between frankish and viking: frisia and frisians in the viking age

Between Frankish and Viking: Frisia and Frisians in the Viking Age

Nelleke L. IJssennagger

Introduction

Contacts between the historically Frisian coastal area and Scandinavia were not a new phenomenon in the Viking Age. Long before Scandinavian pirates visited Frisia for the first time in ad 810 (Annales regni Francorum 810: Rau 1977, 94) and onwards into the eleventh century, cultural and political ties existed between Frisians, Scandinavians, and other people along the North Sea coasts (cf. Jöns and others 2013). These relations were of a varied nature and intensity, to judge by the archaeological remains, linguistic evidence, and literary texts. The famous Finnsburh episode in the old English epic Beowulf, for instance, tells of a battle between Frisians and Scandinavians in the Migration Period. Archaeological finds, especially from the terps — manmade dwelling mounds along the former Frisian coast — imply that there were strong connections all around the North Sea zone, possibly via some form of elite. The fifth and sixthcentury gold bracteates that have been found in oostergo and Westergo in Frisia place these areas within the southern Scandinavian sphere of influence in the period of establishment of local power (Nicolay 2005; Nicolay 2006; see map, Fig. 2). other precious objects such as the famous brooch from Wijnaldum (Fig. 2) and the pyramidal sword stud from Ezinge appear to be related to finds from England and Scandinavia and

Nelleke Laure IJssennagger ([email protected]) is curator of the archaeological and medieval collections at the Frisian Museum in Leeuwarden and a doctoral candidate at the University of Groningen.

Abstract: In the Viking Age, Frisia was located geographically and culturally between the expanding Frankish and Viking worlds. The study of Viking Age Frisia and the relations between Frisians and Scandinavians in this period have traditionally been coloured by the perspective of Christian Frankish sources. In this article, other sources for Viking Age Frisia are investigated in order to shed light on the position of Frisians and their contacts with Scandinavia in the Viking Age. It will be argued that compared with the Frankish framework, a more nuanced picture emerges of FrisianViking relations, with Frisia as an intermediary between the Frankish and Viking spheres.

Keywords: Frisia, Viking Age, crosscultural contact, objects, texts, identity.

Viking and Medieval Scandinavia, 9 (2013), 69–98 BREPoLS PUBLISHERS 10.1484/J.VMS.1.103877

70 Nelleke L. IJssennagger

reflect a North Sea cultural world (Nicolay 2006, 55–56). With the Viking Age, however, a new phase of FrisianScandinavian contact began. This was a phase characterized by Viking attacks, peaking in the ninth and early tenth centuries, and increasing (political) connections, primarily between the Danish kingdom and the core parts of Frisia (IJssennagger 2013a). It also had a new context, with the expansion of the Carolingian realm.

In the late seventh and eighth centuries, the Frankish empire expanded northwards into the lands and domain of the Frisians and the neighbouring Sax ons (cf. Springer 2003, 18–20; Meier 2003, 50–53). It is perhaps no coincidence that this is also when we hear of legendary Frisian kings, such as Redbad (Radbod). After his death in 719, the western Frisian area of the river estuaries up to the Vlie were annexed by the Franks. As a result of continuing Carolingian offensives, the rest of Frisia came to lie within the Carolingian realm in the eighth century. This expansion coincided with the conversion of the Frisians (Henstra 2012, 19–20; Knol 2010; Reuter 2005, 187–88) and also resulted in the recording of the laws of this subjugated people. The Lex Frisionum — one of the Leges Barbarorum — was Frisian customary law codified at Charlemagne’s command. It was in force from the Zwin to the Weser, an area which was divided into three, each division with some minor variation in law: the western region inter Flehi et Sincfalam (between Vlie and Sincfal/Zwin), the central part inter Laubachi et Flehi (between Lauwers and Vlie) and to the east inter Laubachi et Wisaram (from Lauwers to Weser). Many of the laws were nevertheless also current trans Laubachi (across the Lauwers), bearing witness to the broader entity of Frisia (Lex Frisionum; Siems 1980).

Figure 2. The Wijnaldum brooch. c. 625 ad. Length 17 cm., width c. 6 cm. Collection and photo: Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.

Between Frankish and Viking 71

Around ad 800, with the start of the Viking Age on the Continent, the Fri sian sphere of culture is thus defined as stretching from the Sincfal or Zwin just below the island of Walcheren in the southwest up to the river Weser in the northeast, despite the fact that it was formally under Frankish rule. The three regions of the Lex Frisionum make it clear that Frisia should probably not be thought of as a single, homogeneous, or centralized area but as a whole, surviving as a region with its own laws and possibly with some form of autonomy. The succeeding period is nevertheless known as the period of the counts (Dutch: graventijd), as it was the first time counts (comites) were installed in Frisia, and saw the beginning of the feudal benefices or fiefs (Vries 2007, 14). The new situation of Frisia under overlordship exercised through Frankish counts or their allies primarily meant that Frisians now had to be loyal to the Carolingians and pay them taxes. Expansion continued from Frisia and Saxony and reached the border of Denmark, leading to conflict in the ninth century. Frisia, geographically and perhaps also culturally an intermediary zone, became part of this. Rivalry over Frisia (and other areas) between Frisians, Carolingians, and Scandinavians continued into the tenth century (Henstra 2012, 195–96).

Figure 3. Map of Frisia around 800 ad, with indication of locations mentioned in the text. Map: author/Rik van der Pluym.


Modern views of the relations between Frisians and Scandinavians have long been dominated by the information in the Frankish annals and chronicles, creating a framework of Viking raids and Danish warlords obtaining parts of Frisia as benefices or fiefs granted by the Franks (cf. Coupland 1998; Henderikx 1995). Archaeology in what was Frisia has largely been unable to demonstrate such activities, with the exception of the Westerklief hoards representing the Danish rule on the island of Wieringen west of the Vlie (Besteman 1997; Besteman 2000; Besteman 2004), traces of devastation in the towns of Zutphen and Deventer in the year the chronicles mention a raid there (Groothedde 2004; Bartels and Groothedde 2010), and buried silver hoards reflecting Viking raids (Coupland 2006; Knol 2005; Knol 2010, 55–57). But archaeology has shed light on Continental (Frisian)Scandinavian trade relations which continued throughout the Viking Age, in particular through the famous trading site of Dorestat (or Dorestad) which lay where now Wijk bij Duurstede is located (Van Es and Verwers, 1980; Van Es and Verwers, 2009; Willemsen and Kik, 2010). The excavations in Kaupang and Ribe have likewise illuminated these trading relations from the Scandinavian side (Skre 2010; Skre 2011b; Skre 2007, 460–62; Skre and Stylegar 2004, 12–16).

