This blog post is not about the Westfrisian writer Hendrik Jan Marsman (1937-2012), whose pen name was Bernlef. Nor is this blog post about the student association F.F.J. Bernlef in the town of Groningen in the Netherlands. No, this is all about the original – bard and harp player Bernlef, who lived in Frisia somewhere between 760 and 840. And if you place faith in the circles of history and life, this blog post offers more than a few.

With these words, early-medieval bards used to begin when telling or singing a tale in front of an audience. Thô gifragn ic is Old Saxon, meaning 'so I heard'. Similar to the ninth-century High German Hildebrandslied, a heroic lay, which starts with "Ik gihôrta ðat seggen", which translates as 'I have heard tell'. Both are part of an ancient oral tradition. That is how we will start this blog post, too.

1. So I heard

Efforts to convert the heathen Frisians started with the Franks. It was in the year 630 that the Frankish king Dagobert I took the initiative to build a small church at Trajectum, the modern town of Utrecht, in the center of what is today the Netherlands, possibly for the sake of the Frankish soldiers stationed there. Soon after, King Dagobert I instructed Bishop Cunibert of Cologne to use this little church as an outpost to convert the uncivilized Frisians. However, they did not achieve any lasting results among the Frisians. From then on, Anglo-Saxon clergymen stepped in, notably the monk Ecgberht of Ripon from the monastery Rath Melsigi, also written as Rathmelsigi, in Ireland. This was at the end of the seventh century. Read our blog post The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty to understand more about the conversion of the Frisians by the Anglo-Saxon monks.

One of the many Anglo-Saxons who gave it a try to convert the Frisians to Christendom was the monk Winfrid or Wynfreth, better known as Saint Boniface (ca. 673-754). However, he was murdered by the Frisians with a blow from an axe on June 5th, 754. Boniface tried to fend off the axe with the holy Bible, but, somewhat surprisingly, in vain. The heathen axe split the Bible like a knife through butter, granting Boniface martyrdom. The supposedly original damaged Bible is kept in the town of Dokkum. Perhaps the Frisians had a sense of irony. Near the town of Geismar in Thuringia in the year 723 or 724, Boniface had also felled the holy Donar Oak of their cousins, the also heathen Saxons, with an axe. What goes around comes around, you could say.

Monk Eigil, author of the Vita Sturmi 'life of saint Sturm' of ca. 794, who was a disciple of Boniface, wrote also about Boniface and the Saxons. Sturm had been a hermit at Hersfeld in the state of Hessen in Germany, and around the year 744 he pleaded with Boniface to start a monastery there. Boniface thought the lands of the Saxons were too insecure and instructed Sturm "to look farther away, deeper in the woods, where you can serve God without danger to yourself" (Arnold 2024). This eventually became the Abbey of Fulda. So, Boniface must have know that his mission into Frisian territory ten years later, would be somewhat risky.

After subsequent attempts by Frankish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries, it was time for the Frisians to convert Frisia themselves. Three decades after Boniface found his peace in savage Frisia, Frisian missionary Ludger (742-809) went to northern Frisia. His mission was to convert his still predominantly heathen countrymen. His Dutch nickname is De Voltooier 'the finisher,' which refers to finishing the work of his predecessor Willibrord in converting the heathen Frisians (Sierksma 1995). Ludger was a Frisian by birth, from the pagus 'territory' Nifterlake. Pagus Nifterlake is the area where the River Stichtse Vecht flows, which is more or less the present-day region of 't Gooi in the Central Netherlands. Ludger belonged to the influential Wurssing clan. Check out our blog post Attingahem Bridge, NY to read more about pagus Niterlake and the Frisian elite belonging to the genus Atte.

Near-death Experience of Ludger's Mother – Legend has it that the mother of Ludger, named Liafburch, was almost killed by her grandmother. Her grandmother, the great-grandmother of Ludger therefore, had wished for a grandson, not a granddaughter. According to heathen tradition, a newborn child could be killed as long as the child had not been fed yet. A slave was instructed by the grandmother to drown babygirl Liafburch in a water tank. The slave did as instructed, but the baby girl desperately hold on to the sides of the tank. When a woman from the village, i.e. the settlement of Suecsnon (modern Oud-Zuilen), saw the tragedy taking place, she was filled with compassion. She took the baby from the slave and brought her to her house. Quickly she poured some honey in the mouth of the child. When the slaves entered the house to get the baby back, the woman showed the honey on the baby's lips. They had no other option than to let the child live.

The baby girl was raised by the unknown woman at first. The mother of Liafburch, who never had wished for her baby to be killed, secretly took care of her child. Only after the death of the grandmother of Liafburch, the mother could take her daughter into her own house.

This practice of killing a child had nothing to do with idolatry, but was part of the laws of the Frisians. The legal right of the mother to do this under certain conditions, is codified in the late eighth-century law book Lex Frisionum. Read also our blog post Women of Frisia: free and unbound? to have some more information on this practice.

Ludger wisely, or cowardly, avoided the (former) inland sea Bordine, where his colleague Boniface refused to defend himself except with the Bible. No, Ludger did not accept prompt martyrdom. He, therefore, tried his luck somewhere else in Frisia, namely on the muddy shores of the Wadden Sea coast of the present-day region of the Ommelanden in the province of Groningen, give or take fifty kilometers as the crow flies to the east from where Boniface was murdered. Here, at the village of Helewyret, he met the locally beloved blind and pagan bard named Bernlef. Helewyret, or Heleuuwyrð, is what the hamlet of Helwerd is today. The name Helewyret is often explained as 'holy wierde/Wurt.' Thus, the holy terp, with terp being an artificial dwelling mound. See also intermezzo further below.

Monk Ludger was welcomed by a woman by the name of Meinsuit. She invited him and his foreign followers into her home to drink and to give the men shelter for the night. Meinsuit had the bard Bernlef come to her hall to sing for her guests about the great deeds of the kings of Frisia (Mulder-Bakker & Bremmer 2021). The singer of tales, Bernlef, had become completely blind three years before. Ludger gave him back the light in his eyes. Together they walked from Helewyret via the village of Werfhem, which is the present-day village of Warffum, to the village of Wyscwyrd, which is the present-day village of Usquert.

The enlightenment of Bernlef was thus both physical and spiritual. Both literally and metaphorically. For a change, it was not achieved by sitting for a long time below a bodhi tree in the hot, mountainous, and landlocked country of Nepal. Quite the opposite. It was achieved by walking through the mud in a cold, flat, and treeless landscape near the sea, and only for half a day or so. Very efficient. Moreover, maybe it was during this walk Ludger and Bernlef agreed they would work together in converting the heathen Frisian countrymen to Christendom. Bernlef, a beloved and popular bard, your early-medieval influencer. Very, very efficient.

