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Rise of the Frisian Kingdom
In the 6th century Frisians built a powerful maritime trading kingdom along the North Sea, controlling the Rhine mouth and trade routes between north…
Timeline
- 500–550Frisian coast · FrieslandFrisian tribes along the North Sea and Rhine delta consolidated into a political community, accumulating wealth through shipping and the salt trade, and expanding their maritime commercial networks in the squeeze between Frankish pressure from the south and Saxon expansion to the east.
- 550–600Utrecht and the Rhine mouth · NetherlandsUnder King Radbod the Frisian Kingdom reached its zenith, resisting Frankish Christianization and expanding southward. The kingdom controlled North Sea shipping and maintained active trade with Britain, Scandinavia, and the upper Rhine, becoming an important maritime power of northwestern Europe in the 6th century.
Sources
- Fredegarius Scholasticus, Chronicle — Fredegarius Scholasticus https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/fredegarius.asp
- Alcuin, Vita Willibrordi — Alcuin https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/alcuin-willibrord.asp