Editing Frisians

{{Short description|Ethnic group native to Germany and the Netherlands}}
{{about|the modern Frisians|the ancient Germanic tribe also called Frisians|Frisii|other uses|Frisian (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Frisians <br />''Friezen'' [[West Frisian language|(West)]], ''Fresen'' [[North Frisian language|(North)]], ''Fräisen'' [[Saterland Frisian language|(Sater)]]
| flag             = 
| flag_caption     = ''Interfrisian flags'' by the [[Groep fan Auwerk]] and the [[Interfrisian Council]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.groepfanauwerk.com/homeIflagge.html|title=Groep fan Auwerk|website=www.groepfanauwerk.com|date=30 December 2023 }}</ref> Since there is no official All-Frisian flag, these are the flag of the ''Groep fan Auwerk'', claimed to be the Interfrisian flag and the flag of the Interfrisian Council.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interfriesischerrat.de/index.php/en/interfriesische-flagge|title=Interfriesische Flagge|website=www.interfriesischerrat.de}}</ref>
| image            = 
| image_caption    = 
| total            = {{circa}} 530,000
| region1          = [[Friesland]]
| pop1             = 350,000<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gooskens |first1=Charlotte |last2=Heeringa |first2=Wilbert |title=The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237534065 |website=Researchgate |publisher=University of Groningen |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>{{efn|Number is the number of native West Frisian speakers.}}
| region2          = Netherlands (excluding Friesland)
| pop2             = 120,000<ref name="ethnologue.com">[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=fry Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version.]</ref>{{efn|Native West Frisian speakers excluding those in Friesland.}}
| region3          = Germany
| pop3             = 60,000<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.minderheitensekretariat.de/wen-vertreten-wir/die-friesische-volksgruppe/ |title=Die friesische Volksgruppe |language=de |website=Minderheitensekretariat der vier autochthonen nationalen Minderheiten und Volksgruppen |quote=Geschätzt 60.000 Menschen sind ihrem Selbstverständnis nach Friesen. [an estimated 60,000 people self identify as Frisian] |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>{{efn|Although only 12,000 are native speakers.}}
| region4          = Canada
| pop4             = 4,590 residents of Canada reported having Frisian ancestry in the [[2016 Canadian census|2016 Canadian Census]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Immigration and Ethnocultural Diversity Highlight Tables |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/imm/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=31&Geo=01 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca/ | date=25 October 2017 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref><ref>
Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version.</ref>
| region5          = United States
| pop5             = 2,145 (ancestry estimate)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/ancestry/ancestry_q_by_DAC_2000.xls |title=Table 1. First, Second, and Total Responses to the Ancestry Question by Detailed Ancestry Code: 2000 |access-date=2010-12-02 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>
| rels             = [[Protestant]] majority ([[Calvinism|Calvinists]] and [[Lutheranism|Lutherans]])<br />[[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] minority
| langs            = [[Frisian languages]]<br />[[Low Saxon language|Low Saxon]] ([[Friso-Saxon dialects]])<br />[[Dutch language|Dutch]] ([[West Frisian Dutch]] and [[Stadsfries]])<br />[[German language|German]] ([[Missingsch]])<br />[[Danish language|Danish]] ([[Sønderjysk]] and [[Southern Schleswig Danish]])
| related          = {{hlist| [[English people|English]] | [[Scottish people|Scots]] | [[Germans]]}}
}}

The '''Frisians''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|iː|ʒ|ən|z}}) are an [[ethnic group]] indigenous to the [[German Bight|coastal regions]] of the Netherlands, north-western Germany and southern Denmark. They inhabit an area known as [[Frisia]] and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of [[Friesland]] and [[Groningen (province)|Groningen]] and, in Germany, [[East Frisia]] and [[North Frisia]] (which was a part of Denmark until 1864).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://interfriesischerrat.de/index.php/de/|title=Herzlich Willkommen|website=interfriesischerrat.de}}</ref> 

The [[Frisian languages]] are spoken by more than 500,000 people; [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] is officially recognised in the Netherlands (in [[Friesland]]) while [[North Frisian language|North Frisian]] and [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]] are recognised as regional languages in Germany.