Killing Boniface was legally just – The death of Boniface in 754 on the shores of the (former) inland sea Bordine in the province of Friesland is often portrayed as being an act of an angry, heathen mob resisting Christianity, or simply by robbers. This is totally beside what really happened. For one thing, Willibrord was already preaching in Frisia from 690 onward without any recorded difficulties. He died in peace in 739, after twenty years of mission in Frisia. Boniface, however, was primarily a church reformer and, moreover, a very dogmatic one. To quote historian Lucien Febvre: "Und der Rhein des Bonifatius' mit seinem minutiösen Formalismus und seiner von Rom kontrollierten alttestamentarischen Gesetzestreue." (And Boniface's Rhine, with his meticulous formalism and adherence to the Old Testament law, controlled by Rome.)

Boniface's travel to Frisia had, in fact, a political background (Wagenaar 2006). He wanted to make a statement to the archdiocese of Cologne that Frisia was his turf, the mission area of his bishopric of Utrecht, and not that of Cologne. For this, he travelled with a large party of not only clergymen but also military and guards to Frisia east of the River Vlie. Here he destroyed pagan temples and idols. This was in total contrast to how Willibrord operated before, namely lenient toward pagan rituals and traveling in small parties.

According to the laws of Frisia, as codified in the Lex Frisionum at the end of the eighth century or the beginning of the ninth, destroying a pagan shrine was sanctioned with death.

Whoever breaks into a sanctuary and takes one of the sacred objects there is taken to the sea, and on the sand which is covered by the flood, his ears are cleft, and he is castrated and sacrificed to the god whose temple he dishonoured.

Therefore, when Boniface was ravaging pagan objects, it was the Frisians' legal right and duty to kill him. No arbitrary killing, but the execution of a judgment. Who knows, a judgment made at an ad hoc gathering of the thing. Boniface got away with just a blow of an axe, you could say.

About ten years after the death of Boniface, monk Willehad from Northumbria made the town of Dokkum his missionary post not far from the place where Boniface was executed. Willehad established churches in the village of Holwerd and on the Wadden Sea islands of Ameland and Terschelling. All churches were dedicated to Saint Willibrord. Willehad was a relative of Willibrord and was supported by Willibrord's abbey in Echternach. After Willehad, Ludger stepped in.

Concerning the difficult relationship between Willibrord and Boniface, study our blog post The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of Gerulfing Dynasty.

We can only guess as to how the pagan beliefs and heathen shrines looked like. We have the description of the Roman historian Tacitus of the first century AD, about the Germanic believe. He comments on the search of omens, the casting of lots, and the role of women as holy and gifted with the talent of prophecy. Holy places were woods and groves, and the Germanic people did not portray idols in human likeness.

Furthermore, there is the Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum, which translates as 'small index of superstitions and paganism'. A text dated to the mid-eighth century, the Indiculus is carefully kept in the Vatican. Unfortunately, the Indiculus is merely the index of a work that has been lost. The Indiculus sums up thirty, we think, fascinating heathen practices of the northern Germanic tribes, i.e., the Saxons and the Frisians. Because the work itself has been lost, the rituals and practices are difficult to interpret and understand by the index alone. Again, the casting of lots is one of the practices, but many more. Check out our blog post Groove is in the Hearth. Very superstitious, is the way to learn more about the pagan rituals of the old Frisians and the full text of the Indiculus.

Also part of the same codex in which the Indiculus has been preserved is a baptismal vow, the so-called Utrecht Vow. There is much discussion about the origin of the text since it contains elements of the Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old English, and Old Low Franconian, i.e., Old Dutch languages. Be that as it may, the baptismal vow used by the missionaries Boniface and Ludger, and who knows, Bernlef likewise, was more or less – or exactly – as follows:

• Do you forsake the Devil? And he should reply: I forsake the Devil.

• And all Devil's money [i.e. offerings]? He should reply: And I forsake all Devil's money.

• And all Devil's works? He should reply: And I forsake all Devil's works and words, Donar and Woden and Seaxnot and all those demons who are their followers.

• Do you believe in God the Almighty Father? I believe in God the Almighty Father.

• Do you believe in Christ, God's Son? I believe in Christ, God's Son.

• Do you believe in the Holy Spirit? I believe in the Holy Spirit.

Let's return to the historic walk of Saint Ludger and Bernlef.

It must have been a twelve-kilometer, probably, circular walk. Circular, since from the village of Helewyret they first reached the village of Werfhem, which is located to the west of Helewyret, and then reached the village of Wyscwyrd, which is situated east of Werfhem and north of Helewyret. In addition, taking into account that they must have been chatting a lot, Bernlef’s eyes and brain were still recovering from his former blindness of three years. Besides joy, it must have given him, at least, a headache. Lastly, Ludger was in his fifties, and Bernlef was probably even older. Their pace was maybe a bit slow. Taking all this into account, it must have been a walk of roughly five hours. Besides regaining his eyesight, Bernlef was also converted to Christendom during this stroll, and together they prayed at a chapel in Wyscwyrd. An efficient, short walk it was, indeed.

Book of Revelation 19: 15

Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations/heathens

If not convinced by the new faith, Bernlef was for sure indebted to Ludger for the rest of his life anyway because of regaining his eyesight. Quid pro quo, was the deal Ludger made, giving away the merchant mentality of the Frisians. Bernlef became the missionary’s strong ally in converting his own people in the years that would follow. Conversion by proxy. This strategy was a silver buckshot. Bernlef, popular among his people and a non-clergy, would baptize infants and small children during the insecure periods caused by the fierce and extremely brutal wars between the Saxons and the Franks. Times when it was not even safe for brave men like Ludger to travel through rough Frisia anyway. The fact that the Northumbrian missionary Willehad, who was preaching in the lower reaches of the River Weser, had to flee to the town of Utrecht in the year 780 in order to save his life, is illustrative of the insecure situation.

Know that blindness, either temporarily or forever, could also be a punishment from God. Like in the Irish legend of Saint Mo Chutu mac Fínnail of Lismore. It was during spring when a druid challenged Mo Chutu to give a dead apple tree leaves again so it could bear fruit. When the tree had indeed grown apples, the druid said they tasted sour and were of no use. Now Mo Chutu and the Almighty were fed up, and the druid went blind. A year later, Mo Chutu returned and cured the druid of his blindness. Subsequently, the druid had himself baptized (Clerinx 2023). So, we wonder, what was it bard Bernlef had done before?

