppo, was killed.
[8]
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
Lauwers
.
Annexation of East Frisia
[
edit
]
The Frankish king
Charlemagne
brought an end to the independence of the Frisians east of the
Lauwers
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
Saxons
, where the
Saxon Wars
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 uprisings
[
edit
]
After their defeat, the Frisians rebelled against the Franks several times.
Murder of Saint Boniface
[
edit
]
The first Frisian bishop
Boniface
[10]
set out for Frisia in 754 with a small retinue. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for
confirmation
at a place not far from
Dokkum
, between
Franeker
and
Groningen
. Instead of the converts he expected, a group of armed inhabitants appeared. The Frisian warriors were angry because he had destroyed their shrines. 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.
Uprising of 782-785
[
edit
]
Under the leadership of
Widukind
the Saxons continued to resist the Franks. In 782 the Frisians east of the
Lauwers
also began an uprising against the Franks. The uprising expanded to Frisian lands in the west that had been pacified earlier. This led to an en masse return to
paganism
by the population. Marauders burned churches and the priests, including
Ludger
, had to flee south.
In response
Charlemagne
organized a new campaign in 783 to restore control, first over the Saxons
[1]
: 796
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 uprising was severely repressed by the Franks.
Uprising of 793
[
edit
]
In 793 the Frisians rebelled for the last time against
Charlemagne
. 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
dukes
Unno
and
Eilrad
,
[9]
: 310
an uprising arose east of the
Lauwers
and spread to other Frisian lands. This led to a temporary return to paganism, and again priests had to flee.
This uprising was also suppressed by the Franks.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Halbertsma, Herrius (1982).
"Summary"
(PDF)
.
Frieslands Oudheid
(Thesis) (in Dutch and English). Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. pp. 791?798.
OCLC
746889526
.
- ^
Es, Willem A. van; Hessing, Wilfried A. M., eds. (1994).
Romeinen, Friezen en Franken in het hart van Nederland : van Traiectum tot Dorestad 50 v.c.-900 n.c.
(in Dutch) (2nd ed.). Utrecht: Mathijs. pp. 90?91.
ISBN
9789053450499
.
- ^
"Historische grammatica van het Nederlands"
. Dbnl.org
. Retrieved
2009-01-24
.
- ^
Grierson, Philip
(1973?1974), "Korte Bijdragen: A New Audulfus Frisia Triens",
Jaarboek voor Munt- en Penningkunde
(PDF)
, vol. 60/61, Amsterdam: Koninklijk Nederlands Genootschap voor Munt- en Penningkunde, pp. 153?156
.
- ^
Wilco de Jonge
&
Jean-Luc E. Marcillaud
, '
Iets meer licht op de vroegste Middeleeuwen tossen de mondingen van Oude Rijn en Maas. De ruimere betekenis van een oude ceramiekvondst op Forum Hadriani
', in:
Westerheem
50 (2001), p. 64?65 (in Dutch). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
- ^
Blok, Dirk P. (1968).
De Franken : hun optreden in het licht der historie
. Fibulareeks (in Dutch). Vol. 22. Bussum: Fibula-Van Dishoeck. pp. 32?34.
OCLC
622919217
. Retrieved
2014-09-17
.
- ^
it
Liber Pontificalis
(Corpus XXXVI 1, side 168) en
Beda Venerabilis
(Corpus XLVI9, page 218)
- ^
a
b
"Geschiedenis van het volk der Friezen"
.
boudicca.de
(in Dutch). 2003. Archived from
the original
on 2009-06-08
. Retrieved
2009-01-22
.
[
self-published source
]
- ^
a
b
Halbertsma, Herrius (2000).
Frieslands oudheid: het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang
(in Dutch and English) (New ed.). Utrecht: Matrijs.
ISBN
9789053451670
.
- ^
"Saint Boniface"
. Saints.sqpn.com
. Retrieved
2009-01-20
.