==Name==
There are several theories about the origin of the name of the Frisians, which is derived from ''[[Frisii]]'' or ''Fresones'', names used by the Romans to describe a Germanic tribe that inhabited the same region but disappeared during the 5th century before the appearance of the Frisians. Most probably the name is derived from the verb ''fresare'' in Vulgar Latin, meaning 'milling, cutting, grooving, crushing, removing shells'; this name may have been given to the Frisii because they 'cut the land': digging ditches and dykes to irrigate the wet marshlands where they lived.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Faber |first=Hans |date=August 14, 2022 |title=A severe case of inattentional blindness: the Frisian tribe's name |url=https://frisiacoasttrail.blog/2022/08/14/a-severe-case-of-inattentional-blindness-explanation-of-the-tribes-name-of-the-frisians/ |website=Frisia Coast Trail}}</ref> Compare ''fresar el paisaje'' in the Romance language Spanish''.'' Another theory is the name derives from ''[https://gtb.ivdnt.org/iWDB/search?actie=article&wdb=WFT&id=29984&lemma=frisselje&domein=0&conc=true frisselje]'' (to braid, thus referring to braided hair).

==History==
Prior to the appearance of the modern Frisians, their namesake, the ancient [[Frisii]], enter recorded history in the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] account of [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]]'s 12&nbsp;BC war against the Rhine Germans and the [[Chauci]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus |author-link=Cassius Dio |year=229 |translator-last=Cary |translator-first=Earnest |contribution=Book LIV, Ch 32 |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wa5fAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA365 |title=Dio's Roman History |volume=VI |publisher=William Heinemann |publication-date=1917 |location=London |page=365 }}</ref> They occasionally appear in the accounts of Roman wars against the Germanic tribes of the region, up to and including the [[Revolt of the Batavi]] around 70&nbsp;AD. Frisian mercenaries were hired as cavalry to assist the [[Roman conquest of Britain|Roman invasion of Britain]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Potter |first1=Timothy W. |last2=Johns |first2=Catherine |title=Roman Britain |series=Exploring the Roman world |location=Berkeley |publisher=University of California |year=1992 |isbn=9780520081680 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LY9rEvdEKkwC&pg=PA190 |page=190 }}</ref> They are not mentioned again until {{circa}} 296, when they were deported into Roman territory as ''[[laeti]]'' (i.e., Roman-era [[serf]]s; see [[Binchester Roman Fort]] and [[Cuneus Frisionum]]).<ref>{{Citation |last=Grane |first=Thomas |year=2007 |contribution=From Gallienus to Probus – Three decades of turmoil and recovery |title=The Roman Empire and Southern Scandinavia–a Northern Connection! (PhD thesis) |publisher=University of Copenhagen |publication-date=2007 |location=Copenhagen |page=109 }}</ref> The discovery of a type of earthenware unique to fourth century [[Frisia]], called ''terp Tritzum'', shows that an unknown number of them were resettled in [[Flanders]] and [[Kent]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Looijenga |first=Jantina Helena |year=1997 |editor-last=SSG Uitgeverij |contribution=History, Archaeology and Runes |title=Runes Around the North Sea and on the Continent AD 150–700; Texts and Contexts (PhD dissertation) |publisher=Groningen University |publication-date=1997 |location=Groningen |page=30 |isbn=978-90-6781-014-2 |url=http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502101056/http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/arts/1997/j.h.looijenga/thesis.pdf |archive-date=2005-05-02 |url-status=live}}. Looijenga cites Gerrets' ''The Anglo-Frisian Relationship Seen from an Archaeological Point of View'' (1995) for this contention.</ref> probably as ''laeti'' under Roman coercion.
[[File:Europe and the Near East at 476 AD.png|thumb|left|[[List of early Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]] in the 5th century]]
[[File:Frisians.png|thumb|Historical settlement areas of the Frisians, and areas where a Frisian language is spoken]]
From the third through the fifth centuries, Frisia suffered [[marine transgression]]s that made most of the land uninhabitable, aggravated by a change to a cooler and wetter climate.<ref>{{Citation |last=Berglund |first=Björn E. |year=2002 |contribution=Human impact and climate changes—synchronous events and a causal link? |title=Quaternary International |volume=105 |publisher=Elsevier |publication-date=2003 |page=10 |issue=1 }}</ref><ref name=Ejstrud>{{Citation |last1=Ejstrud |first1=Bo |year=2008 |editor1-last=Ejstrud |editor1-first=Bo |editor2-last=Maarleveld |editor2-first=Thijs J. |title=The Migration Period, Southern Denmark and the North Sea |publisher=Maritime Archaeology Programme |publication-date=2008 |location=Esbjerg |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/14806111/The-Migration-Period-southern-Denmark-and-the-North-Sea |isbn=978-87-992214-1-7 |display-authors=etal}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Issar |first=Arie S. |year=2003 |title=Climate Changes during the Holocene and their Impact on Hydrological Systems |publisher=Cambridge University |publication-date=2003 |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-511-06118-9 }}</ref><ref name=Louwe>{{Citation |last=Louwe Kooijmans |first=L. P. |year=1974 |title=The Rhine/Meuse Delta. Four studies on its prehistoric occupation and Holocene geology (PhD Dissertation) |publisher=Leiden University Press |publication-date=1974 |location=Leiden |hdl=1887/2787}}</ref> Whatever population may have remained dropped dramatically, and the coastal lands remained largely unpopulated for the next two centuries. When conditions improved, Frisia received an influx of new settlers, mostly [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] and [[Saxons]].{{cn|date=February 2025}} These people would eventually be referred to as 'Frisians' ({{langx|ofs|Frīsa}}, {{langx|ang|Frīsan}}), though they were not necessarily descended from the ancient Frisii. It is these 'new Frisians' who are largely the ancestors of the medieval and modern Frisians.<ref>{{Citation |last=Bazelmans |first=Jos |year=2009 |editor1-last=Derks |editor1-first=Ton |editor2-last=Roymans |editor2-first=Nico |contribution=The early-medieval use of ethnic names from classical antiquity: The case of the Frisians |contribution-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM_cmuhmSbIC&pg=PA321 |title=Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition |publisher=Amsterdam University |publication-date=2009 |location=Amsterdam |pages=321–337 |isbn=978-90-8964-078-9 |url=https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/27183 |access-date=9 March 2024}}</ref>