Ludger's efforts, with the help of Bernlef, made the Frisians finally turn their backs on their Germanic idols Foseti, Seaxnot, Freya, and, especially, Woden. In the year 790, Alcuin of York, under whom Ludger had studied before, wrote in a letter to the Irish scholar Colcu Ua Duinechda at the monastery of Clonmacnoise in Ireland, that both the Old Saxon and the Frisian tribes had been converted to Christendom. For Ludger's achievement, he was later declared a saint. We are still awaiting the Vatican’s plans with Bernlef, waiting for the apotheosis of the Frisian singer-of-tales, who did most of the hard fieldwork when things were too hot and too risky for holy, noble clergymen. Of course, that the Frisian journalist, war hero, and priest Titus Brandsma (1881-1942) was canonized in 2022 is highly appreciated, but the Frisian lay missionary Bernlef stays on our list.

The whole story of Bernlef and Ludger has been documented by Altifridus episcopus Mimigardefordensis, or simply Altfried von Münster for intimates. Altfried (ca. 800-849) was a career monk who became bishop of Münster and was a family member of Ludger. The manuscript is called Vita sancti Liudgeri and provides an account of the, needless to say, exemplary life and wonders of Ludger. The full story of the hike somewhere between 787 and 793 (Mol 2007) can be found at the end of this blog post; in the original Latin language together with an English translation. At least three observations from this text can be made.

A first observation is that Ludger is welcomed by a distinguished woman in the village of Helewyret, not by a male person. She would also donate part of her possessions to the Church (Mol 2007). Since a visit from a monk of such stature and from a highly respected Frisian family from afar cannot have been your regular occurrence up north, this is an interesting fact. The woman by the name matrona Meinsuit is not described as a relative of Bernlef as well. It is tempting to think bards and poets were the rock singers of the past, loved by women regardless of their social status, like, for example, the poets François Villon in France and Karacaoğlan in Turkey. But this is speculation, of course.

A second observation is that although Bernlef was still heathen when the two met and he would convert many of his folk himself later on, apparently some progress had been made already by the Franks in converting the Frisians in this isolated part of Frisia, since at the village of Wyscwyrd a chapel existed already. The story recounts that Bernlef and Ludger made a prayer there.

A third observation is the parallel with the also blind singer Homer of ancient Greece who lived around 800 BC. A difference from Homer is that no single syllable of Bernlef’s oeuvre has been saved. The poet without a poem, as Bernlef is sometimes called.

Cloisters, including that of Warffum – This area of fat and fertile clay would in the centuries to come become the basis of relatively rich, religious houses and cloisters, of which the monasteries and houses of Oosterwierum, Oosterwijtwerd, Wijtwerd, and of Warffum (Werfhem) were examples.

The monastery of Warffum, its origins traceable to around halfway through the thirteenth century, belonged to the Military Order of Saint John and even housed cloistered nuns, generating funds, too, for the costly crusades against the heretics in Europe and the 'infidels' in the Middle East. In the sixteenth century, when the Grand Master of the Order of Saint John was seated on the island of Malta, this Order became better known as the Knights of Malta, or the Order of Malta. Yes indeed, the Knights of Malta had many effects in Frisia. If you want to know more about the Frisian crusaders, read our blog post Terrorist Fighters from the Wadden Sea. The Era of the Crusades.

In 1495, the inhabitants of the cloister Warffum were: Commander Rodulphus, two chaplains, and around sixty nuns. In 1533, the numerous nuns were led by a female prior, in the meantime. Men were sent away, apparently. The cloister of Warffum was one of the largest in what is now the Netherlands. It possessed 1,743 hectares of land and an additional 1,000 so-called 'grazen' in peat areas. They were prosperous, indeed.

Note – a gras (sg) was a measure unit. 1 gras is about 1/2 hectare and is enough grass for 1 cow. A 1,000 grazen (pl) is thus enough for about 500 cows.

The first churches in Frisia between the River Vlie and the River Ems were built around 900 in the villages of Bolsward, Dokkum, Farmsum, Ferwerd, Garnwerd, Franeker, Holwerd, Leens, Leeuwarden, Loppersum, Winsum, Tzum, and Usquert (indeed, Wyskwyrd). Some were built on existing terps, i.e., artificial dwelling mounds, and for other churches, new terps were erected on the tidal marshlands. Initially of clay sods and wood (Postma 2020), later of bricks.

The reason for the gap in time between the submission of the gentes, i.e. non-Christian people, of Frisia to the populus, i.e. Christian people, the Franks, and the moment the first churches were built, had to do with the still ongoing resistance of their heathen neighbours, the Saxons (see further below). But not only that. Also due to the fact that the Franks made an alliance with Danish warlords during the second half of the ninth century to let them govern most of Frisia. A strategy to halt the Viking incursions into the Frankish empire. Parts of western Frisia, more precisely the regions of Holland and Zeeland, and most of the central river lands, were given in fief to the Vikings Rorik of Dorestad and, after his death, to Godfrid Haraldsson the Sea-King. The latter in folklore known for his cruelty. The region of Ostfriesland, which are the Frisian lands east of the River Ems, was given as a beneficium to Danish warlord Harald Klak, leaving the part of Frisia that encompasses the current provinces of Friesland and Groningen stuck in the middle for some reason.

The de facto Viking Rule meant that the conversion of most of Frisia came to a halt in practice, despite being part of the Christian realm of Francia. Only after these elegant dukes and annexed warlords were disposed of at the end of the ninth century could the Christianization of the Frisians resume, or be repeated. Historians sometimes call it the period of the second conversion, or the depth conversion. It was, for example, Bishop Adalbold of Utrecht who complained at the beginning of the eleventh century that Frisians in coastal areas criticized Christendom, and nearly nobody appeared during Easter to receive communion. Also in the eleventh century, Archbishop Unwan of Hamburg-Bremen was compelled to cut down 'holy hedges' on the tidal marshlands which were still being worshiped, apparently. In sum, the Christianization process of Frisia started in the early seventh century and lasted until the early thirteenth century, before the Christian message became truly internalized in the minds of the marsh people (Groenewoudt et al 2016).

The present-day province of Zeeland, part of West Frisia too back then, was ruled by Northmen as well. This was, however, more of a free enterprise, especially the island of Walcheren. Here, too, the mid-eleventh Passio Friderici notes that the people of Zeeland were still prone to paganism. Read our blog post Walcheren Island. Once Sodom and Gomorrah of the North Sea. It contains the bizarre story of a drunken Frisian chieftain who had to throw up his beer after his death.

