July 1987. The two Frisian bastards, both being sixteen years old at the time, went to the village of Wijnaldum – Winaem in the Mid-Frisian language. Reason to go was twofold. Firstly, the yearly street kaatsen tournament was taking place that day. Secondly, one of their most beautiful classmates, Gerda, lived close to Wijnaldum. The yearly village games were an unsuspected excuse to see her. Barely had the bastards arrived at the tournament, or they were ordered to leave the village immediately.
Last week, December 2020, one of the Frisian bastards walked the Terpenroute ‘terps path’, also called it Fiskerspaed ‘the fishermen’s path’, not be confused with the Fishermen's Trail in the southwest of Portugal. It's an unpaved path starting at the village of Wijnaldum, just north of the town of Harlingen, leading to the town of Franeker, following the small stream De Ried. The Terpenroute is about 4 kilometers long and begins at the monument marking the historic relevance of this place. A monument designed by architect Nynke-Rixt Jukema and artist Roelie Woudwijk. Luckily, the monument is neatly tucked away in some bushes, so it doesn't distract all that much. Read our post A Terp for Choquequirao about this Inca monument (?) in the Frisian landscape.
By the way, a terp is an artificial settlement mound, most of which have been erected during the first millennium. To learn more about these artificial dwelling mounds, check our DIY manual – Making a Terp in only 12 Steps.
Wijnaldum and its surroundings are presumed to be an important early-medieval region. Around the year 600, a small Frisian kingdom existed here in the northwest of the province Friesland, like there probably was one at the mouth of the River Rhine as well (Lugt 2021). A lot of gold has been found in this soil. And – of course – it's the area where the magnificent seventh-century fibula has been found. A stunning brooch. It's clear from archaeological research that this area had intensive contacts with both the southeast of England – where also around the year 600 several small kingdoms existed – and with southern Scandinavia during the Early Middle Ages.
Archaeologists hoped, and some still do, to find traces of elite, regal, and even king-like settlement structures. In the past, they dare to speculate that Wijnaldum was the seat of the illustrious King Finn Folcwald of Frisia. A king known from the early-medieval texts: the epic poem Beowulf, the Finnsburh Fragment, the poem Widsith, and the Historia brittonum of Nennius. However, thus far, there is no proof of Finn's grave whatsoever.
Etymologically, Wijnaldum derives from Winiwald, which is a personal name, and heem, which means 'home' or 'homestead' (Van Erkel & Samplonius 2018). So, Winiwald's home. The suffix -wald of this name might point to a local ruler, just like the name Folcwald mentioned above.
The stream De Ried, also called Roptavaart, is, in fact, a remnant of a creek that flowed through this landscape during the Early Middle Ages, at a time when there were no dykes yet and Wijnaldum was part of a huge tidal marshland area. An endless green and barren landscape was flooded by the sea regularly. Along the already somewhat elevated banks of the stream De Ried, terps were erected from the beginning of the third century AD onward, like a ribbon, running more or less from west to east. The village of Wijnaldum is located on the most western terp. The terp Wijnaldum-Tjitsma, in which the famous brooch was found, lying just east of Wijnaldum. When walking the Terpenroute, you'll be able to see the ridge of terps clearly. Let your fantasy run wild, and you'll see early-medieval villages, a treeless landscape, ships, and merchants from the Isle of Thanet in Kent and from the Island of Fyn in Denmark. The only things left from those days, however, are sheep and heavy clay soil.
Anyway, back to the summer of 1987.
When last week one of the bastards walked from the port town of Harlingen to the start of the Terpenroute, and entered Wijnaldum via Winamerdyk Rd, thirty-three-year-old memories came back. Back then, both bastards biked to the village in search of a girl by the name Gerda. In high school in the town of Harlingen, she was one of the prettiest girls in their class. As soon as they found her, all the boys in puberty in the village found the two bastards, too. That two guys from the town of Harlingen, where they didn't even speak Frisian, would show up and steal one of 'their girls' was unacceptable in principle. That she was also the most beautiful one was in any case out of the question. The bastards were way out of line, unfamiliar with the mores of the villages.
The kaatsen game, see our post Donkey King of the Paulme Game. From kaatsen to Tennis and Jai-alai if you want to have a faint clue what this exotic sport is about, was ignored for a while, and a group of local Wijnaldum guys gathered around the two bastards. Telling the bastards to better understand they were alone and a long way from home! Gerda hastily entered the arena and prevented the Wijnaldum youngsters from starting to fight. Staying in Wijnaldum, however, wasn't an option for the bastards either. They would have ended up buried in the royal grounds next to King Finn Folcwald and Winiwald. Gerda wouldn't be able to prevent that. If the bastards wanted to get out unscathed, leaving immediately was their only choice. Needless to say that the following typical phrase, in the local dialect of citizens of Harlingen, was answered in the negative:
Binne jum oek su blied dak dur weer bin?
Are you thrilled, too, that I'm here again?
With their noisy Zundapp and Kreidler mopeds, the loud Wijnaldum possie escorted the two bastards out of the village, while the bastards were walking besides their bikes. Gerda walked with the bastards. They were escorted all the way down Winamerdyk Rd and Siverdaleane Rd, about 1.5 kilometres out of the village, to where Gerda's house was, near the hamlet of Roptazijl. That was the territory of Gerda, and that was where the guys turned around, hastening back to continue the kaatsen games. It was like a World Championship Football. When during the semi-finals the Germans lost, you still wanted to check if die Mannschaft had actually left the tournament and taken the plane or bus out of the country. In fact, a great compliment for the bastards.
The bastards were warned never to return to Wijnaldum. They never did, until last week, that is.
– in memoriam Gerda Jongsma (1971-2007) –
Suggested hiking
For the 6 kilometer Terpen Kuierroute, which literally translates to 'terps stroll route', check the site of Visit Friesland.
For pics of the Terpenroute, check this link.
Suggested music
10cc, Dreadlock Holiday (1978)
The Beatles, Get Back (1970)
Beth Hart, LA Song (Out of This Town) (1999)
Further reading
Besteman, J.C., Bos, J.M. & Heidinga, H.A., Graven naar Friese koningen. De opgravingen in Wijnaldum (1992)
Erkel, van G. & Samplonius, K., Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard. Reeks Nederlandse plaatsnamen deel 12 (2018)
Heeren, S. & Feijst, van der L., Fibulae uit de Lage Landen. Brooches from the Low Countries (2017)
IJssennagger, N.L., Nicolay, J.A.W., Hattenberg, T. & Amsterdam, E., Gemeten goud. Een onderzoek naar goudgehaltes van vroegmiddeleeuwse objecten uit Friesland (2016)
Koning, de J., Trans Flehum. Wijnaldum, Den Burg, Texel, Westergo; Het Vlie als verbinder en grens (2018)
Lugt, F., Rijnland in de donkere eeuwen. Van de komst van de Kelten tot het ontstaan van het graafschap (2021)
Nicolay, J.A.W. & Aalbersberg, G., Wijnaldum: koningsterp aan de Ried (2018)
Nieuwhof, A. (ed.), The excavations at Wijnaldum. Volume 2: Handmade and wheel -thrown pottery of the first millennium AD (2020)
Schroor, M., Harlingen. Geschiedenis van de Friese havenstad (2015)
Vet, de S., Nederlands Kustpad deel 3, Friesland – Groningen. Wandelen langs werelderfgoed Waddenzee (2013)
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