Frisian

The Frisians are a North Sea Germanic people of the low coasts from the Zuiderzee to the Weser and Schleswig, on artificial terps in the marshes. Their name recalls the Roman Frisii, and Old Frisian formed the Anglo-Frisian group with Old English and was the language closest to English.

In the seventh and eighth centuries kings such as Radbod ruled a trading Frisia centred on Utrecht, until Frankish armies under Charles Martel broke its power in 734 and Boniface spread Christianity.

From the eleventh century they enjoyed Frisian freedom: communes with elected judges and no lords, owing allegiance only to the Holy Roman Emperor. In 1337 it still held, though Friso-Hollandic wars ended western independence. By the late fifteenth century East Frisia was a county, West Frisia passing to Saxony; in 1524 Frisia joined the Seventeen Provinces and in 1568 the Dutch revolt.