The Bernlefgate

Regarding the third observation, namely no texts have been preserved of Bernlef, leads to another controversial topic: the Bernlefgate. This serious gate started in the '60s of the last century and, no kidding, is still going on. Frisian scholars suggest that the monumental Old Saxon manuscript Heliand, meaning 'healer' or 'saviour', of which the author is unknown, was actually written by Bernlef. It is Van Weringh, Veenbaas, and Quispel who make the "revolutionary claim" (Porck 2017) that Bernlef is the true author of the Heliand.

The Heliand is a rhymed version of the Diatessaron of Tatian; the gospel harmony of the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, dating from the second century AD. When looking at the size of things, the Heliand, with exactly 5,983 long-line verses, is comparable with the works of the blind bard Homer. Homer’s famous Iliad consists of ca. 7,000 verses, and his equally famous Odyssey ca. 5,500 verses. Yes, size does matter. The Heliand was written sixteen centuries after Homer's works, namely at the beginning of the ninth century, a time slot that could fit, or does not dismiss, the so-called revolutionary theory of Frisian historians Bernlef being the author of the Heliand. However, the Heliand is dated between 825-850, making Bernlef a very old man.

In any case, the critics from German historians are merciless and dismiss the Frisian scholars for being unscientific romantics. And that is saying it friendly and diplomatically. Also, the Anglo-Saxon scholars degrade the Frisian scholars and say the writer of the Heliand was not a layman, but most certainly a theologically trained cleric (Green 2003). We will await, if ever, the outcome of this identity scientific debate with interest. For now we cannot help to be reminded to the book title of the aforementioned Westfrisian writer Marsman – alias Bernlef! – namely Hersenschimmen meaning something like 'phantasms' or 'hjernespind'.

It is because of the Vita sancti Liudgeri we know that Frisia equally had a culture of bards, singing about the heroic deeds of great ancestors, just as it is described in the Old English epic poem Beowulf, where bards recite and sing during gatherings in halls and longhouses. For example, singing the tale that recounts how the Frisian warrior Hengist betrayed Finn Folcwalding, king of the Frisians. Read our blog post Tolkien pleaded in favour of King Finn. An immortalized royal tragedy. Also, the Lex Frisionum, the codified customary laws of the Frisians written at the end of the eighth century, includes a specific and high sanction on assaulting a harp player, below the text of the Lex Frisionum which apparently still knew the value of craft and art:

Who hits the hand of a harp player, who can play harp in a circle (audience), pays with a fourth bigger fine, as with another man of the same status.

Not only do these contemporary texts of Altfried and the Lex Frisionum reveal the existence of bards and an oral culture, but archaeological research in the terp region in the northwest of Germany and in the north of the Netherlands, former Frisia, has shown that musical instruments existed, including harps and flutes. Excavated pieces of harp reveal a model very similar to the early seventh-century harp or lyre found at Sutton Hoo in East Anglia.

2. More blind poets and Bernlefs

Sometimes lines are being drawn through history that are of an almost divine nature. The famous modern Frisian poet Tsjêbbe Hettinga (1949-2013) was, believe it or not, blind. And just like his colleague Bernlef 1,200 years earlier, he too became blind at an older age. Hopefully, this was not a punishment from God, or maybe all poets run the risk of becoming blind? Anyway, the amazement does not end here.

In the film documentary of the international Frisian filmmaker Pieter Verhoeff about poet Tsjêbbe Hettinga, Tsjêbbe visits his parents' old farmstead, where his brother still lives. By the way, his brother is also going blind. Besides all the impressive implicit silent suffering you can hear in their voices and read on their faces and (near-) blind eyes, Tsjêbbe Hettinga and his younger brother tell with great passion and admiration about a beautiful horse both had known when they were kids. This was the end of the '60s. Indeed, a shining black Friesian. It was a magnificent horse in character, in gait, and in appearance, the brothers explain. Still, their father had tried to sell the animal on five different occasions. Each time their father felt remorse afterward and bought back the horse from the new owner, of course, for more money than he had sold the animal. The end of the story was that the horse carried their deceased father to the graveyard, as if it were inevitable and predestined. When you watch the fragment of the documentary, see the link further below, especially observe the short but intense silence after they have told this part of their lives.

The name of the Friesian horse? Indeed, Bernlef. Believe us, we did not make it up!

Please watch the short, impressive fragment of this documentary titled Yn dat sykjen sûnder finen 'within that searching without finding', a strophe of one of Tsjêbbe Hettinga's well-known poems. With the above in mind, try to keep your own seeing eyes dry. We have not succeeded.

3. Vertigo years

We leave the blind poets Homer and Hettinga behind us and turn back to the other blind bard, which this blog post is about: Bernlef. Where did he and Saint Ludger hike? We mean, what did the world look like back then? We start with painting the political landscape, followed by the natural landscape.

against the salty sea and against the wild Vikings' flood (Old Frisian law; Schoutenrecht)

The wild political landscape

It was not the quietest of years. The Frisians had battled against the imperialistic Franks for a century or so but had lost the emporium Dorestat, i.e., the present-day town of Wijk bij Duurstede in the province of Utrecht, and their freedom in the first half of the eighth century at the decisive battle at the River Boorne near the village of Irnsum in the province of Friesland. Read our blog post The Boarn Supremacy for more information about this lost battle. Successively, as mentioned earlier, the Franks tried to convert the gentes of Frisia. That came with much violence and struggle, of which the famous murder of Saint Boniface in 754 was likely a part. It was not without reason that the Frankish poet Ermoldus Nigellus described King Charles Martel as Frisonum Marte magister, meaning 'with idol Mars' help master of the Frisians'. The conversion of the Frisians was not a side-line activity and demanded persistence and resources.

The neighbouring Saxons, with whom the Frisians were closely akin (Flierman 2021), still put up the toughest fight against the Franks. During their incursions in the early 750s, the Saxons burned thirty churches. In response, Majordomo Pepin the Short ravaged Saxony in 753. However, it was his son, the famous Charlemagne, who was utterly ruthless. In the year 772, he destroyed the sacred tree Irminsul of the Saxons and carried off the gold and silver of this sanctuary. Just as Ludger would do a bit later when he ruined the Frisian pagan temples of the idol Fosite on, probably, the island of Heligoland in the region of Nordfriesland around the year 785 (read our blog post Liudger, the first Frisian apostle). The gold and silver carried off from the island of Heligoland was divided between Charlemagne and Saint Ludger: two-thirds for Charlemagne and the rest, still nice to have and worth the effort, for Ludger. Before we forget, in 782 Charlemagne beheaded no less than 4,500 Saxons at Verden, located upstream of the River Weser.

