scientific publication

Main Themes and Chapters

List of Illustrations

List of Tables

Abbreviations and Toponym choices

Foreword by Vincent ten Voorde

Introduction
Han Nijdam and Diana Spiekhout

I. New Perspectives on Early Medieval Kingship in Frisia

1. Redbad and Early Medieval Kingship in Frisia and the North Sea World 
   Han Nijdam and Diana Spiekhout
2. Sacral Kingship: A Song of Redbad and Woden
   Han Nijdam, Ewoud van Aalst, Petter Jensen, Arjan Sterken, and Hilbert Vinkenoog
3. Kingship, Law and the Legal Community
   Han Nijdam
4. Weaponry and Its Meanings in Early Medieval Frisia (AD 400-800)
   Diana Spiekhout, Johan Nicolay, Annette Siegmüller, Han Nijdam, Egge Knol, and Ulrich Lehmann
5. Gods and Cosmology in Early Medieval Frisia
   Han Nijdam, Ewoud van Aalst, Petter Jensen, Diana Spiekhout, Arjan Sterken, and Hilbert Vinkenoog

II. Archaeological Perspectives on the Development of a Coastal Identity

6. Climate, Vegetation and Plant Use in Early Medieval Frisian Landscapes
   Mans Schepers, Daniel A. Hepp, and Felix Bittmann
7. Depopulation and Migration in the Southern North Sea Area: Towards an Understanding of Regional Variation (c. AD 250-900)
   Johan Nicolay and Hauke Jöns
8. ‘Frisian trade’ and Money ca AD 650-900
   Hauke Jöns, Gilles de Langen, Katrin Struckmeyer, Selina Pohl, Kirsten Hüser and Ralf Wiechmann  
9. Watercraft of the 'Frisian Realm'
   Mike Belasus and Jeroen Vermeersch
10. Living in the saltmarsh or on sandy ridges. Settlements and houses in Early Medieval Frisia (AD 400-800)
    Jan F. Kegler, Menno Dijkstra, and Andreas Hüser
11. Coastal Connections: Frisian Kingdoms and their Pottery Networks in the c. Third to Tenth Century AD
    Jan de Koning, Katrin Struckmeyer, Andreas Hüser, Martin Segschneider, Sonja König, and Ines Reese
12. Textiles and Clothing in the Early Medieval Southern North Sea Region
    Christina Peek, Katrin Struckmeyer, Marjolijn Koens
13. Burials and Burial Traditions Along the Southern North Sea Coast, c. AD 400–900
    Diana Spiekhout, Egge Knol, Christina Peek, Menno Dijkstra, Selina Pohl

III. Epilogue

14. Frisian Heritage, Identity and Language Today
    Anne Merkuur, Christoph Winter and Simon Halink

General Conclusion
Diana Spiekhout and Han Nijdam

Appendix: English translation of the Vita Wulframni

Scholarly Significance

Redbad, King of the Frisians brings together contributions from more than thirty specialists representing a wide range of disciplines and institutions, including the Fryske Akademy, Fries Museum, University of Groningen, Ostfriesische Landschaft, and the Niedersächsisches Institut für historische Küstenforschung. Through a combination of archaeological, historical, legal, material-cultural, and religious approaches, the volume provides a comprehensive overview of a region and period that have previously been studied only in a fragmentary manner. The book places Redbad’s political authority and sacral kingship within the broader social, economic, and cultural networks of the North Sea world. At the same time, it offers insights into everyday life, from trade and seafaring to pottery, textiles, and burial rituals, demonstrating how Frisian identity developed during this formative period.

Publication and Access

The open-access English edition will be published in February 2027 and will be freely available online. Readers who prefer a printed copy will be able to obtain a print-on-demand edition through Brepols Publishers, which will become available following the open-access publication.