High up in the Swiss Alps, in the region of Bernese Oberland, many men, women, and children have experienced the great horror of dead Frisians marching back to their homeland under the cover of darkness. The path the walkers follow is called 'The Frisians Way,' which connects the Haslital ('Hasli valley') in the Bernese Oberland with the shores of the North Sea of former Frisia. The dead do not speak the word "friend" and simply enter when they want to pass through your house or barn. It is strongly advised not to stand in their way, not even for an inch, and to open your doors at once!
In the heart of Switzerland, in the highlands south of Bern, there exists a remarkable and persistent saga that the inhabitants of these valleys and alps descend from Swedes and Frisians. Even the noble family of the Knights of Resti claims to be descendants of the Frisians. This legend is preserved in the Ostfriesenlied der Oberhasler 'East-Frisians song of the Oberhasli people'. A sage that can be an admixture of an erklärungs Sage, a dämonologische Sage, and, who knows, a historische Sage. It is uncertain how old the song is, but it is suggested to be from the sixteenth century. It was probably documented by a person named Ringwaldt (Binkes 1839). The song consists of seventy-seven stanzas, each with six lines. Below is the eleventh stanza to give the reader an idea.
Auss Ost-Friesen zoch ein gross Schar,
Kamend mit den Schweden dahar,
Die sach nahmen sie zhanden;
Sie mussten ziehen vberall,
Auss Bergen vnd auss tieffe Thal,
Von Stätten vnd von Landen.
Whereas the Swedes settled mostly in canton Schwyz, the Frisians mostly settled in canton Bern, especially in the Haslital. The valley with the town of Meiringen as the main settlement and where the River Aare begins.
The legend has it that in ancient times, there was a great famine in Sweden and in Frisia. Harsh decisions had to be made back then. In accordance with Germanic tradition, the people of Sweden and Frisia decided to cast lots to determine who, together with their wife and children, had to leave the land to settle elsewhere. Every eight days, the tenth man chosen by fate had to leave. In total, 6,000 (or 60,000, numbers vary) Swedish men had to leave the lands and never returned. When the Swedes arrived in Frisia, 1,200 Frisian men, together with their families, joined the exodus with the Swedes.
The leaders of this Swedish-Frisian mob were Schwytzerus, Remus, and Wadislaus, also known as Switer (Sweitse in Nordfriesland), Swey, and Hasius. Schwytzerus and Remus led the Swedish arm. Wadislaus led the Frisian arm. Unsure of which tribe Wadislaus originally belonged to. Before the party ended up in Switzerland, they roamed big parts of Europe and lived off plundering. During their wandering, they even defeated the Frankish kings Priamus (actually a king of Troy) and Petrus de Paludibus who stood in their way.
Eventually, they settled in the Bernese Oberland. For the Swedes, these mountains were a familiar landscape. For the Frisians, it was the bright-green alpine pastures that reminded them of back home. After the Frisians had colonized and cultivated the Bernese Oberland, some also settled on the Black Mountain, today known as Brauneck.
Despite cultivation of the land and making this part of Switzerland their new home, it was the Frisians who always longed for their homeland. This longing was, and is, so strong that after they died, they regularly return to the muddy seashores of Frisia during the night. When these living dead do ride, they follow the exact same track they travelled after the great famine centuries ago. Below (a translation of) the legend Der Friesenweg.
Der Friesenweg ‘The Frisians Way’
There is a region in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, Saanenland, where the nights can give you the heebie-jeebies. It is better if you do not have to be on the road at night and you safely stay in your bed at home. Because outside the house, there is often a terrible roar, thunder, and howling. Whoever hears it, makes the sign of the Cross and hides himself under the covers, since he or she knows that the Frisians are on their way.
In the old days, the Frisians were driven out of their land after great floods and famine. They moved into the beautiful valleys of Saanenland. Because they favoured the green mountain world, they made it their home. The green pastures were cultivated, and the wild animals were driven back into the mountain forests.