Notwithstanding, or because of all these genuine war crimes, the Westphalian (Saxon) nobleman Widukind revolted against the Franks during the period between 782 and 785. Typically, the Frisians east of the River Vlie joined this heathen commander in a final attempt to shake off Frankish domination and the new religion. Earlier, between 783 and 784, the Frisians were up in arms (Mol 2007). Bretwalda 'broad ruler' Widukind is said to have urged the Frisians to rebel against the Franks by relinquishing the Christian faith and sacrificing to their former idols. But the Franks were victorious against both tribes. In the year 785, Widukind agreed to a peace with the Franks and allowed himself to be baptized.

The Saxons, however, continued to rebel against the Franks. Also, the Frisians continued to be jumpy. In 793, the Frisians west of the River Weser revolted a second time under the leadership of the principes Unno and Eilrad from the region of Rüstringen (Mol 2007, Flierman 2021). Several years later, in 797, Charlemagne "crossed the swamps and impenetrable places" to confront a combined rebel force of Saxons and Frisians in the Elbe-Weser region. In the year 798, the Saxons of the region of Nordalbingia, meaning 'north of [the River] Elbe', were defeated in the Battle of Bornhöved, also Schlacht auf dem Sventanafeld, by prince Thrasco of the Obrodites, a West-Slavic people, in alliance with the Franks. During this battle, between 3,000 and 4,000 Saxons lost their lives. The submission of the last Saxon tribe, and thus Frisian, too, is commonly fixed at 804. In this year, Charlemagne deported and dispersed the Nordliudi 'north people' from north of the River Elbe. Indeed, ethnic cleansing is of all times.

Interestingly, the military cooperation between Frisians and Saxons was not limited to this rebellion against Charlemagne. Not long after the uprising of Widukind, Frisians and Saxons fought together on the side of Charlemagne against the Slavs in the year 789. Two years later, in 791, Frisians and Saxons also fought together in service of the Franks against the Avars all the way in modern Hungary.

Much later, in 885, it was again a combined force of Frisians and Saxons, under the command of Everhard Saxo, count of Hamaland, that defeated the Viking army of Godfrid the Sea-King at Herispich, near modern Spijk in the Netherlands. Read more about this piece of history in our blog post The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfing Dynasty. Lastly, the early-medieval scholae in the city of Rome attest to the close relationship between the two peoples. Frisian pilgrims stayed, at first, at the schola Saxonum. Only later did Frisians establish their own schola Frisonum. Read our blog post Magnus’ Choice: The Origins of the Frisian Freedom to learn more about Frisians and their presence in the Vatican and Rome. Yes, even the Church of the Frisians can be visited in the Vatican.

All these examples illustrate that early-medieval Frisians and Saxons were very closely akin. In the year 850, Emperor Lothar I wrote about the “gens Saxonum et Fresonum commixta“, describing the people of the northern area of his empire. Expressing there was not much difference between the two tribes.

The saga of the Holy Wurt of Willehad – In the region of Land Hadeln, the marshlands between the mouths of the rivers Weser and Elbe, the saga Die hillige Wurt 'the holy terp' exists. The story takes place in the time of Charlemagne when he was terribly occupied with subduing the Saxons and the Frisians. To achieve this, Charlemagne asked for someone who dared to convert the most stubborn enemies of the faith, the Frisians and the Saxons, in the area of the lower river basins of the Weser and Elbe in the pagus 'territory' Wigmodi. This turned out to be a man called Willehad, who had risked his life converting Frisians before. Indeed, Willehad succeeded in converting the Saxons and the Frisians. After that, Willehad travelled to the free and confident people of Land Hadeln. On the terp, also called a Wort or Wurt locally, at the current village of Ihlienworth, the first church was built: die hillige Wurt, the Holy Terp.

Not only were the armies of the Franks a threat to the Frisian people, but also the nearby Danes became a threat. The Scandinavian tribes had just started their infamous Viking campaign that would last for two centuries. Notably, the Viking attack on Frisia in the year 810, in this very coastal area where Bernlef lived, would stir things up. The Norsemen made the inhabitants pay a tribute of two hundred pounds of silver, which would be equivalent to the weregild 'man-price' of thirty-six freemen. Probably, the Danes tried to push back the Franks and made a statement about whose sphere of influence Frisia really was, comparable to statements still being made in the twenty-first century in the Caucasus and near the Black Sea.

Presence of the Danes in East Frisia continued until 884, after the Battle of Norditi, also called the Slacht bei Nordendi, near the village of Norden in the region of Ostfriesland, when the Frisians were victorious and pushed the Northmen out of East Frisia for good. According to chronicler Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum, 'the history of the bishops of Hamburg', no less than 10,377 Vikings lost their lives during this battle. Read our blog post A Theel-Acht. What a great idea! to learn more about this disastrous battle for the Vikings.

Once Were Warriors – The fact that during the eighth century, after the incorporation of Frisia and Saxonia into the Frankish empire, there was an increase in weapon gifts, particularly swords and shields, in graves along the North Sea coasts of Germany and the Netherlands in comparison with the centuries before, is generally regarded as an expression of a period of social and political unrest. A period when the warrior culture and warrior identity became more prominent.

Around the time of all these troubles, and without a doubt well aware of the massive bloodshed in the wider region, Ludger and Bernlef were having their pleasant stroll on the coast of the muddy Wadden Sea. Maybe they even discussed the politically turbulent situation, pleading, perhaps, for a better and new administrative culture placing the citizens first. Anyhow, it is the same region that would be exploited in the second half of the twentieth century because of its massive gas fields.

The wild natural landscape

The natural landscape was just as tumultuous as were politics then. Herewyret, Wyscwyrd, and Werfhem were small villages at the very edge of the land in the pagus 'territory' called Hunsingo in the present-day province of Groningen. It is the coastal zone between the estuaries of the River Lauwers and the River Ems. Even more precisely, the area between the River Hunze and the (former) River Fivel. Pagus Hunsingo owes its name to the River Hunze, flowing out into the Wadden Sea at the present-day village of Pieterburen. Pagus Fivelingo, east of Hunsingo, owes its name to the River Fivel that flowed via the present-day village of Westeremden to the River Ems.

