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Odin’s Ravens ruled over the southern shores. Not the Hammer of Thor
When re-enactors bring to life early-medieval Frisia, you regularly see them wearing a little iron hammer on a leather cord around their...
Hans Faber
Jun 9, 202421 min read


Barbarians riding to the Capital to claim rights on farmland
This is not a blog post about the current agriculture and nitrogen debates between the government in Brussels and farmers in Flanders,...
Hans Faber
Aug 16, 202317 min read


Filmstar Ben-Hur made peace with Frisian raiders
Who does not know the epic movie Ben-Hur released on the big screen in 1959? A movie in which the masculine Hollywood actor and civil...
Hans Faber
Feb 19, 20227 min read


The Killing Fields – of the Celts
About 2,000 years ago, a tragedy unfolded. A sixteen-year-old girl, who had suffered from scoliosis during her young life, was killed....
Hans Faber
Nov 21, 202013 min read


Rowing souls of the dead to Britain: the ferryman of Solleveld
In 2004, a unique discovery was made at the early medieval grave field of Solleveld, just south of the city of The Hague: a boat grave....
Hans Faber
Nov 15, 202015 min read


Notre dame of Grou
The 'First Lady' of the village of Grou in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands, also named Grytsje of Grou. Archaeologists found...
Hans Faber
Oct 30, 20204 min read


Make way for the homesick dead!
High up in the Swiss Alps, in the region of Bernese Oberland, many men, women, and children have experienced the great horror of dead...
Hans Faber
Jun 17, 202020 min read


Weladu the Flying Blacksmith. Tracing the Origin of Wayland
Master blacksmith Wayland is well-known from mythology. The blacksmith was kept captive on a small island in the sea and escaped from it...
Hans Faber
Nov 16, 201920 min read


Groove is in the Hearth. Very Superstitious, is the Way
The hearth was, in pre- and early medieval times, the Holy of Holies. The heart of the family. Where you would lay back and groove....
Hans Faber
Oct 25, 201925 min read


The Abbey of Egmond and the rise of the Gerulfings
Monk Ecgberht of Ripon was the driving force behind the Christianization of the headstrong heathens of Frisia. From the influential...
Hans Faber
Jul 19, 201945 min read


Liudger, the first Frisian apostle
Liudger succeeded where other evangelists failed. He finally managed to convert the pagan Frisians to Christianity, because he “spoke...
Frans Riemersma
Oct 27, 20188 min read


One of history’s most enlightening hikes. That of Bernlef
This blog post is not about the Westfrisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937-2012), whose pen name was Bernlef. Nor is this blog post...
Hans Faber
Jul 1, 201836 min read


Finally, King Redbad made his point in the European Commission - via Facebook
“I can not live without the company of my forefathers”, Redbad said in an interview in 718. In 2018 this sentence caused turmoil in the...
Frans Riemersma
Jun 9, 20186 min read


The biography of Aldgisl, unplugged
Ever heart of Aldgisl ? Even if you did, you probably have a hard time separating fact from fiction. For a fact it is the first king of...
Frans Riemersma
Dec 28, 201710 min read


A terp for Choquequirao
Why in heaven’s name should a terp be constructed in the Andes? To be more precise, the location for this terp is at the remote,...
Hans Faber
Oct 29, 20176 min read


Walcheren Island. Once Sodom and Gomorrah of the North Sea
In contrast to the Sunday's rest of today, for centuries the island of Walcheren was a pagan retreat and safe haven for the Vikings with...
Hans Faber
Sep 24, 201729 min read


Celtic-Frisian heritage – there's no dealing with Wheels of Fortune
Exactly a year ago Hans van der Togt, a former Dutch television presenter of the game show Wheel of Fortune, told in the talk show Pauw abou
Hans Faber
Aug 22, 20178 min read


How to bury your mother-in-law
Your mother-in-law probably chased your tail during life. When she dies, do not think you are free at last. If you're looking for advice...
Hans Faber
Apr 17, 20179 min read
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