Frisian people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 1,500,000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|
Historical region of Frisia Largest populations found in Netherlands (West Friesland, Friesland, Groningen) Germany (Ostfriesland, Saterland, North Frisia)
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| Languages | |
| Frisian, Dutch, German, Low Saxon | |
| Religion | |
| Historically Christian (Calvinist and Lutheran Protestant) Catholic minorities |
|
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afrikaners, Dutch, English, Flemings, Germans |
Historical region of Frisia
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia (which was a part of Denmark until 1864). The Frisian languages are still spoken by more than 500,000 people; dialects of Frisian are recognized as an official language in the Netherlands and in Germany as a regional language.
The ancient Frisii enter recorded history in the Roman account of Drusus's 12 BC war against the Rhine Germans and the Chauci. 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 AD. Frisian mercenaries were hired to assist the Roman invasion of Britain in the capacity of cavalry. They are not mentioned again until c. 296, when they were deported into Roman territory as laeti (i.e., Roman-era serfs; see Binchester Roman Fort and Cuneus Frisionum). The discovery of a type of earthenware unique to 4th century Frisia, called terp Tritzum, shows that an unknown number of them were resettled in Flanders and Kent, probably as laeti under Roman coercion.
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