By the end of the sixth century, Frisian territory had expanded westward to the [[North Sea]] coast and, in the seventh century, southward down to [[Dorestad]]. This farthest extent of Frisian territory is sometimes referred to as ''[[Frisian Kingdom|Frisia Magna]]''. Early Frisia was ruled by a [[High King]], with the earliest reference to a 'Frisian King' being dated 678.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Halbertsma|first=H.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/905441031|title=Frieslands oudheid : het rijk van de Friese koningen, opkomst en ondergang|date=2000|publisher=Matrijs|others=E.H.P., historicus Cordfunke, Herbert Sarfatij|isbn=90-5345-167-6|location=Utrecht|oclc=905441031}}</ref>

In the early eighth century, the Frisians mostly worshipped [[List of Germanic deities|Germanic gods]] such as [[Thor]] and [[Odin]] outside the vicinity of [[Utrecht]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Rietbergen |first=P. J. A. N. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/52849131 |title=A Short History of the Netherlands: From Prehistory to the Present Day |publisher=Bekking |year=2000 |isbn=90-6109-440-2 |edition=4th |location=Amersfoort |pages=25 |oclc=52849131}}</ref> Slightly later, the Frisian nobles came into increasing conflict with the [[Franks]] to their south, resulting in a [[Frisian–Frankish wars|series of wars]] in which the [[Frankish Empire]] eventually subjugated Frisia in 734. These wars benefited attempts by Anglo-Irish missionaries (which had begun with [[Saint Boniface]]) to convert the Frisian populace to [[Christianity]], in which [[Saint Willibrord]] largely succeeded.<ref>{{Cite CE1913|wstitle=St. Willibrord}}</ref>

Some time after the death of [[Charlemagne]], the Frisian territories were in theory under the control of the [[Count of Holland]], but in practice the Hollandic counts, starting with [[Arnulf, Count of Holland|Count Arnulf]] in 993, were unable to assert themselves as the sovereign lords of Frisia. The resulting stalemate resulted in a period of time called the '[[Frisian freedom]]', a period in which [[feudalism]] and [[serfdom]] (as well as central or judicial [[administration (government)|administration]]) did not exist, and in which the Frisian lands only owed their allegiance to the [[Holy Roman Emperor]].