While, from a Dutch perspective, the period up to the Viking Age has been studied in the light of elite connections and exchange, the Viking Age itself has mainly received attention in relation to this trade, and Viking activity, including the fiefs in Danish hands. Due to their different character, context, underlying motives, the people involved, and the various outcomes, the raids on Frisia (which span about two centuries) cannot all be seen as one and the same phenomenon. Moreover, it is often unclear whether we are dealing with ‘pure’ Viking raids, if such things existed at all, or events in which the motives of trade, political connections, and raiding were combined. All these types of relations, alliances, and networks also occurred within the same area. In particular, less attention has traditionally been paid to finds and sources which fall outside the scope of the framework of trading and raiding, and to the overall picture of connections between the different areas and people. In culturecontact studies concerning the Viking Age in general, the focus has usually been on the outcome of crosscultural contact by studying the influence on native institutions, language, and material culture that is often the result of migration. In Frisia, this approach is problematic, due to the different nature of the contacts and the sources available. What we can study here, however, through various sources, are some of the processes and in stances of contact, as well as some outcomes. These processes are seldom the sub ject of research, but they are actually fundamental for understanding the dynamics leading to the outcomes of culture contact.


With a progressive shift in favour of looking at the sources in this broader framework of overall connections and connectivity, we find that FrisianScandinavian relations in the Viking Age are quite complex, and that the distinction between ‘Frisian’ and ‘Scandinavian’ is not always as clearcut as one might have thought. Consequently, the views of possible relations between Frisians and Vikings have been subject to discussion and change in recent years. This essay will consider the position of Frisia in between the Vikings and Franks and the connections with Scandinavia during the Viking Age from this developing perspective. After introducing the area and material under debate, as well as outlining the more traditional view of FrisianViking relations, it will be argued that the relations between the areas were more diverse and ambiguous

Figure 4. The Westerklief i Hoard. c. 850–880 ad. Collection and photo: Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.


than traditional sources want us to believe. Instead, we increasingly see hints of FrisianViking collaboration, which opens up the possibility of including a range of different and even new sources in future study of this area.

Frisian Identity

‘Frisia’ and ‘Frisians’ are difficult terms to use, particularly in the historical con text. The Viking Age homeland of the Frisians, called Frisia or Fresia in contempo rary sources, should not be confused with the present homeland of the Dutch Fri sians in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands, which was only part of it. Historic Frisia could best be defined as a sphere of influence or culture that both expanded and contracted throughout time, not as a region with set borders. The first time we hear of an area inhabited by Frisian people is in Roman sources where the coastal zones of the Continent are described (e.g. Pliny, Naturalis historiae iv.29 (15), xvi.2–4: Bazelmans 2009; Tacitus Germania 34.1: Rives 2002; Ptolemaeus Geographica 2.11.7: Stevenson 1932; cf. Bazelmans 2009). After the Roman ref erences to the coastal dwellers, we have to wait until Merovingian times for Frisians to be mentioned again (Bazelmans 2009). on the basis of both textual and archaeological research, a hiatus in occupation of the Frisian zone after the Roman period, falling in the fourth century, is generally proposed. The new inhabitants of Frisia arriving in the early fifth century are again called Frisian, but they are not the same people as before (Bazelmans 1999; Nicolay 2005; Knol 2009; Gerrets 2012). In essence, Frisians as a people and Frisian identity is thus a construct, a product of ethnogenesis. It has been argued that after the reoccupation of Frisia, ‘Frisian’ was used more as a political term than an ethnic one (Boeles 1951, 207–49; Bazelmans 2009).

Although it is possible that Frisia was not entirely depopulated, and some Frisians may have stayed in the coastal area, the bulk of the inhabitants after the hiatus appear to have come from different places along the North Sea coast (Nicolay 2005; Knol 2009). Nicolay (2005, 71–85) proposes that there were two waves of newcomers, first of Angles and Saxons, and then of Jutes and Norwegians. Links with their areas of origin continued into at least the sixth and seventh centuries (Nicolay 2005; Knol 2009, 127). Clearly, these new Frisians were all coastal dwellers, and the formation of their identity was related to the coastal area and maritime world. Whereas before the hiatus, Frisia was an area of mixed Celtic and Germanic influences, after the hiatus it was a Germanic area with strong links to people from the various North Sea areas. In early medieval times, Frisians were famous for their role in longdistance trade in the North Sea


area (Lebecq 1983). This is not surprising, in light of the maritime construction of Frisian identity through time, although the exact nature of this identification as longdistance traders is uncertain. As has been suggested by Bazelmans (2009), it is highly possible that the reestablishment of the Frisian name for the coastal dwellers was instigated by the Franks. Possibly, the idea of Frisians as maritime people or specifically as longdistance traders was also emphasized in a Frankish (inland) point of view. Nevertheless, this aspect of Frisian identity may also have been assumed by other maritime people of the North Sea coasts, making it easier to connect and identify with them. We can speculate whether it was a prerequisite for the Viking Age FrisianScandinavian contacts.

Frisia and the Continental Christian View

As has been pointed out by various scholars, Frisia was a borderland between Viking Scandinavia and the Christian Frankish realm (cf. Lund 2006), and a FrankishScandinavian rivalry over Frisia seems to characterize at least part of the Viking Age. Some scholars even refer to Frisia as a ‘noman’s land’ between the two political powers, disregarding any active role of the area’s inhabitants (Reuter 1991, 69). The question is, what the nature of Frisia’s position in the Viking Age specifically was, and how it related to Scandinavia. Due to its geographical position on the edge of the Continent, the Frisian coast was a natural gateway to the North Sea from a Continental perspective. Being part of the Frankish realm, the Frisians were converted to Christianity through a FrankishAngloSaxon mis sionary offensive in the course of the eighth century (cf. Wood 2001, 10–12). Despite legendary failures to convert the stubborn Frisians, such as the stories of Redbad, king of the Frisians, who refused to be converted if this meant he would not sit with his ancestors (Vita Wulframi 9; Levison 1910), and the resistance that led to the killing of Boniface in ad 754 (Wood 2001, 58–60; Mostert 1999),

the Frisians finally became Christian, at least in name. Christianization in Frisia was a slow process of topdown conversion, and was particularly linked to the expansion of Carolingian power. Similarly, in neighbouring Saxony, conversion and Frankish expansion went hand in hand (cf. Hines 2003). With the military missions of Charlemagne around 800, the period of conversion seems to have ended. Nevertheless, even when nominally Christian, there seems to have been a long period of syncretism (Mostert 2005; cf. Milis 1998). From a Frankish perspective, being Christian — as opposed to heathen, like the Vikings — was one of the most important criteria for being regarded as part of the Frankish community. A contrastive picturing of the Danes as heathen Vikings against the


good Christian Franks and Frisians is recurrent in Frankish annals, chronicles, and vitae, and in other, nonFrankish, Christian sources (see in particular An nales Bertiniani 841, 846, 867; Annales Xantenses 841: Rau 1972, 54, 68, 166, 346–48; Passio SS Walfridi et Radfridi: van Schaïk 1985). In this view, the inclusion of Frisia in the Carolingian realm is seen as a positive change from heathen times, with connections to the north and as a final incorporation of Frisia into a Continental, Christian world.