Much of the coastal brim of Frisia consisted of vast salt marshes and clay soils that were flooded by the sea regularly. An area that was intersected with numerous meandering sea creeks, estuaries, rivulets, countless inlets, bays, and small rivers carrying fresh water from peaty inlands to the sea. The flat land was regularly flooded since big dykes did not exist yet around the year 800. The construction of more heavy, fat dykes would take almost another two centuries. Thus, imagine flat, wet, treeless grasslands filled with mainly white sheep and small brown cows.

Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me.

Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

Psalm 69: 1-2 & 14-15

For protection against the sea and the collection of fresh water, people built terps. Terps, although the term wierde would be more appropriate for the province of Groningen, are artificial settlement mounds, and had already existed for nearly a millennium in the area when Bernlef and Ludger made their hike. Read our DIY manual Making a Terp in only 12 Steps if you want to erect a terp yourself. The village of Werfhem was one of the bigger terps of the region and, together with the village of Wyscwyrd, was situated on a salt-marsh ridge. Only on top of these settlement mounds, out of reach of the salty sea, could some trees and bushes grow, like hazel, elder, and willow. Also, some crops and herbs were grown, like hulled barley, gold-of-pleasure, flax, hemp, field mustard, celery, and even emmer wheat. These were grown on the higher parts of the salt marsh and on the slopes of terps. Rye was probably cultivated on higher sandy salt-marsh ridges.

So, when Bernlef saw the trees of Werfhem, he knew that trees were actually very scarce in this barren coastal environment, and it likely must have been one of these species mentioned. In the villages, many big (war) dogs, some hogs, and chickens walked around to make the picture more complete. Dogs had a special place in Frisian society. Read our blog post How to bury your mother-in-law and be amazed at all the different Frisian dog types and their roles. From little fancy dogs 'for on your lap' to war dogs during battle. Hiking as a stranger without a dazer through this landscape back then would have been risky.

We assume the walk took place during summer, or just before or after. Only this time of year would weather permit traveling through this wet sea area, avoiding the storms and floods in late autumn, winter, and early spring. Frisians were sea traders as well, with a strong supra-regional trading network covering most of north-western Europe. If it was indeed summer when Bernlef and Ludger had their walk, these Frisian free-traders must have been away because that was the sailing season. So, near the terps, there must have been landing platforms for boats, although the bigger ships were at sea in southern Scandinavia or East England or up the River Rhine to Cologne and Trier making a profit. Perhaps explaining why the woman called Meinsuit introduced Bernlef to Ludger. Her husband was simply away at sea or sailing on the River Rhine.

Maybe Ludger and Bernlef also saw men and families preparing their ships to leave for what is now the region of Nordfriesland, just south of the Danish-German border. It was a period when colonists from Frisia (re)populated the islands of Amrum, Föhr, Sylt, Utholm, Westerhever, and Everschop. Find more information about the phases and origins of the colonization of Nordfriesland in our blog post Burn Beacon Burn. A Coastal Inferno – Nordfriesland. The thing that receives little attention from scholars is that this migration to the north took place amidst the turbulent Viking Age, and toward and very close to the heartland of the Danes. How can this be explained?

More inland, behind the salt-marsh area, were immense peat areas, like everywhere else in Frisia. Archaeological research shows that already in the ninth century commercial and systematic extraction of sea salt from peat soil had started. Salt was mined from the region of Westfriesland, around the present-day town of Medemblik in the province of Noord Holland, to the estuary of the River Jade in the region of Ostfriesland. This activity has had a profound impact on the coastal landscape, even as we know it today. The land inland shrank and declined, becoming very vulnerable to the grasp of the waterwolf. Around the year 800, the sea washed away a lot of land at the mouth of the River Lauwers, not far from where Bernlef lived, significantly accelerating the enlargement of the inland sea, a process that had already started in the seventh century. Probably, the continuous mining of salt in this region contributed to this increasing loss of land.

The great flood in the winter of 838 on Saint Stephen's Day would fundamentally reshape much of the land of Frisia. According to the ninth-century Annals of Saint Bertin, a very specific 2,437 people drowned during this flood. However, this new tragedy was yet to come when Ludger and Bernlef had their peaceful walk and talk.

4. Conclusion

We enjoyed telling you this remarkable continuum in the history of Bernlefs and blind bards. We enjoyed sharing a new tale about tale-makers, a story likewise of two Frisians who made a pact to convert their fellow countrymen in the midst of the storm of war and bloodshed that was going on throughout the region. Moreover, we placed their stroll of reflection between the heathen harp player and the influential monk within a social and natural environment that was truly vertiginous.

Look at it this early-medieval walkabout any way you like, because many different angles are possible. Sing your own tale! At the very least, we hope this blog post gives the reader a sense of place when re-hiking the hike of these two historic gents as part of the Frisia Coast Trail.

If you are anxious to learn more about Bishop Saint Ludger and the different faces that can be attributed to him, read our blog post Liudger, the first Frisian apostle. Ludger was, in a way, an anomaly during the conversion of the Frisians, since they were mainly Anglo-Saxon missionaries who, as explained above, were doing the job of converting Frisians. It was the Anglo-Saxon monk Ecgberht of Ripon from the monastery of Rath Melsigi in Ireland who was the primary driving force behind this conversion.

A final word on Ludger. Contrary to the friendly image that might arise from this blog post, Ludger can be considered a ruthless missionary in league with Frankish rule. Ludger ravaged holy sites of the Frisians and Saxons, like the temple on the North Sea island of Heligoland in the region of Nordfriesland. For his approach, he was rewarded with gold and silver. Moreover, Ludger was also awarded the Frisian territories east of the River Lauwers, viz. the province of Groningen and the region of Ostfriesland. As a consequence, these territories came under the bishopric of Bremen and no longer under that of Utrecht (Van der Tuuk 2024). You could say this did not actually help the Frisian people and lands to stay united, and it marks the beginning of why the Saxon material culture became dominant in these areas.

The interest of the Anglo-Saxons in Frisia was due to the old kinship between the Frisians and the Anglo-Saxons, at least according to the Northumbrian Venerable Bede (672-735). Of all the missionaries from the British Isles, we mention Adalbert, Engelmund, Jerome, Lebuinus, also known as Liafwin and patron of the town of Deventer, Suitbert of Kaiserswerth, also written as Swithberht, Werenfrith, also written as Werenfridus, Wigbert, Wihtbert, Wilfrith of York, Willehad, Willibrord from Northumbria, Wulfram of Sens, and Wynfreth or Wynfrith from Crediton, also known as Boniface. However, there were many, many more (Van Eijnatten 2006).

