Prior to the arrival of the Romans in Western Europe in c. 12 BCE, the Frisian people had established their home along the coastal lands in the territory now called Frisia. The Frisians lived on man-made mounds known as terpen (singular: terp) to protect themselves from the sea in their low territories. They were known as sea-faring peoples, active along trade routes overseas and as pirates. Some scholars have likened the Frisians in this period to Vikings, and the Northern groups in Frisia may well have included Frisian Vikings.
Away from the shore, the Frisians were known for their cattle raising. They also traded a great deal with the Romans and paid tribute to the Roman government until approximately the 5th century CE. After the Romans, the Germanic groups known as the Angles and the Saxons (or: the Anglo-Saxons, as one group) passed through Frisia on their way to present-day Britain.
This map of Western Europe in the 6th century CE shows the Frisian territory historically.
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It is believed that some of the Frisians likely joined the Anglo-Saxon group in the invasion of Britain, especially considering how closely related the two groups were prior to and for some time following this period. Likewise, some Anglo-Saxons likely stayed in Frisia; there is clear evidence of cultural blending for both sides that were not present with the Frisians and the Romans. From c. 600–734, the Frisian territory was known as Magna Frisia, or the Frisian Kingdom, and was the largest it would ever reach in history.
However, during this period, the Frankish Kingdom to the south of Frisia began to push northward, and the Frisian–Frankish Wars began. The wars came to an end in 734 when the Frankish forces killed the Frisian ruler in the Battle of the Boarn. By 804, however, Charlemagne, king of the Franks, had taken Frisia, Saxon territory, and much more. Charlemagne managed to finally stop many of the rebellions against the Frankish rule in the area, and the population of these regions he conquered was converted to Christianity over the 8th and 9th centuries. While initially Catholic, the Frisian people converted to Protestantism following the Protestant Reformation.
Following the death of Charlemagne, the Treaty of Verdun (834) divided Frisia into three different territories: North Frisia, East Frisia, and West Frisia. North and East Frisia became part of the Prussian Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries and, later, were adopted into Germany.
Middle Frisia, part of West Frisia, established itself as relatively free for centuries; this freedom ended in 1524 when the territory became part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1579, Middle Frisians aided the Netherlands against Philip II of Spain and were subsequently adopted into the Netherlands, officially becoming the province of Friesland. Other portions of West Frisia likewise came under Dutch control over time.