But, the Frisians never forget their old homeland, to this day. Therefore, these dead Frisians often rise from their graves on certain nights, especially around the winter equinox. They gather to return home, to the distant shores of the gray North Sea. The path they follow is the same they had followed when they came to the Bernese region, long ago. The same night they also return to their burial mounds, but not after they heard the noise of the sea.
But woe to those who hinder the way of the dead Frisians, because they will not deviate one inch from their original route! The angry ghosts will shred houses and walls and wipe out everything in their way, as if an avalanche leads ahead of them.
Many, many years ago, a farmhouse with a barn was carelessly built in the high mountains, in the middle of The Frisians Way. Fortunately, by chance, both doors of the barn had been placed where The Frisians Way entered and ended, so that the ghostly path went right through the stable. Therefore, as soon as the cattle had been let out into the night after being milked, the farmer carefully left the barn doors wide open. No matter how often the procession of dead Frisians roared through the barn, it was never devastated, nor did anything happen to one of the alpine farmers lying on the hayloft, albeit filled with horror.
One day the farmer thought to visit his loved ones in the valley again, since he had not seen them for most of the summer. So, he took a fork on his back and put a bag of butter on it. Before he left, however, he spoke to his master farmhand and strongly recommended that he never would lock the stable’s doors during the night. This to make sure that the dead Frisians made their way freely through the stable, if they were to do so.
When the farmer had left down to the valley, the master farmhand informed the other men of the farmer's warning. They had a great laugh together and mocked the simplicity of their boss. Moreover, they even agreed to block The Frisians Way and therefore closed the stable doors. They locked both doors tight. Then, they lay down on the hay, still laughing. Outside, it started to wind. At first, only weakly, but then more and more. The men ignored it and fell asleep.
They may not have been asleep for long when suddenly they were awakened by a strange grumble that sounded like distant thunder. At first, they believed a thunderstorm was coming up, but the stars still shimmered through the cracks in the roof. The grumbling and growling grew stronger and became an ominous roar. Then, it was as if they were hearing mighty horns blow, horses fume, and dogs bark. Also, they heard the threatening sound of clanging weapons.
Startled, they sat up and listened. They now clearly heard the trotting, and there was something like a ceaseless lashing of the roof. Then, there came an enormous bang on the door, like a terrible thunderclap, from which the whole barn shook. A voice called out in the night: “Open the door, because the Frisian people want to pass!”
“Tüet uf die Tür, wan ds Friesenvolch wott grad derdür!”
Scared to death, the men crouched on their hayloft. No one dared to clear the blocked path and open the doors.
There was a terrible noise. The entire roof of the stable, including the heavy roof tiles, was lifted, so that the horrified farmhands saw the sky above them for a while. But the heavy roof slowly lowered down, back on the stable walls. Now the master farmhand realized with horror that they would all be doomed if the doors were not opened quickly. Knowing that his own bravado and disobedience earlier was the cause behind the wild raging of the dead, he called down into the dark stable:
“In Gottesnamen tu’ ich auf!”
Shivering all over, he went down from the hayloft into the stable and opened the two doors as far as he was able to. Then he stood trembling, half dead with fear, next to the doorway.
No sooner was the passageway open than strange men passed him. All tall and towering over his head, they friendly wished him a good evening. Then, a whole army rushed past him, like a storm wind.
The warriors were dressed in fluttering bull skins, their horns looking frightening over their blond, curly hair. They carried long spears or huge battle axes on their shoulders, and broad swords hung from their belts. Also, they carried a huge shield on one arm. As soon as they had passed, horse riders appeared, who hardly could tame their fuming horses. The stars were reflected in the feather-decorated helmets of the riders. The riders raced through the barn like a storm and were followed by foot soldiers. Behind the foot soldiers, huge wagons rolled with thundering speed through the barn, carrying women and children with golden-blonde hair. Skilful boys and rough-haired dogs chased after them. Then again, warriors came. And it went on for a long, long time. It did not want to end.