Discussion of the ad 810 Viking attack on the coastal area, in which the Frisian islands were sacked and the inhabitants paid a tribute of a hundred pounds of silver before the band of Danes sailed back to Denmark, is interesting in this context (Annales regni Francorum 810: Rau 1977, 94).1 Clearly, in the years before 810, Frankish and Danish expansion brought both parties to the Frisian coastal zone. The event should be seen in the context of a series of conflicts between two generations of Danish and Frankish rulers, continuing since the end of the eighth century. Both parties, obviously mistrusting each other, tried to get the support of the neighbouring Saxons. At stake was power over the border region be tween Francia and the Danish kingdom, possibly Frisia itself. Since the Battle of the Boorne in ad 734 and further conquests in the following decades, the area had been under Frankish rule; but according to Einhard’s Vita Karoli, the Danish king Godfred claimed Frisia as part of his sphere of influence (Rau 1977, 182). References to Godfred can also be found in Saxo Grammaticus’s twelfthcentury Gesta Danorum. Saxo describes how King Godfred briefly ruled over Frisian soil and extracted tribute there in the year 810. This situation ended when the Franks (Charlemagne) freed the Frisians from this situation, as Saxo puts it, favouring the Christian Franks (Gesta Danorum viii.16: Davidson 1979, 272–73).

Stories of this character are also found in Frisian law texts and later stories, often connected to tales of the legendary ‘Frisian Freedom’. From Frisian soil few written texts dating before the later Middle Ages have come down to us, but the law texts have. Besides the previously mentioned Lex Frisionum, of which the earliest surviving edition is a 1557 print (Herold) of a preliminary, unedited form of the text which probably therefore contains preChristian elements, a number of law collections in the old Frisian vernacular have come down to

1 These one hundred pounds of silver seem little in comparison with later exactions of tribute, as scholars have pointed out. It has therefore been taken as evidence to support the idea that the tributes demanded became larger and larger in the course of the Viking Age. However, true as this development may be, it must be said that it is not clear from the Latin text itself whether this particular case involved a onetime payment of one hundred pounds of silver, or whether it was a recurring tribute.


us. These were put to parchment in the thirteenth century, but appear to have grown almost organically over many decades before. A number of these laws are believed originally to date back to about the same period as the Lex Frisionum, so around 800, and they have some laws in common with it (Nijdam 2009; Siems 1980). Probably because Frisia remained a relatively autonomous region with its own law, these texts survive. Since the early medieval period, the setting in which the law was practised by free Frisian men who held a thing (oFris. thing) also remained largely the same, which would explain the laws’ continuity into the thir teenth century (Nijdam 2009, 47; Vries 2007, 17–18.). Despite their original core, they have been influenced by the Carolingian context, in some aspects more than others, and clearly overall these texts represent the laws of the Christianized Frisians, who were the Franks’ pacified allies (Pritsak 1981, 490–98).

In these vernacular sources, two versions of how the legendary Frisian Freedom was obtained occur, both related to Charlemagne and the Danes. According to the younger tradition, Frisians freed Rome in the name of Charlemagne and in return were freed from the ruling Danes (Nijdam 2008, 113–17; Vries 2007, 14–15). The older version mentions how the Frisians got their freedom in return for becoming Christian and loyal to the Frankish king. This included a shift in the taxes being due to the north (oFris. klipskelde) to paying them to the south (oFris. huslotha), as has been pointed out by Nijdam (2009, 56). In some versions of the story, however, the heathen Danish king from whom Charlemagne had to free the Frisians is the legendary Frisian king Redbad. According to these texts, then, the Frisians were heathens under northern rule until the time of Charlemagne, when they became Christians with an autonomous status but loyal to the Franks. The ruling heathen northerners, such as the Danish Godfred and even the Frisian Redbad as ally of the Danes, were demonized in these stories, representing the bad north (Vries 2007, 25; Pritsak 1981, 492). Emphasis is placed on taking the Frisians out of the maritime North Sea context and into the Frankish context.

The intermediary position of Frisia between Frankish and northern spheres was, however, not restricted to its geographical position but included its political, religious, economic, and perhaps its cultural position too. Although the Franks were very eager to incorporate Frisia into their Christian world and tried to promote this in the texts they produced and influenced, it is likely that for many Frisians the shift between pre and postFrankish conquest and conversion was not that clear. It is possible that their position between Franks and Vikings made some Frisians feel more affinity with their Nordic neighbours than with the southern Franks, even after the Frankish conquest and on into the Viking Age. Such people, perhaps, were still allies of the north. After all, as North Sea coastal people, they shared a cultural background and a history, as noted above,


and their maritime identity was stressed. The very few Frisian and Scandinavian textual references to contacts, including those influenced by a Christian agenda, may illuminate this picture. In fact, even the Frankish sources themselves may hold some clues to these ties, but less strongly, as FrisianViking connections were more dynamic after the Carolingian conquest and conversion.

Frisian-Viking Contact: A Changing Image

one of the very few sources directly attesting to FrisianScandinavian relations in the Viking Age, and therefore a significant one, is a silver neck ring (Ts 1649, Tromsø Museum) found on the island of Senja, in Troms in northern Norway, which is dated to c. 1025 ( Jesch 1997, 10). As an early eleventhcentury find, it refers to late Viking Age contacts. It was found in 1905 at Bothavn as part of a hoard including neck rings and cruciform pendants (GrahamCampbell 1980, 87, no. 303). The ring bears an interesting runic inscription (N 540), which is transcribed as furu- trikia frislats a uit auk uiks fotum uir skiftum (Samplonius 1998, 91).2 Since the first transcription was made by Magnus olsen in 1906, various readings and translations of the text have been put forward. These illustrate the changing way in which FrisianScandinavian relations are thought of up to today.

Initially olsen interpreted the text as furu- trikia frislats a uit auk uiks fotum viðr skiftum and this was long accepted, until more than fifty years later olsen made clear that the reading should be uir (1960, 35), not viðr. Thus, the text should be read as old Norse: ‘Fóru[m] dreng ja Fríslands á vit, ok vígs fo tum vér skip tum’ (Samnordisk Runtextdatabas N 540). The English translation, ‘We paid a visit to the lads of Frisia, and we it was who split the spoils of battle’, reflects a reading in the frame of Viking raids on Frisia. The spoils of battle are the booty taken off Frisian ‘lads’, the opponents, whoever they may be. This fits very well within the existing picture of Viking raids on Frisia, and the inscription could be seen as one of the first pieces of evidence for it outside the annals.