During the 13th century, however, the counts of Holland became increasingly powerful and, starting in 1272, sought to reassert themselves as rightful lords of the Frisian lands in [[Friso-Hollandic Wars|a series of wars]], which (with a series of lengthy interruptions) ended in 1422 with the Hollandic conquest of Western Frisia and with the establishment of a more powerful noble class in Central and Eastern Frisia.

In 1524, Frisia became part of the [[Seventeen Provinces]] and in 1568 joined the [[Dutch revolt]] against [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], king of Spain, heir of the Burgundian territories; Central Frisia has remained a part of the Netherlands ever since. The eastern periphery of [[Frisia]] would become part of various German states (later Germany) and Denmark. An old tradition existed in the region of exploitation of peatlands.

==Migration to England and Scotland==

Though it is impossible to know exact numbers and migration patterns, research has indicated that many Frisians were part of the wave of ethnic groups to colonise areas of present-day England alongside the Angles, Saxons and [[Jutes]],<ref name="openaccess.leidenuniv.nl">{{Citation |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/20850/Bremmer%20Frisians%20in%20Anglo-Saxon%20England.pdf?sequence=7 |hdl=1887/20850|title=Frisians in Anglo-Saxon England: A Historical and Toponymical Investigation|series=Fryske Nammen|year=1981|pages=45–94|publisher=Fryske Akademy|isbn=9789061715979}}</ref> starting from around the fifth century when Frisians arrived along the coastline of Kent.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/the-anglo-saxon-invasion-britain-is-more-germanic-than-it-thinks-a-768706.html | title=The Anglo-Saxon Invasion: Britain is More Germanic than It Thinks| newspaper=Spiegel Online| date=2011-06-16| last1=Schulz| first1=Matthias}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://dedutchman.ca/friesland/ | title=The History of the Frisian Folk}}</ref>

Frisians principally settled in modern-day Kent, [[East Anglia]],<ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 2590857|title = The Frisians in East Anglia|journal = The Economic History Review|volume = 10|issue = 2|pages = 189–206|last1 = Homans|first1 = George C.|year = 1957|doi = 10.2307/2590857}}</ref> the [[East Midlands]], [[North East England]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wilcuma.org.uk/who-are-the-anglo-saxons/the-frisians/ | title=The Frisians, their tribes & allies}}</ref> and [[Yorkshire]]. Across these areas, evidence of their settlement includes place names of Frisian origin, such as [[Frizinghall]] in [[Bradford]] and [[Frieston]] in Lincolnshire.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://archive.org/stream/jstor-456984/456984_djvu.txt | title=Frisian Place-Names in England| publisher=PMLA| date=January 1918}}</ref><ref name="openaccess.leidenuniv.nl" />

Similarities in dialect between [[Great Yarmouth]] and Friesland have been noted, originating from trade between these areas during the Middle Ages.<ref>{{Cite book |url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237534065 |chapter = The Position of Frisian in the Germanic Language Area|last = Gooskens|first = Charlotte|date = 2004| title = On the Boundaries of Phonology and Phonetics |editor-first = D. G. |editor-last = Gilbers |editor2-first = N. |editor2-last = Knevel |publisher = Department of Linguistics |location = Groningen}}</ref> Frisians are also known to have founded the Freston area of [[Ipswich]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.edp24.co.uk/features/memories-of-national-service-on-the-frisian-islands-1-5508745 | title=How I came face-to-face with East Anglia's 'twin'| newspaper=Eastern Daily Press| date=8 May 2018}}</ref>

In Scotland, historians have noted that colonies of Angles and Frisians settled as far north as the [[River Forth]]. This corresponds to those areas of Scotland which historically constituted part of [[Northumbria]].<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Scotland to the Present Time |first=Peter Hume |last=Brown |author-link=Peter Hume Brown |page=11 |year=1911 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/britishplacename00mcclrich/page/120 |title=British place-names in their historical setting |first=Edmund |last=McLure |page=120 |year=1910 |publisher=[[Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge]]}}</ref>

