Editing Woerden (section)

=== The dark ages ===
Little is known about the period after the Romans left for good in 402 AD. It may be assumed that people continued to live here, but there is little archaeological evidence. A Frankish sword dated from the 8th century has been found on the site of the Roman Castellum in 2012. The area was contested between [[Frisia]]ns and [[Franks]]. Frankish King [[Dagobert I]] conquered the area around 630, and a small church was built in nearby [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]]. Around 650, the Frisians came back, destroyed the Frankish church in Utrecht, and the Frisian king established his court there. Then, in 689 king [[Redbad, King of the Frisians|Redbad]] was defeated by Frankish [[Duke of the Franks|Duke]] [[Pippin of Herstal]] in the battle of [[Dorestad]] and the Franks regained control of the area. King Redbad reconquered Utrecht after Pippin died in 714, but the Frisian victory was short-lived: [[Dux Francorum|Duke]] [[Charles Martel]] defeated Redbad in 718. In 734, Charles Martel went on to vanquish the Frisians, in the [[Battle of the Boarn]].

The [[missionaries]] followed in the footsteps of the Frankish conquerors: In 695 AD, [[Willibrordus|Willibrord]], known as the "Apostle to the [[Frisians]]" became [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht|Bishop of Utrecht]], with interruptions due to Frisian incursions. [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]] worked here from 719 to 722. [[Ludger|Liudger]] reports that Boniface preached in ''Wyrda'', referring to ''[[Artificial dwelling hill|Wierde]]'', meaning that the place was on higher ground in the area. Around 850, the Bishop had to leave once more, this time because of [[Viking]] marauders. Bishop [[Balderic of Utrecht|Balderik]] returned to Utrecht in 918, after the Viking threat subsided. The Bishop claims Woerden as part of his jurisdiction: In a list prepared between 918 and 948 it is mentioned that {{lang|la|In UUrdin totum Sancti Martini}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hetutrechtsarchief.nl/thema/tijdbalk/0914 |title=In UUrdin totum Sancti Martini |publisher=Hetutrechtsarchief.nl |date=2008-03-14 |access-date=2014-07-13}}</ref> meaning: In Woerden everything belongs to Saint Martin, i.e. the church in Utrecht.