The first to question this interpretation was Jesch (1997). As she found the reading of the words dreng ja and skiftum suspicious, she proposed an alternative interpretation. In this reading, the carver is part of the group of dreng ja, and the splitting of spoils of battle may equally be seen as exchanging. This opens the possibility to read the inscription as a reference to trading activities between

2 All runic inscriptions cited from the Samnordisk Runtextdatabas, available for download online at <http://www.nordiska.uu.se/forskn/samnord.htm> [accessed 14 January 2014].


Vikings and Frisians, interpreting the text as ‘We visited our tradingpartners in Frisia and bought (or ‘sold’ or ‘exchanged’) wargear’ ( Jesch 1997, 7–12). If indeed it refers to trading activities, Jesch (2001, 80) suggests it should be seen in the light of two Swedish runic inscriptions speaking of ‘Frisian guilds’ (U 379 and U 391 ; cf. Brate 1911–18). Regardless of the reading of the Senja text, these runestones indicate (trading) contacts between Frisia and Scandinavia in the late Viking Age. Drawing on evidence from Frisian law codes, Samplonius (1998, 94–98) agrees with Jesch to a great extent, but suggests that the inscription ac tually refers to FrisianScandinavian joint raids. Thus, he is combining the paradigm of Viking raids with the cooperative element suggested by Jesch. This leads him to propose the reading ‘Wij zochten de jongens/krijgers van Friesland op en (tezamen) deelden wij krijgsbuit’ (We visited the lads/warriors of Frisia and together we split the warbooty).

Although the inscription is a stanza in fornyrðislag and thus may be interpreted as poetic diction, olsen, Jesch, and Samplonius all express the belief that the text relates to an actual, historical event. According to olsen (1960, 127–40), this was the early eleventhcentury raid of Óláfr Haraldsson, allegedly to the Frisian coast of Kennemerland (kinnlimasiða) as attested by Sighvatr Þórðarson in his Víkingarvísur.3 Samplonius in turn argues that in spite of the poetic form and elements, old Norse poetry always refers to actual facts and events (Samplonius 1998, 92). Despite agreeing that the poems and stories of the Viking Age refer to a general reality, we can question if it is certain that they always refer to actual and specific events. In this case, the inscription may very well attest to a particular event, known in those days, but this is not necessarily the case. It could equally refer to a sphere of activities that were well known then, be they joint Viking attacks or trading contacts. This also seems the case in Beowulf. Linking the inscription to a specific raid or activity seems relatively difficult, even if only for the fact that so few early eleventhcentury raids are attested at all. Either way, the inscription attests to ScandinavianFrisian relations and therefore is equally significant in both interpretations. It should in any case be seen in light of the other skaldic references and other evidence of FrisianScandinavian contacts in the Viking Age and particularly the eleventh century, as Jesch (2001, 80–83) also suggests. Especially if it concerns a supposed raid on Frisia, it should be placed in the context of the continental references to Viking raids, as well as Norse accounts of expeditions as in the Víkingavísur by Sighvatr.

3 The identification of kinnlimasiða as Kennemerland is very uncertain, and based solely on Snorri Sturluson’s saga of St olaf. other texts identify it as a place in England. For the discussion on the possible identification of the place, see Jesch 2004, 260–61.


This example indicates how ideas about VikingFrisian relations have been changing over the last fifteen years or so, from assuming Viking raids to envisaging cooperation, and shows how new readings of the sources may contribute to the discussion, as well as drawing in further sources that may refer to closer FrisianViking contact and joint activities. one of these types of source is the Frisian law codes.

Frisian Vikings?

The original texts of several law collections are thought to derive from just after the Frankish conquest of Frisia in the eighth century, and they are known from various redactions (Vries 2007, 51–54). Most notable are the Zeventien Keuren (Seventeen Statutes) and the Vierentwintig Landrechten (TwentyFour Land Laws). These are often bracketed together and form the central part of the Frisian laws, not least because both were valid over the entire Frisian region. Both seem to be collections of different regulations which have grown in an organic process, and are not so much influenced by Roman and canon law, or the Frankish context, as some other collections (Vries 2007, 11–25). other legal texts which may also have an origin in this period are the Oudere Schoutenrecht (valid in Westergo) and the Overkeuren.

Interestingly, several laws contain references in old Frisian to ‘Vikings’, which is one of the reasons for their suspected early date. The terms used are witzeng, wīzing, or wiszegge (cognate with oE wicing, oN víkingr). In one case they are referred to as tha northeska wiszegge — ‘the northern Viking’ — thus specifically referring to a Scandinavian Viking, not a pirate in general. In other instances of the use of ‘Viking’ it is not so clear whether the reference is particularly to a Scandinavian Viking or to a pirate in a more general sense and thus theoretically it could also refer to a Frisian. The term Nortmon also occurs on several occasions, and clearly refers to Scandinavians, as likely does the term northhiri — northern army. In the light of Viking activity in Frisia, there are a number of interesting clauses, some of which have been pointed out by scholars before.

one interesting clause, which also forms the evidence Samplonius draws on for his reading of the runic text, concerns Frisians being taken captive by Vikings and forced to join in their raids. The Third Land Law states that if the Nortmon capture a man and take him abroad, and another man has bought the man’s land, the first man can recover it if he returns (Vries 2007, 101–03). A similar law is the Twentieth Land Law, which is slightly more specific. Here, it is stated that if the Northmen come and they take captive a man, take him to their ship, and subsequently this man plunders, rapes, burns down and kills in his own land, he


may be set free of all charges once he is able to return (by escape or because he is ransomed) since he was forced by his master to do this. (Vries 2009, 110–11; my translation). The same rule is paralleled in the fourteenth of the Seventeen Statutes in some redactions (Algra 1992, 297–98; Hoekstra 1940, 111–13), and sometimes the captive is an underage child. According to Algra (1992, 438–40), all derive from the same principle and case. The emphasis in all variations is placed on the fact that the man had to have acted under duress — apparently this was ample reason to walk free. Presumably, as has been pointed out, the emphasis on this condition implies that there were also Frisians who joined the Viking war bands voluntarily (Samplonius 1998, 98; Jesch 2004, 257). These, then, are the nonpacified Frisians of which we sometimes get a glimpse. This idea of Frisian Vikings who willingly joined their Scandinavian neighbours can be supported by other clues to Frisian piracy in the Viking Age.