== Frisians in Denmark ==
The earliest traces of Frisians in modern-day Denmark date back from the 8th century, when Frisian traders and craftsmen settled down in [[Ribe]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rasmussen |first=Alan Hjorth |date=1973 |title=Frisiske kulturelementer : en introduktion og foreløbig oversigt |url=https://tidsskrift.dk/folkogkultur/article/view/65647 |journal=Folk og Kultur, årbog for Dansk Etnologi og Folkemindevidenskab |language=da |volume=2 |issue=1 |page=79}}</ref> In the Later Middle Ages, Frisian farmers settled around Tøndermarsken west of [[Tønder]]. The evidence for this are the dwelling mounds or [[terp]]s (''værfter'') in the area that are built after the same method as the ones alongside the [[Wadden Sea]] further south.<ref name="Denmark" >{{cite news |last1=Bech-Danielsen |first1=Anne |title=På jagt efter de sidste frisere i Danmark |url=https://politiken.dk/kultur/art8511170/De-sidste-frisere |access-date=27 May 2022 |agency=[[Politiken]] |date=9 January 2022 |language=da|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Colonists from the south also settled down in [[:dk:Misthusum|Misthusum]] in the Ballum marshes near [[Skærbæk, Tønder Municipality|Skærbæk]] during the 12th of 13th century. According to documents around 1400 at least some of them were considered as "Hollanders".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Knottnerus |first=Otto S. |date=2008|title=De vergeten Friezen: Mislukt pamflet van Benny Siewertsen over een boeiend thema|url=https://www.academia.edu/30042538|journal=De Vrije Fries: Jaarboek uitgegeven door het Koninklijk Fries Genootschap voor Geschiedenis en Cultuur |volume=88|pages=213–215|isbn=978-90-6171-0165|language=nl}}</ref>

In modern times, Frisian culture in Denmark is described as assimilated and most people of Frisian descent do not consider themselves Frisian. In regards of the Frisian language, very few may speak it as first language but it was traditionally spoken in several [[polder]] hamlets near the border with Germany. One estimate puts the Frisian population in Denmark somewhere between 2,000 and 5,000.<ref name="Denmark" /> This number, however, might be grossly exaggerated. Frisian identity in Denmark was promoted by the [[Eiderstedt]] farmer and political activist Cornelius Petersen, who built a traditional Frisian farmstead in [[Møgeltønder]] in 1914 and founded the rural protest movement ''Bondens Selvstyre'' ("Farmers' self-government"). More recently, the retired journalist Benny Siewertsen wrote a partisan pamphlet on Frisian heritage in Denmark.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Benny Siewertsen, ''Friserne – vore glemte forfædre'', Copenhagen 2004/</ref>

== Language ==
[[File:Frisian languages in Europe.svg|thumb|Present-day distribution of the Frisian languages in Europe:
{{legend|#000066|[[West Frisian languages|West Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#3366CC|[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#0FAFFF|[[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]}}]]
As both the [[Anglo-Saxons]] of England and the early Frisians were formed from similar tribal confederacies, their respective languages were very similar, together forming the [[Anglo-Frisian]] family. [[Old Frisian]] is the most closely related language to [[Old English]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/1887/1937/1/344_121.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070818203737/https://www.openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/1887/1937/1/344_121.pdf |archive-date=2007-08-18 |url-status=live |title=The origin of the Old English dialects revisited |first=Frederik |last=Kortlandt |year=1999 |publisher=[[University of Leiden]]}}</ref> and the modern Frisian dialects are in turn the closest related languages to contemporary English that themselves derive not from Old English (although modern Frisian and English are not mutually intelligible).

The Frisian language group is divided into three mutually unintelligible languages:
*[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]], spoken in the Dutch province of [[Friesland]]
*[[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]], spoken in the German municipality of [[Saterland]] just south of [[East Frisia]]
*[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]], spoken in the German region of [[North Frisia]] (within the {{Lang|de|[[Districts of Germany|Kreis]]}} of [[Nordfriesland (district)|Nordfriesland]]) on the west coast of [[Jutland]].