Filled with horror and trembling, the master farmhand stared at the endless march of Frisians. None of the men were laughing anymore. Instead, they were pale and terrified. The master farmhand was not able to move. When the tremendous procession finally came to an end, the wind-encircled fringes of the snowy mountains glowed; it was day. Then the master farmhand crept through the barn, shivering all over, climbed back up to the hayloft where the others waited with fear. There, he lay down and told what he saw with a worried and trembling voice. After that, he did not say a word anymore.
When it was evening, he had died. For no one who has seen the dead Frisians with his own eyes may live.
* * *
To this day, there are owners of barns and houses in Switzerland who follow the tradition of not locking their barns during the night. One example is the owner of the so-called Friesenhaus ('Frisians house') in the village of Beinwill am See. The house is also known as the Geisterhaus ('ghosts house'). In this village too, legend has it that the dead Frisians still feel homesick. Now and then, they leave their graves to see and smell their former homeland. If a house stands in their way, they might knock once but not twice. You must open quickly, otherwise something terrible will happen. Indeed, an impatient bunch of homesick zombies is what they are, according to the villagers of Beinwill am See.
A variant of this sage is about the typical dry föhn winds in the Alps. When these winds come rolling down the mountains, alpine herders leave the doors of their stables open. Then, carried by the föhn winds, an army of Frisians, with chariots, men of war, and helmeted knights goes through the lands they once conquered. It is the wüthenden Heeres 'furious army', or the Wütisheer as locals say. And woe to anyone who has built a chalet through which this army of Frisians cannot pass. Only its walls will remain.
According to writer Waling Dykstra (1821-1914), between 1777 and 1780 Swiss shepherds still tell how the Swedes and the Frisians in times long past migrated from valley to valley to Frutingen, Obersibenthal, Sanen, Afflentsch and Jane (Grimm & Grimm 1818).
Radbod's Ways
We think the Swiss saga of the Friesenweg also has parallels with the Frisian folklore of the so-called Konrebberswegen or Roboderwegen meaning '(King) Radbod's ways, which has everything to do with the Wilde Jagd or Wild Hunt, also called the Wuotanes her or Wütendes Heer, meaning ‘raging army’.
The Wild Hunt in Old Germanic traditions was when the god Woden and his shadow army raced over certain ways during heavy storms in the night. In the Frisian lands, especially in the region of Ostfriesland, Germany, it was not Woden but the heathen King Radbod who headed the Wild Hunt and led an army of ghosts. These ways were known as Konreb or Robod ways, folklore that existed especially in the west of the region of Ostfriesland. One such way ran near Rabbelsberg 'Radbod's hill' near the village of Dunum, one ran on the (former) island of Nesserland near the city of Emden, and one way ran between the village of Risum and the landmark Knock west of Emden. But also at the Jade Bight in the east of of the region of Ostfriesland, legends of Konrebberswegen existed. The toponyms Robodes wechg and Robodes Werff near the town of Wilhelmshaven refer to it. The oldest documentation of Konrebberswegen is from the year 1277, namely Rebberti regis via 'road of King Radbod' (Halbertsma 2000).
A saga of the rüstinger Friesen in the region of Butjadingen and Stadland has ingredients of both the Wilde Hunt and the way the master farmhand died in the saga of the Friesenweg. Especially, what happens to someone after he or she has seen the dead warriors, the ghosts.
The butjener saga tells about a young girl of fifteen years old from the village of Stollhamm who one day had visited family in the village of Eckwarden. By the time she walked back home it was getting dark. Near Eckwarderhörne she continued to walk on the dyke in the direction of Stollhamm. Then, from the top of the dyke she saw warriors on the Augustgroden salt marshes, and even more war men arriving with many ships. Shortly after, she noticed she was being followed by a horseman. When she arrived at the bridge, the horseman disappeared. The girl was horrified. There, all alone in the dark. She ran home. There she fainted. After the girl had recovered from her faint, she told everything to her family. Then she got a fiver and quickly died (Wolff 2018).