Further Frisian laws make it clear that Frisians had a duty to defend their land ‘ienst den salta se ende ienst den wilda witzenges floed’ (against the salty sea and the flood of the wild Vikings) (Oudere Schoutenrecht, in Vries 2007, 301) or ‘with thine nordkoning and thine wilda witzingis sesflod’ (against the king of the north and the flood of the wild Vikings’) (De Magnuskeuren, in Vries 2007, 469). They have to do so with ‘spade and fork, shield and sword, and the point of the spear’. The nature of the Frisian coastal zone and thus the threat of the sea flooding the area, as well as of Viking attacks, was the reason Frisians constantly had to guard the coast. Because of this necessity, in their agreement with Charlemagne, Frisians had a special position concerning military duties for the Carolingian emperor, say the texts. They did not have to go on campaigns for him farther than ‘leaving home at low tide, and returning home at high tide’ (Oudere Schoutenrecht, in Vries 2007, 301) or farther west than the river Vlie and east than the river Weser (Zeventien Keuren, in Vries 2007, 87), whilst earlier they had to defend land as far as to the Sincfal. In addition, another law (De Overkeuren, in Vries 2007, 115) states that if any of the Frisian areas is devastated by either southern armed knights or northern Vikings, the other would have to come and help. Together, this paints a helpful picture of the military and defensive duties of pacified Frisians in the Viking Age.

on one occasion the Frankish sources, which regularly mention their own coastal defences, mention the role of the Frisians in defence. The attack on the island of Walcheren in 837 was quite devastating, even though coastal de fences had been put in place. The assembly the emperor subsequently called to gether makes it clear that part of the reason for defeat was that some people had been disobedient, and had not resisted the attacking Vikings. ‘Unde et ad conmprimendam Frisionum inoboedientiam strenui abbates ac comites directi


sunt’ (Energetic abbots and counts were therefore dispatched to suppress the in subordinate Frisians),4 continue the annals (Annales Bertiniani 837: Rau 1972, 32; Nelson, 1991, 37), pointing out that counts and abbots were sent to the disobedient Frisians. A direct link between the Frisians’ apparent refusal to play a part in the coastal defences here and the clause in the law codes about the restricted area they had to defend is generally disregarded. Why then, were the Frisians, and only the Frisians, disobedient? one possibility is that this concerned the ‘disobedient’ nonpacified Frisians and their links to the Scandinavians. If we consider the possibility that these Frisians were, for instance, traders who sometimes traded with Scandinavia as well as going on raids with them, it may have been more beneficial for them not to get involved in this FrankishScandinavian conflict. We can also consider the possibility that these nonpacified Frisians were disobedient on a larger scale. Was it necessary to remind the Frisians that they were officially Christian and supposed to be loyal to the Christian Carolingian emperor? It is striking that not only counts were sent to break the Frisian disobedience, but also abbots.

Another case of complaint about the behaviour of the Frisians is found two years later in 839 (Annales Bertiniani 839: Rau 1972, 48). Horic was king of the Danes at this point, and most likely had to deal with a conflict with the Franks, possibly also because of the 837 attack. In any case, Horic was eager to let the Carolingian emperor know or believe that the Viking attacks were in no way supported by him. Instead, he offered friendship and obedience. To show his loyalty, he claimed on two occasions to have captured and killed Vikings who had plundered the Carolingian coast just beforehand. The first time, in 834, Horic wanted payment in return. The second time, in 838, he asked that the Frisians and some others be surrendered to him. Since the emperor found this a very inappropriate request, it was not granted. In 839 Horic and Louis managed to agree to peace terms. on this occasion, Horic — who promoted himself as antiViking — made an official complaint about the Frisians and their behaviour. The emperor again appoints duces strenui (stern war leaders) to deal with the troublesome Frisians. Although unfortunately the nature or reason of the complaint by Horic is not named, reading the passage in the light of preceding and following events suggests that for some reason the Frisians were not behaving according to Christian, Carolingian expectations, nor the wishes of a Danish Vikingkiller who allied himself with the Carolingians. Perhaps this was related to the Viking activity Horic and Louis were trying to fight, and perhaps this is another glimpse of the nonpacified, northwardlooking Frisians.

4 Strictly, this should read ‘the insubordinacy of the Frisians’ ( John Hines, personal comm.).


Evidence for seafaring and piraticalminded Frisians may also be found in other texts, such as the story of Frisians’ going to the far north where they confiscated goods from exotic creatures, which is recorded by Adam of Bremen (Gesta Hammaburgensis iv. 39–40; Borchling 1983, 56–57; Schmeidler 1917, 1–283). Frisians going ‘Viking’ seem to be recorded in Insular sources, amongst others. The Annals of Lindisfarne (Annales Lindisfarnenses 855, 858; Pertz 1866, 502–07) and the History of St Cuthbert (Historia de Sancto Cuthberto 10, 14; South 2002) as well as Saxo’s History of the Danes (Gesta Danorum viii; Davidson 1979, 242), for example, all refer to an Ubbe (or Ubbo) Dux Fresonum or Ubbe Fresicus. It is unclear exactly what the background of this Ubbe the Frisian was, whether he indeed was partly Frisian or the bastard son of Ragnarr loðbrók, as has been suggested. What is clear, however, is that for some reason he is linked to Frisia. Apparently, he was count over some part of the Frisian area — hence the duxtitle — in the ninth century, perhaps as a holder of fief (cf. Coupland 1998). Most interesting in the present context, however, is the reference in the Annales Lindisfarnenses to Ubbe, Halfdan, and Ingvar as the leaders of an army of Danes and Frisians (Dani et Frisones) on Sheppey in 855 (Smyth 1977, 195). In this time of Danish fiefs in Frisia, it is possible that part of the war band was recruited here. This army’s attack is one in a series of continuous Viking attacks on the British Isles. A decade later, these attacks become even more systematic, when Halfdan, Ubbe, and Ingvar lead the great heathen army in England. It cannot be ruled out that there were Frisian heathens amongst the warriors in this army too. A less wellknown but equally interesting later Viking Age case is that of a Frisian warrior in the war band of Rollo in Normandy, as described by Dudo of St Quentin. of this Frisian it is said that he was completely trusted by his fellow Scandinavian band members, indicating the scope of the cooperation and alliance between Scandinavian Vikings and the Frisian warrior (Gesta Normannum ducum 12, in Lair, 1865, 164–70).

The written sources dealing with both the ninth and tenth centuries in which Viking raids peaked, and with the later Viking Period contacts, show that there is a case for various kinds of contacts and alliances between Vikings, Franks, and Frisians, and an ambiguous position for the latter. Whereas the Carolingians tried to include the Frisians in their Christian worldview and influence the written sources within this context, some hints of Frisians operating outside this framework can be found. These, perhaps still favouring the heathen gods, seem to have had greater affinity with their North Sea neighbours. They presumably identified themselves more with the maritime, heathen, piracypractising Scandinavians than with the Christian Carolingians.


