5 - Law and Political Organization of the Early Medieval Frisians (c. AD 600–800)

Summary

THE NEWCOMERS who settled the Frisian coastal area after c. 400 CE brought their own law and political organization with them, which in later centuries developed organically, this new population meanwhile becoming ‘Frisians’. The drawing up of Lex Frisionum (c. 785) enables us to say something about Frisian law in that early period (c. 400–800), using the later Old Frisian material (c. 1050–1500) to fill some of the gaps. The political organization of the Early-medieval Frisians underwent considerable change during the Medieval Period, especially at the highest level. At the ground level, however, the institution of the assembly or thing, where law, politics, military affairs and religion came together was the constant factor that remained in place almost everywhere. There is also the enigmatic phenomenon of the Frisian kings who are mentioned in the Early-medieval sources, of which Radbod (Redbad), who died in 719, was the most famous. What was the status of these Frisian kings? How many kings were there at one time among the Frisians? What did Frisian kingship look like in this period?

In this contribution, I will focus on the triad ‘law – thing – king’ during the period between c. 600 and c. 800 CE. At the end of this period, the Frisians had been conquered by the Carolingians and the Viking raids were about to begin. After the Frisians had been conquered by the Carolingians, the latter appointed counts to govern Frisia. These counts in turn were hampered in establishing a firm grip on the Frisians by the Viking raids. I subscribe to the view put forward by Gilles de Langen and Hans Mol (2017; this vol.), that Frisia experienced a Viking Period between c. 850 and 950, during which the grip of the Franks on the region was loosened. When the Carolingian Empire was able to get a foothold again, the counts who ruled over Frisia between Vlie and Weser during the tenth to twelfth centuries never permanently resided in Frisia itself. After 950, a network of parishes and churches was quickly built up by the bishops of Utrecht and Münster. For this to succeed, the bishops had to negotiate with local elites in order to get the churches which they needed for their closely knit parish network funded and raised. But that, as they say, is another story.