The Way of the Helvetians - During the first century AD, Germanic tribes migrated south to the borders of the Roman Empire. Celtic tribes came under heavy pressure. One of these was the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii or Helvetians, living in the area what is now Switzerland. As a consequence, the Helvetii wanted to move into the Roman Empire in search for new land to live. It led to a clash between King Orgetorix of the Helvetii and Caesar. The Helvetti were denied to migrate into or through Roman territory. A train of 360,000 Helveti, men, women and children then moved along the Roman borders west into Gaule and took possession of the lands of the Aedui in modern Burgundy, France. Several clashes took place with the Roman army, resulting in many casualties on Helvetii side. Only 110,000 of 360,000 survived. Caesar ordered the remaining Helvetii, and other Celtic tribes that unified themselves with the Helvetii, to return to their original lands. That way they would remain a buffer against the warlike Germanic tribes from the north.
Incidentally, one of the Frisian sagas tells how 111 years before Christ the people of the Cimbri, together with the Jutes and Frisians, migrated to Italy. Halfway their journey they made camp in the Alps; healwei in Mid-Frisian language. This is the origin of the name Helvetia, hence that of Switzerland. Those Frisians who later survived the battles in Italy settled at healwei. Later they also migrated to the canton of the Grisons, which is a corruption of Frisones (Dykstra 1895).
Surname Fries
Especially in Germany, but also in Switzerland, the last name Fries is a common name. Some say the oldest record of Fries as a surname comes from Switzerland. Common and logical explanation often given is that the name refers to the people Frisians or Friesen. In the south of Germany and in Switzerland, fries or friesen had a specific meaning. Friesen was a name for an occupation, namely: someone who digs trenches, or someone who makes dykes. In other words, a dyke builder or a mud worker. They were migrant workers from Switzerland working in the region of Saarbrücken in Germany who irrigated swampy lands and wet fields in that area. Now, how about that? Read our blog post From Patriot to Insurgent: John Fries and the tax rebellions.
Free republics
There is another Swiss legend recounting of Frisians who settled in the Alps. This legend recounts that, after they had liberated Rome around the year 800 and in return had received the so-called Freedom Privileges from Charlemagne, the Frisians travelled home over the high Alps. Along the way, the Frisians became ill and stopped in the Swiss region of Schwyz to recover. Your first spa in Switzerland. Schwyz is a region east of the Haslital. Here, they decided to stay. After that, the Frisians subdued the surrounding villages, and even killed the dukes of Austria (i.e. Habsburg). This way the Frisians preserved their freedom. For this reason, as the legend goes, the Swiss call the Frisians Vatter ‘father’ and the Frisians call the Swiss Sohn ‘son’ since from the Frisians the Swiss received their freedom.
A saga from the region of Ostfriesland in Germany is a variation to this legend, and recounts that after the wars against the Saracens (i.e. Muslim from northern Africa), Frisian warriors who had fought alongside the Frankish King Charles Martell, settled in a flat area surrounded by the mountains of Switzerland. Here, they married local women and chose a certain lad called Swittert as their leader. That is how Switzerland received its name.
These legends, and its variations, explain why during the High Middle Ages the Swiss and the Frisians, though part of the Holy Roman Empire, were two nations that were free from monarchs, kings, dukes and counts. The only lord they were submitted to, was the emperor himself. That was especially the case for the so-called Waldstätte, namely the three core regions of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. In other words, both Switzerland and Frisia were Reichsunmittelbar or Rechsfrei, and were, in fact, a loose federation of republican entities. A quite exceptional status in Europe, back then.
Besides in Frisia and Switzerland, also in the region of Styria ('Steiermark') in the southeast of modern Austria, the people kept their freedom and were not incorporated into the feudal system (Blumenberg 2002).
The Frisians did not have political institutions, although they did give it a try with the treaty of Upstalsboom, founded around 1200. It was also called the alliance of the Seven Sealands of Frisia. It was no success. Read our blog post The Treaty of the Upstalsboom: why solidarity is not the core of a collective. The Swiss, however, became better politically organized and were united within the Alte Eidgenossenschaft ‘Old Confederacy’, founded at the end of the thirteenth century by the three districts Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. Frisia politically dissolved during the Late Middle Ages. Country Switzerland, in contrast, is still there to see and to be admired.