Archaeological Affinity with the North?

The idea of coastal dwellers leaning towards other coastal dwellers rather than the ruling elite inland was also explored by Loveluck and Tys (2006) in their study of sixth to eleventhcentury crossChannel contacts:

Hence, we see elements of the expression of a common, maritime group identity in the relative abundance of exchanged material in coastal zones, distributed both across the Channel and along the Continental coastline. Greater affinity with other maritime groups, in certain instances, rather than with the social elites based inland, may also have promoted rather different links than textual sources suggest in coastal locations. (Loveluck and Tys 2006, 161)

As stressed in this quotation, affinity with other coastal groups may have meant diff erent connections than those focused upon in the textual sources. Furthermore, material exchanges can provide a different picture from the traditional textual sources, with their political and religious agendas. This would mean that we would have to investigate material exchanged between Scandinavia and Frisia as showing these links of cooperation, alliances, and trade. Now that we are looking at the contacts in a broader perspective, can the archaeology reveal more finds that indicate an archaeological affinity with the north — perhaps even the maritime group identity or piracy? or is this still hard to see in the archaeological material, and does that rather attest to alliances in trade but in a more Frankishinfluenced material culture?

Trade relations were one of the most important aspects of FrisianScandinavian contacts in the Viking Age attested to by archaeology. We have noted that the Sigtuna rune stones point to cooperative trade in the late Viking Age. This trade thus seems to continue throughout the Viking Age via different ports. Frisians appear to have been present in colonies in various trading places. In York, Mainz, Duisburg, Cologne, Dorestat, Rome, and Birka, amongst others, ‘Frisian quarters’ are mentioned (Wamers 2011, 92). Frisians may have developed a type of coastal trading place that set an example for later Scandinavian trading places (cf. Henstra 2012, 12; Skre and Stylegar 2004, 14–16). According to archaeologists, the earliest stages of Ribe in the first half of the eighth century can be characterized as ‘Frisian’, due to its regular layout, and the site may have been (co)founded by Frisian traders expanding their market in the north. In the eighth and ninth century there was at least a Frisian influence in Ribe, as is shown by the layout of the site and the imports (Feveile 2006, 28–31; Skre 2007, 460–62). The trade centre of Kaupang likewise seems to be influenced by Frisian trade through the import of — amongst others — Frankish coins and Frisian cloth (Lebecq 1983, 83). Most recently, the presence of Frisian traders


or craftsmen has been established for Kaupang (Skre 2010; Skre 2011b; Wamers 2011). The primary evidence for their presence is the quantity of Frankish/Frisian brooches found at the site. These are not of extreme value or quality but rather represent the everyday wear of Continental men and women. In addition, the brooches are not reworked or used very long after their normal period of use, and thus seem to represent personal items. Trade with the FrankishFrisian area was a precondition for the introduction of the brooches, since it was the presence of the traders that brought the brooches there, but the brooches themselves were not traded, Wamers (2011, 76) stresses. He considers it quite unlikely that these could serve as commodities traded for profit in cultural contexts other than their original provenance. The reason is that in the eighth and ninth centuries these brooches were still seen as ethnic, cultural, and social markers. As such, they are more likely to be used as personal items than traded valuables. In some rare cases, however, the imported style of brooches is attested in combination with indigenous brooch wear, and may rather be some sort of ‘souvenir’.

Less well known is the further archaeological evidence of Viking Age Frisia, which mostly comprises stray finds.5 Through the years, several (critical) inventories of ‘Viking finds’ in the Netherlands have been made, though none are available online. often used as starting point for investigations is a 1971 publication which examines all thenknown finds that were labelled as Viking, with the question in mind of whether there was ever a Scandinavian presence in the Netherlands comparable to that in the Danelaw in England. The answer to that question was ‘no’ (van Regteren Altena and Besteman 1971). In 2004, a new inventory of Viking finds was published, but this time restricted to the river area (Willemsen 2004). To complement this, an inventory of Viking finds from the northern Netherlands was made in 2009 (IJssennagger 2009). In addition, ‘Viking’ finds made by metal detectorists in particular have been studied in the last few years (Schokker 2008), and more are being recorded and studied at present.

Although far from complete, the preliminary picture that emerges is on the one hand that there were valuable Scandinavian items which may have been gifts, possessions of fiefholders or commodities, such as the golden and silver arm, neck, and finger rings discussed below. They are valuable, not often reworked, and possibly in some way connected to the upper social strata. on the other hand, we see a range of less valuable pieces of jewellery and dress accessories,

5 Part of the problem with the inventories is the distribution of the material over Frisia and the role of the terps. As many of the terps were destroyed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and the soil was spread over arable land as fertilizer, many finds do not have a certain original location.


which appear to rather have been personal possessions showing signs of wear and tear. Examples of these are a few Scandinavian disc brooches of copperalloy (Fig. 5). These personal possessions are the more common kind of objects not necessarily connected to the elite, as Wamers (2011) also argued for the Continental accessories in Kaupang. In addition, due to their role of ethnic and cultural markers as Wamers suggests, they seem to be personal items and not trade commodities, but they could be souvenirs. Most of the finds seem to date to the late ninth and early tenth century, but some may also be placed in the early eleventh century. They form an interesting indication of the range of FrisianScandinavian contacts, and need to be studied further (Fig. 6).

Some of the stray finds point to trade or other economic contacts. There is a Viking silver ingot (1999–111–5 Groninger Museum) from Warffum (prov. Groningen) (Besteman 2004, 28; Knol 1999, 23), and a silver armring with smaller rings (g1991/3.1 National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van oudheden), the Netherlands) from the coast off the coast of Callantsoog (prov. NoordHolland) (Fig. 7). Dirhams in Frisia also provide a link to Scandinavia, either through Scandinavian ownership and presence or through trade and exchange with Scandinavia. Whereas the Franks had problems accepting or using dirhams, since they had their own mint and thus required foreign currency to be reminted, Scandinavians accepted this foreign currency for its silver value. Frisia seems to hold an intermediary position once again, in this economic respect, and was quite flexible in accepting foreign coins and silver alike. The distribution pattern of dirhams on the northern Continent is restricted to the Frisian coastal zone, which distinguishes it from the rest of the Continent (Besteman 2004, 34–35). Besides being flexible in the acceptance of currency, probably because of their position as middlemen in trade, Frisians were also flexible in the production of imitations of Frankish coins. It seems these were struck in Frisia, possibly by Frisians under the supervision of Vikings or even by Vikings. In addition, Frisians

Figure 5. Viking disc brooch from oosterwijtwerd, Groningen. Late ninth to early tenty centuries ad. Diam. c. 3 cm. Collection: Noordelijk Archeologisch Depot, Nuis. Photo: author.


kept to different coin standards from the rest of the Continent, presumably due to their trading relations with the North Sea neighbours (Besteman 2004, 34–35; Skre 2011a, 81–82; Kilger 2008a, 263–79; cf. Kilger 2008b, 233–35, 242–43; Blackburn 2008, 56–60, 69–70).

