Editing Frisian languages (section)

===Middle West Frisian===
{{Main|Middle Frisian}}
Up until the 15th century, Frisian was a language widely spoken and written, but from 1500 onwards it became an almost exclusively oral language, mainly used in rural areas. This was in part due to the occupation of its stronghold, the Dutch province of [[Friesland]] (Fryslân), in 1498, by [[Albert III, Duke of Saxony]], who replaced West Frisian as the language of government with Dutch.

Afterwards this practice was continued under the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] rulers of the Netherlands (the German Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and his son, the Spanish King [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]]), and even when the Netherlands became independent, in 1585, West Frisian did not regain its former status. The reason for this was the rise of [[County of Holland|Holland]] as the dominant part of the Netherlands, and its language, Dutch, as the dominant language in judicial, administrative and religious affairs.

In this period the great Frisian poet [[Gysbert Japiks]] (1603–66), a schoolteacher and [[Cantor (Christianity)|cantor]] from the city of [[Bolsward]], who largely fathered modern West Frisian literature and orthography, was really an exception to the rule.

His example was not followed until the 19th century, when entire generations of West Frisian authors and poets appeared. This coincided with the introduction of the so-called newer [[Vowel breaking|breaking]] system, a prominent grammatical feature in almost all West Frisian dialects, with the notable exception of Southwest Frisian. Therefore, the Modern West Frisian period is considered to have begun at this point in time, around 1820.