In the heraldry, certain Frisian families were permitted to carry the black half-eagle with yellow background on their coat of arms. The coat of arms of the region of Oberhasli is also a black eagle on a yellow background. Not a half eagle, though, but a whole one. Both coats of arms express the imperial immediacy or Reichsfreiheit. A sign of the freedom privileges they had received from the Holy Roman Emperor. Below the Imperial Eagle.
The Wurstfriesen, or Wurst- Frisians, of Land Wursten in northern Germany, have a saga called Das Adlerwappen ‘the eagle’s coat of arms’. It tells how the Frisians of Land Wursten begged Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to fight under his banner against Rome. They were permitted to do so and were so bold and brave that the Wurstfriesen were incorporated into Frederick Barbarossa’s personal guard. Every conspiracy in Rome against the emperor was prevented by the guard. When emperor Frederick Barbarossa wanted to knight the Wurstfriesen, they declined. The Frisians said they regarded themselves already higher in rank and fame than a knight, because they had wrested their land from the sea and had taken possession of it before anyone had given it to them. The emperor replied that the only thing left he had to honour the Frisians was to allow them to carry the Imperial Eagle in their coat of arms.
Church-building sagas
Besides the bedtime story of the Friesenweg, the migration of Frisians to Switzerland and the similar freedom sagas relating to their political republican structure, there is another intriguing resemblance. These are the church-building legends wherein animals play a pivotal role: building site determined by halting of animal.
In former Frisia quite a few local legends exist about how the location where to build a new church was determined. Often this involved two oxen. Either the animals were tied together, or they let two oxen pull a cart without a driver. They let the beasts of burden wander for a while, for example during the night. The place where they would find the oxen resting the next morning, would be the designated spot to build the new church. Occasionally, it is only one bull. In the neighbouring region of Dithmarschen, horses did the job instead of cows. It could be a single horse, or two horses tied together as well. Dithmarschen, just like Frisia a conglomerate of free farmers republics on the tidal marshlands of the southern North Sea. Several two-cows-wander legends are also found just outside the regions of Dithmarschen and Nordfriesland, especially in villages in central Schleswig-Holstein.
The places where this type of legends have been recorded, are: Aduard, Bedum, Blexen, Breklum, Delve, Dronrijp, Edam, Haddeby, Hemme, Hoorn (island Terschelling), Imsum, Jevenstedt, Kisdorf, Klooster Lidlum, Middels, Neuenkirchen, Nijemirdum, Nijland, Nunndorf/Westerholt, Reepsholt, Rhaude, Schwesing, Sønderburg, Spannum, Stintebüll, Usquert, Wanhöden and Witzwort. Maybe there are more. Surprisingly, in Switzerland practically identical legends exist. These have been recorded in five places: Sankt Stephan, Reichenbach, Blumenstein, Einigen and Grindelwald. All these places are in the Bernese Oberland, although a bit west from the Haslital.
The saga of Wanhöden is slightly different because here two cows did not determine the location of a church but settled a border dispute between Land Wursten and Land Hadeln (Iba 1988).
We also pauze at Reichenbach for a while. Reichenbach is located in the Kandertal ‘Kander valley’ with Frutigen as its main town. It is getting boring, but the Frutigen citizens also claim to be descendants of the Frisians. The Kandertal and Haslital are connected with each other via the lakes Thun and Briensz. Every other year, the people of both valleys came together in Meiringen in the Haslital and Frutigen in the Kandertal, to have wrestling events, or Schwingfeste as they call it. These Schwingfeste are still quite popular in Switzerland.