The hike of Bernlef and Saint Ludger

Cum euangelizandi gratia in Fresia ad quandam villam nomine Helewyret pervenisset, matrona quaedam Meinsuit nomine excepit illum in domum suam. Et ecce illo discumbente cum discipulis suis, oblatus est ei caecus vocabulo Bernlef, qui a vicinis suis valde diligebatur, eo quod esset affabilis et antiquorum actus regumque certamina bene noverat psallendo promere. Sed per triennium continua caecitate ita depressus est, ut nullum sibi lumen vel extreme visionis remaneret. Quem dum vultu hilari est intuitus, interrogat, si penitentiam a se vellet accipere, acceptaque ab eo huius rei sponsione iussit, ut die crastina veniret ad se. Crastina vero die equitanti viro Dei obvius factus est idem caecus; accepto ergo Dei famulus per frenum eius caballo, duxit eum a turba seorsum et confitenti peccata sua penitentiam indixit. Deinde signum sanctae crucis oculis eius inposuit et tenens manum suam coram eo interrogavit. si aliquid videret. Ipse vero cum magno gaudio dixit, se manum illius posse videre. At ille: ‘Age, inquit, omnipotenti Deo gratias.’ Sermocinantibus quoque eis de fide catholica de variisque utilitatibus animae, pervenerunt ad villam nomine Werfhem et interrogavit eum, si ipsam potuisset agnoscere. Ille vero statim proprio vocabulo nominavit eam et arbores et queque eius aedificia se bene posse conspicere professus est; ait autem illi: “Omnipotenti Deo age gratias, qui te inluminavit’. Cumque venissent ad villam Wyscwyrd nomine, ubi oratorium erat constructum, fecit eum secum orare et Deo gratias agere constrinxitque eum sacramento, ut ante diem obitus sui nulli causum huiuscemodi inluminationis indicaret. Complevit ille viri Dei praecepta et per dies aliquos caecitatem simulando ducatu alieno utebatur, sed post obitum eius, qualiter fuerit inluminatus, asseruit.

When preaching grace of Frisia [Ludger] arrived at a village called Helewyret to preach there, a lady named Meinsuit welcomed him into her house. And behold while he was sitting at the table, he was introduced to a blind man named Bernlef, who was very popular with his fellow villagers, because he was kind and he was good with the singing and with the harp about the deeds of the ancestors and the military achievements of kings. He had been suffering from blindness for three years, so he had no light in his eyes and had to miss even the smallest vision. While he [Ludger] looked at him kindly; he [Bernlef] asked him if he could hear his confession. He said so and asked him [Bernlef] to come to him the next day. That next day the blind man met the man of God who sat on a horse. The servant of God took his horse by the bridle, led him [Bernlef] away from his retinue. He confessed his sins and was given penitence. Then the sign of the cross on his eyes was made and held his hand up close. him was asked if he saw anything. He replied with great joy that he could see his hand. Then he [Ludger] said: “Come, thank the almighty God.” And while they were talking about the Christian faith, they arrived at a village called Werfhem and [Ludger] asked him if he could see it. Immediately he called it by the right name, and stated that he could see the trees and all buildings well. Then he [Ludger] told him: “Thank the almighty God, who has given you the light.” And when they arrived at the village of Wyscwyrd, where a chapel was built, he let him [Bernlef] pray with him and thank God. He made him [Bernlef] promise that he would not tell anyone he was unlighted before Ludger’s departure; he fulfilled this mission of the man of God. He faked blindness for a few days and was led by someone. After his departure, he explained how he was enlightened.

Note 1 – The oldest attestations of the terp of Helewyret, the modern hamlet of Helwerd in the province of Groningen are Heleuuwyrð, Heileguurð and Helaguurð. Most probable explanation is that it means hailaga werd, thus ‘holy terp’ (Van Berkel & Samplonius 2018). In the region of Land Wursten the saga of Die hillige Wurt was being told. According to the saga the current place name Ihlienworth means heilige Wurt ‘holy terp’ too. At Ihlienwurth it was Saint Willehad who built the first church to convert the heathen Frisians of Land Wursten; the Wurstfriesen.

Note 2 – The Miracle at Leer, Ostfriesland

Saint Ludger performed more miracles, like the fishing miracle at Leer in Frisia east of the River Ems, the modern region of Ostfriesland. Back then, Leer was just a small fishing village at the confluence of the River Ems and the River Leda. One day, when Ludger had told about the Gospel, fishermen wanted to bring Ludger some fish as a gift. Ludger, however, declined the offer and asked to men to catch a big sturgeon. The fishermen said: "Och, 't will Winter worden, dann lett sück kien Stör mehr fangen" ('oh, winter is coming, and sturgeon no longer can be caught'). Ludger replied with: "Doot, wat ik jo seggt hebb! Bi unse Heer is alls mögelk" ('do as I told you!' With our Lord everything is possible').

As soon as the men were in their boat on the River Ems, when of a sudden something fell from the sky into the river. "Wat was dat? En Vögel of en Fiß? ('what was that? A bird or a fish?'). The fishermen threw their nets and when they brought the net in, it was very heavy. Indeed, they caught a mighty sturgeon. Filled with happiness because of this miracle, they brought the fish to Ludger (Siefkes 1963).

Note 3 – Featured image 'Liudger predikt in de Groninger gouwen, 785' (Ludger preaches in the Groningen gaue') by J.H. Isings (1884-1977). Notice the different emotions among the gathered. The man in the front with his hand on his sword, the man sitting to right neutrally interested, women more close hanging on Ludger's words and Bernlef's music, at the back near the holy oak, pagan priests observing everything with clear disapproval.

Suggested music

AC/DC, Let There Be Rock (1977)

Carlos Santana & John Lee Hooker, The Healer (1995)

I Took Your Name, Hell On A Hill (2017)

Further reading and watching

Arnold, E.F., Medieval Riverscapes. Environment and Memory in Northwest Europe, c. 300-1100 (2024)

Berkel, van G. & Samplonius, K., Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard. Reeks Nederlandse plaatsnamen deel 12 (2018)

Blokker, J., Blokker jr., J. & Blokker, B., Het vooroudergevoel. De vaderlandse geschiedenis. Met schoolplaten van J.H. Isings (2005)

Bottema-Mac Gillavry, N., Hout, houtskool en niet-verhoute planten: van houten paal tot gedraaid touw (2015)

Brooks, S. & Harrington, S., The Kingdom of Kent AD 400-1066. Their history and archaeology (2010)

Broome, R., The Lost Conference Papers II: Religion and Conversion in Early Medieval Frisia (2019)

Clerinx, H., De god met de maretak. Kelten en de Lage Landen (2023)