The Senja neck ring (see above, pp. 78–80), which through its inscription al ready seems to point to VikingFrisian collaboration, may also refer to this archaeologically. Another argument in favour of the inscription referring to joint raid or trade is that the neck ring itself seems to have its origin in Scandinavia rather than Frisia (Spangen 2005, 57–58) and is quite a typical Viking Age ring.6 It thus seems more likely that it was raided or traded in Scandinavia, or was made out of reused silver from the Continent. If it was taken from Frisia itself, it must have ended up there first from Scandinavia.

6 The type is found in Denmark and southern and eastern Sweden, as well as in West Slavonic areas.

Figure 6. Map showing the Netherlands, with indication of find spots mentioned in the text. Map: author/Rik van der Pluym.


Ingots, dirhams, and hacksilver as well as Scandinaviantype dress accessories or jewellery are indicators of the Scandinavian character of mixed hoards. It is these types of objects that have helped identify the Westerklief hoards as once b elonging to a Dane, most likely a fief holder (Besteman 1997, Besteman 2000), and two hoards from Rantrum and Witzwort in southern North Frisia (Germany) of the ninth century as connected to Scandinavian participants in Baltic trade (Bantelmann 2003, 60–61). A coin hoard found in the dunes near List on the North Frisian island of Sylt (Germany), which saw an influx of Frisian inhabitants during the eighth and ninth century and can be seen as an area of FrisianDanish cohabitation in the Viking Age (Bantelmann 2003, 60–61; Jankunh 1957), can be directly related to Viking activity in England. The hoard, which was buried in the first decade of the eleventh century, contains pennies of the AngloSaxon king Æthelræd II. It was this kind of pennies that were used to pay the Danegeld and it is almost certain that this was also the case for these particular pennies in List (Bantelmann 2003, 61–62). The place where the hoard was buried suggests that it was a landing place for ships, and that the coins belonged to a crew member of a ship returning from England, who either may have been Danish or Frisian.

Besides these examples of presumed Viking character, Frisia has an interesting range of buried silver hoards from the Viking Age. From the Continental perspective, their distribution is strikingly restricted to the northern coastal zone, which coincides with the area of Viking activity (Knol 2005; Coupland 2006). Coupland convincingly shows how these hoards were nearly all deposited in periods of Viking attack, with a peak in the 840s, and sometimes can even be connected to known raids. They may have been buried out of fear of the attacks, and to keep the wealth safe, as is suggested. However, the character of the Frisian hoards is also different from other Carolingian hoards, as noted, since they are

Figure 7. Armring from Callantsoog. c. 900–950 ad. Largest ring diam. c. 7–8 cm. Collection and photo: Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.


mixed hoards (Besteman 2004). Due to the flexible character of the Frisian economy and the various connections with Scandinavia, Scandinavian silver may have been accepted here too and ended up in hoards (Besteman 2004, 35). Coupland (2006, 258) suggests that ‘evidence from outside Francia suggests that there may be other Continental hoards which were deposited by Scandinavians but which have hitherto not been recognized as such’. The underlying idea is that Viking hoards in Scandinavia often contain Carolingian or Insular silver, and are therefore easily recognized and linked to raiding or trading on the Continent. Hoards on the Continent with a similar content are always identified as ‘Continental’, but we can question if these might not equally be ‘Frisian’ or ‘Scandinavian’. Some do indeed seem to contain Scandinavian items, such as the Zuidbarge hoard, as pointed out by Besteman (2004, 35–36), and the Midlum hoard. With the acceptance of Scandinavian silver in Frisia, these could very well be Frisian hoards buried out of fear of Vikings, but may perhaps just as likely represent the warbooty of a Frisian or Scandinavian in Frisia, obtained in VikingFrisian joint raids. In addition, it has already been argued that Continental silver arrived in Scandinavia as a means of payment for Viking services or for defence against them. Perhaps Scandinavian silver in Frisia functioned in the same way as payment for Frisians in Viking silver, or in giftexchange between warrior and warlord, or two lords. In these instances too it would not be surprising that the date of deposition can be linked to known Viking activity.

There is thus a possibility that Scandinavian silver ending up in Viking Age hoards in Frisia came into the possession of Frisians by means of giftexchange (cf. Knol 2010, 48). Giftexchange usually concerns silver or gold jewellery like arm rings, neck rings, and finger rings, but also swords. Precious metals and other objects of prestige had an important social significance. The same can be postulated for a number of the stray finds from Frisian soil which are of high quality. An example of such an object is a golden fingerring (FM 2009–XI–01, Frisian Museum (Fries Museum); Besteman 2009; IJssennagger 2013b) from Nijemirdum in the area called Gaasterland just across the water from Wieringen where the Westerklief hoards were found (Fig. 8). It consists of twisted golden rods, weighs about 4.96 grams of gold, and is generally dated between the ninth and eleventh century. Being of gold and of very good quality, the ring can be regarded as a pre s tige item. Several silver examples of these types of rings of lower quality are known in the area, but so far this is the only gold example. A twisted gold arm ring (f1928/12.1) and a gold finger ring (WD 674, both National Museum of Antiquities, The Netherlands) from Dorestat may be seen in a similar light (cf. Willemsen 2004; van Regteren Altena and Besteman 1971). We only have a limited amount of these types of item in Frisia; these examples have ended


up here one way or another as single items, as personal possessions, or in giftexchange. If indeed they represent items of giftexchange, which we may consider likely, they represent contacts and alliances on a higher social level between Frisians or people residing in Frisia and Scandinavians. Such contacts, elite and nonelite, are thus reflected even outside the trading centres and even after the Danish benefices in Frisia had ceased.

Weapon graves are linked to times of rivalry and social change (Theuws 2009). Weapon graves in the northern Dutch coastal zone from the Viking Age are sometimes referred to as ‘Viking’, but it is clear that this is not necessarily the case. The sudden appearance of weapon graves in the eighth century more probably reflects the Frankish conquest of Frisia. As Knol (2010, 51–53) suggests, these weapon graves appear to be the graves of opponents of the Franks showing off their military strength as a sign of resistance. But they may also be of the Franks’ local allies. In the latter case, these would be local rulers appointed by the Franks who, through their weapon graves, displayed their military and ruling power. However, quite a number of the weapon graves are cremation graves, and cremation was no longer practised by the Franks but seen as a pagan practice and made a capital offence by Charlemagne in 789 (Bregman 2010, 13; Knol 2010, 51–53). According to Knol (2010, 51–53), the graves could therefore constitute an act of opposition to the Franks and the incoming Christian religion. In combination with the finds showing ScandinavianFrisian contact, they may indeed represent the nonpacified Frisians and their affinity with the north.