Of these three languages both Saterland Frisian (2,000 speakers) and North Frisian (10,000 speakers)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.landtag.ltsh.de/parlament/minderheitenpolitik/friesische-volksgruppe.html |title=Die friesische Volksgruppe in Schleswig-Holstein |language=de |publisher=Diet of Schleswig-Holstein |access-date=4 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004050947/http://www.landtag.ltsh.de/parlament/minderheitenpolitik/friesische-volksgruppe.html |archive-date=4 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> are endangered. West Frisian is spoken by around 350,000 native speakers in Friesland,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://languagecontact.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/ELA/languages/Frisian.html |title=Frisian (North) |work=Archive of Endangered and Smaller Languages |first=Yaron |last=Matras |publisher=[[University of Manchester]]}}</ref> and as many as 470,000 when including speakers in neighbouring Groningen province.<ref name="ethnologue.com"/> West Frisian is not listed as threatened, although research published by Radboud University in 2016 has challenged that assumption.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2116603-friese-taal-met-uitsterven-bedreigd.html |title=Friese taal met uitsterven bedreigd? (Frisian language threatened with extinction?)|language=nl|author=Menno de Galan & Willem Lust |work=[[Nieuwsuur]] |publisher=NOS |date=9 July 2016 |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>

==Identity==
{{Main|Frisian nationalism}}
[[File:Friesentracht.JPG|thumb|upright|North Frisian woman in [[Föhr]]]]
Today, there exists a tripartite division of [[North Frisians|North]], [[East Frisians|East]] and [[West Frisians]]; this was caused by [[Frisia]]'s continual loss of territory in the [[Middle Ages]]. The West Frisians, in general, do not see themselves as part of a larger group of Frisians, and, according to a 1970 poll, identify themselves more with the Dutch than with the [[East Frisians|East]] or [[North Frisians]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Friesland, feit en onfeit [Frisia, 'Facts and Fiction'] |year=1970 |first=Douwe A. |last=Tamminga |language=nl |location=Leeuwarden |publisher=Junior Kamer Friesland}}</ref> 

==See also==
*[[Anglo-Frisian languages]]
*[[Frisian Americans]]
*[[Frisian church|Frisian church in Rome]]
*[[Frisian Islands]]
*Frisian languages
**[[East Frisian language|East Frisian]] ([[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]])
**[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]]
**[[West Frisian language|West Frisian]]
*[[Friso-Saxon dialects]]
**[[East Frisian Low Saxon]]
**[[Gronings]]
**[[Stellingwarfs]]
*[[Ingvaeonic languages]]
*[[List of Frisians]]
*[[List of Germanic tribes]]

==References==
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===Works cited===
*{{Citation |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus1.html |first=Publius Cornelius |last=Tacitus |date=n.d. |title=Germania |ref=none |author-link=Tacitus |website=Internet Medieval Sourcebook}}
*{{Citation |title=Op Zoek naar de Kelten, Nieuwe archeologische ontdekkingen tussen Noordzee en Rijn (Searching for the Celts, new archaeological Discoveries between North Sea and Rhine) |first=Leo |last=Verhart |isbn=978-90-5345-303-2 |year=2006 |language=nl |publisher=Matrijs |ref=none}}

==Further reading==
* [[Greg Woolf]], "Cruptorix and his kind. Talking ethnicity on the middle ground", Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.), ''Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition'' (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 207–218.
* Jos Bazelmans, "The early-medieval use of ethnic names from classical antiquity. The case of the Frisians", in Ton Derks, Nico Roymans (ed.), ''Ethnic Constructs in Antiquity: The Role of Power and Tradition'' (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2009) (Amsterdam Archaeological Studies, 13), 321–329.

==External links==
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Frisians |volume=11 |short=x}}
*[http://www.fryske-akademy.nl/ Fryske Akademy], the Frisian Academy {{in lang|fy|nl}}
*[http://www.keesn.nl/lex/ Lex Frisionum in Latin, Dutch and English]
*[http://www.boudicca.de/frisian1.htm History of the Frisian folk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102223356/http://www.boudicca.de/frisian1.htm |date=2 January 2013 }}
*[https://frisiacoasttrail.blog/blog/ Frisia Coast Trail]

{{Ethnic groups in the Netherlands}}
{{Ethnic groups in Germany}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Frisians| ]]
[[Category:Historical geography of Denmark]]
[[Category:German tribes]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups divided by international borders]]