kingdom · France and the Low Countries

Frisian Kingdom

600 CE – 734 CE (approx.) · capital Dorestad

Pagan kingdom of the North Sea coast, ruler of the trading port of Dorestad, which resisted the Franks for over a century.

Origins

After the Roman period the coastal Low Countries were resettled from the 5th century, and by around 600 the Frisians held a realm stretching along the coast from the Zwin to the Weser, later called Magna Frisia. Its first known king, Aldgisl, sheltered the English bishop Wilfrid in 678.

Rule and society

The Frisians were seafaring traders whose merchants carried cloth, slaves and goods across the North Sea, and their emporium of Dorestad on the Rhine was one of the busiest ports in north-west Europe. Their silver sceattas circulated widely. King Redbad opposed the Christian mission of Willibrord.

Decline and legacy

Pippin of Herstal defeated Redbad around 690 and took Dorestad and Utrecht, but Redbad recovered much ground before his death in 719. In 734 Charles Martel defeated and killed King Poppo at the Boarn, and Frisia was absorbed into the Kingdom of the Franks.

Connections (1)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Frisian Kingdom. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/frisian-kingdom
MLA
“Frisian Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/frisian-kingdom. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Frisian Kingdom.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/frisian-kingdom.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Frisian Kingdom’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/frisian-kingdom (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