Cultural Intermediary?

Frisia as an intermediary region and Frisians as middlemen in trade may also have been cultural intermediaries between Franks and Vikings. This mediation not only took the form of the exchange and distribution of objects, ideas, and styles but also that of combining them. of the Viking Age finds from Frisia, a

Figure 8. Viking finger ring. Ninth to eleventh century ad. Diam. c. 2.4 cm. Collection and photo: Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.


few are very hard to call either Scandinavian or Continental, but rather seem to be local copies, hybrid forms, or local varieties of styles known in a wider area. An example may be an arm ring from Pingjum (a 1913/11.16a; National Museum of Antiquities, The Netherlands), which is a peculiar object that seems to have been reassembled, possibly in the wrong way (Fig. 9). originally, it might actually have been two rings. It is dated to c. ad 850–900 and shows stamped decorations of lines and dots. The lines are placed horizontally and diagonally along the bracelet. They are highly reminiscent of motifs on the Westerklief bracelets and Scandinavian counterparts. The form on the outside is also very similar, where the middle is thicker or protrudes more than the edges. The object thus seems to be influenced by Scandinavian styles. Because the shape of the bracelet on the inside is slightly different — hollow whereas the other bracelets are flat inside — it might even be a local copy of a Scandinavian arm ring (Amkreutz and Willemsen 2010). A bracelet from Midlaren in Drenthe, originally part of a Carolingian hoard of coins and one strapend, is reminiscent of this in form (Boeles 1915, 66). However, the decoration on the Midlaren bracelet is different and does not resemble Viking ornament at all, which may reinforce the idea that the Pingjum find is a hybrid object, combining both local tradition and Scandinavianstyle decoration. These puzzling finds are especially interesting to study further with the question of Frisia’s position in between Frankish and Viking in mind. Locating local copies or hybrid forms of objects and styles may contribute to the understanding of the position of the area and its contacts with the Frankish and Viking world. It also may help to further study the Frisian identity and the way it was negotiated in the Viking Age.

Conclusion

The information from both the written sources and the material remains indicates that there may have been a wider framework of ScandinavianFrisian contact than the trading and raiding we know from traditional sources. When piecing information from Frankish, Frisian, and Scandinavian sources together, it seems that, despite the effort of Franks to include the Frisians in their Christian realm and worldview, through their actions and through their words in the annals and chronicles, not all Frisians were completely oriented towards the south. A sense that Frisians sometimes decided to work with the Vikings rather than against them emerges. Although the Christian Frisians presumably identified themselves more with the Franks, other, nonChristian Frisians might have identified themselves more with the Vikings or Scandinavian merchants. Links with the pagan


north seem to exist throughout the Viking Age, and cooperation between Frisians and Scandinavians in Viking activity across Europe, as well as in trade, is attested. Within this framework, we can study further sources connected to Frisia in the Viking Age and the contact with diff erent regions. Th is may provide more details of Frisia as intermediate between Frankish and Viking spheres.

Despite the fact that cooperative piracy is hard to attest to through archaeology, the material remains do show that exchange in both trade and personal relations continued through the Viking Age, on diff erent levels. We see possible traces of giftexchange and the dispersal of personal items like jewellery and dress accessories. one possible clue to the cooperation between Frisians and Vikings may be the Scandinavian silver in Continental hoards that are not necessarily Viking, as well as the presence of dirhams in Frisia. Th ese can possibly be seen as some form of payment or exchange between Frisian warriors and Viking warlords. Although this hypothesis is really hard to test, it is an interesting possibility to bear in mind. Studying exchanged personal items and possible hybrid objects within the frame of Frisia as cultural intermediary may perhaps shed new light on the range of FrisianScandinavian contacts and on Frisia in the Viking Age.

I am grateful to John Hines for help with various aspects of this paper.

Figure 9. Pingjum arm ring. c. 850–900 ad. Diam. c. 5.8 cm. Collection and photo: Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.


Archaeological Objects

Where possible, current locations of finds are given. For some finds, only publication details are known. Finds 8 and 9: current location uncertain, but probably SchleswigHolsteinische Landesmuseen Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig.

1. Golden brooch, Wijnaldum (Friesland, the Netherlands). c. 625 ad. Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.

2. Golden sword stud, Ezinge (Groningen, the Netherlands). c. 600–650 ad. Private loan, Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.

3. Viking silver hoard, Westerklief (Wieringen, NoordHolland, the Nether lands) c. 850–80 ad. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.

4. Silver Viking neckring, Senja (Troms, Norway). c. 1025 ad. Tromsø Mu seum, Tromsø.

5. Scandinavian copperalloy disc brooch, oosterwijtwerd (Groningen, the Nether lands). c. 850–950 ad. Noordelijk Archeologisch Depot, Nuis.

6. Viking silver ingot, Warffum (Groningen, the Netherlands) c. 800–1000 ad. Groninger Museum, Groningen.

7. Silver Viking armring, Callantsoog (NoordHolland, the Netherlands). c. 900–950 ad. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.

8. Viking silver hoard, Rantrum (SchleswigHolstein, Germany). Late ninth century.

9. Viking silver hoard, Witzwort (SchleswigHolstein, Germany). Late ninth century.10. Coin hoard, List (SchleswigHolstein, Germany). 1000–1020 ad.

Schles wigHolsteinische Landesmuseen Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig.11. Silver hoard, Zuidbarge (Drenthe, the Netherlands). Ninth century.

Find was spread.12. Silver hoard, Midlum (Friesland, the Netherlands). Tenth century.

Fries Mu seum, Leeuwarden.13. Golden Viking finger ring, Nijemirdum (Friesland, the Netherlands).

Ninth to eleventh century. Fries Museum, Leeuwarden.14. Golden Viking arm ring, Wijk bij Duurstede (Utrecht, the Netherlands).

c. 800–850 ad. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.15. Golden finger ring, Wijk bij Duurstede (Utrecht, the Netherlands).

c. 800–850 ad. Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.16. Silver bracelet, Pingjum (Friesland, the Netherlands). c. 850–900 ad.

Rijksmuseum van oudheden, Leiden.17. Silver bracelet, Midlaren (Drenthe, the Netherlands). Ninth century. Drents

Museum, Assen.


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