Cusack, C.M., Between Sea and Land: Geographical and Literary Marginality in the Conversion of Medieval Frisia (2021)

Diekamp, W., Die Vitae Sancti Liudgeri (1881)

Dijkstra, M.F.P., Rondom de mondingen van Rijn & Maas. Landschap en bewoning tussen de 3e en de 9e eeuw in Zuid-Holland, in het bijzonder de Oude Rijnstreek (2011)

Eijnatten, van J. & Lieburg, van F., Nederlandse religiegeschiedenis (2005)

Erskine, J., Het korte uur van François Villon (1948)

Febvre, L., Der Rhein und seine Geschichte (1994)

Flierman, R., Mirror histories: Frisians and Saxons from the first to the ninth century AD (2021)

Flierman, R., Religious Saxons: paganism, infidelity and biblical punishment in the Capitulatio de partibus Saxoniae (2016)

Freriks, K. & Storms, M., Grensverkenningen. Langs oude grenzen in Nederland (2022)

Green, D.H. & Siegmund, F. (eds.), The Continental Saxons from the Migration Period to the tenth century. An Ethnographic Perspective (2003); Green, D.H., Three aspects of the Old Saxon biblical epic, the Heliand (2003)

Groenewoudt, B., Beek, van R. & Groothedde, M., Christianisation and the Afterlife of Pagan Open-Air Cult Sites. Evidence from the Northern Frankish Frontier (2016)

Gros, F., Marcher, une philosophie (2013)

Halman, T.S., Popular Turkish Love Lyrics and Folk Legends (2009)

Henstra, D.J., The evolution of the money standard in medieval Frisia. A treatise on the history of the systems of money of account in the former Frisia (c.600-c.1500) 1999

Hettinga, Tsj., Het vaderpaard. It faderpaard. Alle gedichten (2017)

Iba, E.M. (ed.), Hake Betken seine Duven. Die grosse Sagenbuch aus dem Land an Elbe- und Wesermündung (1993)

IJssennagger, N.L., Between the Frankish and the Vikings: Frisia and Frisians in the Viking Age (2017)

Jansen, S. & Lokven, van M., Rivierenland. Nederland van Aa tot Waal (2018)

Jongen, L. (transl.), Het leven van de heilige bisschop Sint Ludger (2009)

Knol, E. & Vos, P., Lauwerszee (2018)

Kuiken, K., De Liudgeriden (ca. 711-877). De oudste bekende adellijke familie van Nederland (2005)

Liudgerstichten, Biebelindex (website)

Looijenga, A., Popkema, A. & Slofstra B. (transl.), Een meelijwekkend volk. Vreemden over Friezen van de oudheid tot de kerstening (2017)

Meeder, S., & Goosmann, E., Redbad. Koning in de marge van de geschiedenis (2018)

Mol. J.A., De Friese volkslegers tussen 1480 en 1560 (2017)

Mol, J.A., Vechten, bidden en verplegen. Opstellen over de ridderorden in de Noordelijke Nederlanden (2011)

Mulder-Bakker, A.B. & Bremmer, R.H. (eds.), Geleefd Geloof. Het geloofsleven van boeren en burgers in Friesland en de Ommelanden van Groningen 1200-1580; Mudler-Bakker, A.B. & Bremmer, R.H., Het Noorderland in de Middeleeuwen. Samenleving en religieuze cultuur (2021)

Nicolay, J., Pelsmaeker, S., Bakker, A., Aalbersberg, G. & Nieuwhof, A., Godlinze: van krijgersgraf tot adelijke borg (2018)

Nicolay, J., Het kweldergebied als cultuurlandschap: een model (2015)

Nicolay, J., Nieuwhof, A., Veenstra, H. & Bakker, A., Warffum: dorpswierde, boerderijplaats en Oude dijk (2018)

Nieuwenhuijsen, K. Lex Frisonum. Inleiding (2010)

Nieuwhof, A., Ezinge Revisited. The Ancient Roots of a Terp Settlement. Volume I: Excavation – Environment and Economy – Catalogue of Plans and Finds (2020)

O'Sullivan, T., Texts and Transmissions of the Scúap Chrábaid: An Old-Irish Litany in its Manuscript Context (2012)

Paping, R. & Reinders, R., Een gedetailleerde reconstructie van de zuidoostelijke Marne eind 17de eeuw aan de hand van een kaart van Beckeringh uit 1771 (2023)

Porck, T., Category Archives: Publications (website)

Postma, D., House plan analysis Hallum-Hellema (Friesland). A three-dimensional reconsideration of the early medieval turf buildings (2020)

Renswoude, van O., Germaanse liedkunst: een leidraad (2022)

Saupe, H.A., Der Indiculus Superstitionum Et Paganiarum. Ein Verzeichnis Heidnischer Und Aberglaubischer Gebrauchte Und Meinungen Aus Der Zeit Karls Grossen (1891)

Siefkes, W., Ostfriesische Sagen (1963)

Sierksma, K., In stikje famyljeûndersiik úte de midsieuwen. Ingwierrum en Omkriten. Oarsprongskrite fan de Eardingers (“Liudgeriden”) (2007)

Sierksma, K., Liudger Thiadgrimszoon. Leven en voortleven van een Christus-prediker (742-809) (1995)

Smook, B., Kerstening veranderde Fries begrafenisritueel (2024)

Timmermann, U., Nordfriesische Ortsnamen (2001)

Tuuk, van der L., De lier van Trossingen 7, website Het Viking langhuis (2018)

Tuuk, van der L., De Saksen. Middeleeuwse geschiedenis van de Lage Landen (2024)

Tuuk, van der L., Radbod. Koning in twee werelden (2018)

Tuuk, van der L. & Mijderwijk, L., De Middeleeuwers. Mannen en vrouwen uit de Lage Landen, 450-900 (2020)

Veenbaas, R., Caedmon on the Continent: The Heliand Prefaces and Bernlef (2017)

Verhoeff, P., Yn dat sykjen sûnder finen. Film documentary (2006)

Vredendaal, van J., Heliand; een Christusgedicht uit de vroege middeleeuwen (2006)

Wagenaar, H., Bonifatius en de Friese Landen. Europa: Bonifatius en de Friese Landen (2006)

Wagenaar, H., Liudger, apostel fan de Friezen? (2011)

Weringh, van J.J., Heliand and Diatessaron (1965)

Weringh, van J.J., Liudger, Bernlef, Heliand & het Drie-Koningenverhaal in der Lage Landen taal van het jaar 815 (1984)

Wiersma, J., Noord-Nederland na de bedijkingen (2018)