Alfriston, Sussex - In Britain there is one church-building legend that has some resemblances with those of Frisia, Dithmarschen and the Bernese Oberland. According to the legend of Alfriston, the people wanted to build a church on the west-side of town. But, during the night the stones miraculously were thrown over the town to a field named The Tye. An old and wise man noticed that there where the stones had landed, four cows were resting in the shape of a cross. It was decided, that became the location of the new church.
The underlying reason of this type of legends probably is that two groups of people, for example two competing villages, can't reach consensus on the location where to build a (new) church. These were in the past important, prestigious events. In other words, what humans not accomplish, two animals condemned to each other must (Schoo 1934). Of course, the examples of one animal wandering, might have a similar background. But, in this instance the decision was left fully to the supernatural. And, who knows, in medieval republican societies the need to find a compromise is more eminent than in centrally led states. Neither worldly nor ecclesiastical powers telling you what to do, or to do a judgment of Solomon in case of a status quo. Hence, this practice of valuable livestock running around in spongy salt marshes and solid alpine pastures, was a useful instrument to solve disputes in republican Frisian Lands and Dithmarschen, and in Switzerland.
The current province of Friesland, the region of Ommelanden in the province of Groningen and the region of Ostfriesland constitute Europe's most dense area with medieval, Romanesque churches. All have been built without supervision from a secular authority. Constructing this many churches was quite an achievement. Before people of a parish could start building, they had to burn bricks for about three years. Then a master mason had to be hired. A solid foundation was made with piles. Easily eighty men were needed for the pile driving. According to Abbot Menko (1213-1276) of the monastery of Bloemhof, the pounding was so intense it made the whole village shake. In neighbouring houses milk in jugs was being spilled, and goose eggs were whisked to the extent they would not hatch anymore (Mulder-Bakker & Bremmer 2021).
Besides being a dense area of medieval churches, the Wadden Sea coast is also a dense area of cows. Read all about the importance of the Friesian dairy cow, not only for the Frisians but for the whole modern world: Golden Calves, or bursting udders on bony legs?.
What to make of all this?
The oldest written Swiss texts documenting the sagas of the Frisians (and Swedes) migrating to Switzerland and about The Frisians Way, are probably from the second half of the fifteenth century. It is impossible to say how much older these sagas are, if at all. But, it is possible they were created around 1300, when Switzerland as a republican political entity emerged. Following the example of the Seven Sealands of Frisia. It is reasonable to assume that by then, the Frisian freedom sagas already existed.
In the province of Friesland also different sagas about Frisians settling in Switzerland exist. This after they had liberated Rome and received the freedom privileges. So, instead of coming from the north, they arrived from the south. The perfectly fictional person Magnus Forteman is the main character in these sagas, but he is a later addition to already existing sagas. Magnus was the leader of the Frisians fighting for Charlemagne, together with the Wurstfriesen and the Hadeler. Read our blog post Magnus’ Choice. The Origins of the Frisian Freedom to learn more. In another variant of this saga, the Frisians fought for Charles Martel against the Saracens and lost their leader Poppo during the great Battle of Tours in France in 732. After that, the warriors ended up in Switzerland and decided to stay. They chose a new leader, named Swittert and, again, that is how Switzerland received its name. There are many more variants of these founding sagas in the province of Friesland, but it gives the reader an impression.
The similarities of the church-building sagas in Switzerland and in Frisia and the wider southern North Sea coast, are also curious (Wiersma 1934). Up to now, we have not found any study on these church-building legends. Only pre-Second World War articles and semi-academic studies exist on this topic. In general, the whole item of Switzerland and Frisia receives little to no attention the last hundred years or so. But who knows, simply because this is all there is to know.
We might never know if there is some truth in the sagas and if so, what that was? Or, it must be that future DNA research can either confirm or debunk the sagas. But, what is great anyway, there are Swiss people who tell the tale to this day!
Note 1 – There is also a theory that the Frisians and Swiss have the same law origin. This theory was based on claimed similarities in the early-medieval legal tradition of the position of women compared to men, when it came to the right to possess goods (Ficker 1904). This theory can be put aside, since the Lex Frisionum, which was the main legal source, does not regulate the position of women in succession anyhow. We only know from the Lex Frisionum that a weregeld for a man was the same as that for a woman. Read our blog post You killed a man? That’ll be one weregeld, please.
Note 2 – On Faroe also sagas exist about Frisians who settled there. Though not soldiers, but heathen pirates this time. They even killed the bishop of the Faroe. Read our blog post Latið meg ei á Frísaland fordervast! So, the Swiss got off best.
Note 3 – Some people might get overexcited and think the village of Zurich in province Friesland in the Netherlands and the city of Zürich in Switzerland, is yet another connection. Good thinking, but alas! No, Zurich in the province of Friesland is a contraction of ‘south’ and ‘riege’. Riege is related to English ‘ridge’ and means ‘elevated shore’. Thus it translates as: south of the (sea)shore. Not much sea in landlocked Switzerland.
Suggested hiking
Since we are a hiking site (too), when in Switzerland check the site Weg der Schweiz. A 35km long trail developed in 1991 on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the Alte Eidgenossenschaft founded by the three districts of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden.
Suggested music
Friisk, De Doden van 't Waterkant (2018)
Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982)
Nynke Laverman, N., Your Ancestor (2020)
The Cranberries, Zombie (2994)
Further reading
Algra, N.E., Wat verstond en verstaat men onder Oudfries recht? (1962)
Binkes, F., Over eene nederzetting of volksplanting der Friesen in Zwitserland, benevens eenige aanmerkingen over den tocht der Friesen naar Rome (1839)
Blumenberg, A., Butjadingen - Land und Leute - gestern und heute (2002)
Bunt, van de A., Wee de overwonnen. Germanen, Kelten en Romeinen in de Lage Landen (2020)
Couwenbergh, D., 1291: Begin van de Zwitserse vrijheidsstrijd (2022)
Datenbanken zur Europäischen Ethnologie / Volkskunde, Sagen.AT (website)
Dykstra, W., Uit Frieslands volksleven van vroeger en later (1895)
Ficker, J., Untersuchungen zur Erbenfolge der ostgermanischen Rechte (1904)
Frieswijk, J., Huussen jr, A.H., Kuiper, Y.B. & Mol, J.A. (eds.), Fryslân, staat en macht 1450-1650. Bijdragen aan het historisch congres te Leeuwarden 3 – 5 juni 1998; Vries, O., Staatsvorming in Zwitserland en Friesland in de late middeleeuwen. Een vergelijking (1999)
Grimm, J. & Grimm, W., Deutsche Sagen. Zweiter Theil (1818)
Halbertsma, H., Frieslands oudheid. Het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang (2000)
Iba, E.M., Hake Betken siene Duven. Das grosse Sagenbuch aus dem Land an Elb- und Wesermündung (1988)
Keller, von A. (ed.), Die Geschichten und Taten Wilwolts von Schaumburg (1859)
Krogmann, W., Der Name der Friesen (1964)
Meier, P., Das Tor des Beinwiller Geisterhauses bleibt immer offen (2013)
Molen, van der S.J., Enkele sagenthema's rondom Friese kerken (1975)
Mulder-Bakker, A.B. & Bremmer, R.H., Het Noorderland in de Middeleeuwen. Samenleving en religieuze cultuur (2021)
Müller-Guggenbühl, F., Swiss-Alpine folk-tales (1958)
Schoo, J., Over gelijkluidende kerkbouwsagen uit Friesland, Sleeswijk-Holstein en het Berner-Oberland (1934)
Siefkes, W., Ostfriesische Sagen und sagenhafte Geschichten (1963)
Vetter, F., Ueber die Sage von der Herkunft der Schwyzer und Oberhasler aus Schweden und Friesland (1877)
Whitley, D., Cow of Legend: The Story of St. Endelienta (2009)
Wiersma, J.P., Friesche sagen (1934)
Wiersma, J.P., Friesche mythen en sagen (1937)
Wolff, S., Meine Heimat Butjadingen. Die Geschichte der Rüstringer Friesen (2018)
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