Multi-disciplinary approaches shed fresh light on the Frisian people and their changing cultures. Frisian is a name that came to be identified with one of the territorially expansive, Germanic-speaking peoples of the Early Middle Ages, occupying coastal lands south and south-east of the North Sea. Highly varied manifestations of Frisian-ness can be traced in and around the north-western corner of the European continent in cultural, linguistic, ethnic and political forms across two thousand years to the present day. The thematic studies in this volume foreground how diverse "Frisians" in different places and contexts could be. They draw on a range of multi-disciplinary sources and methodologies to explore a comprehensive range of social, economic and ideological aspects of early Frisian culture, from the Dutch province of Zeeland in the south-west to the North Frisian region in the north-east. Chronologically, there is an emphasis on the crucial developments of the seventh and eighth centuries AD, alongside demonstrations of how later evidence can retrospectively clarify long-term processes of group formation.The essays here thus add substantial new evidence to our understanding of a crucial stage in the evolution of an identity which had to develop and adapt to changing influences and pressures.

About the Author
JOHN HINES is Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University. NELLEKE IJSSENNAGGER-VAN DER PLUIJM is Director of the Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden. JOHN HINES is Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University. NELLEKE IJSSENNAGGER-VAN DER PLUIJM is Director of the Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden.

Reviews
Frisians of the Early Middle Ages is certainly worth purchasing. A nice 'extra' are the transcripts of the discussions at the symposium, which sometimes are as insightful as the chapters themselves. In essence, it is an excellent volume to dip in and out of. * ANTIQUITY *
This handsome tome does much to underscore the dynamic and adaptive nature of this extensive coastal territory and its resident peoples during the early medieval period. It should be considered one of the most-if not the most-significant collection of scholarship on the early medieval Frisians to emerge in many a year. Its meticulous but approachable nature has much to offer both seasoned scholars and newcomers alike. * SPECULUM *
Interesting and well informed. * CANADIAN JOURNAL OF NETHERLANDIC STUDIES *
[S]plendid book. -- MEDIEVAL ARCHAEOLOGY



Book Information
ISBN 9781783275618
Author John Hines
Format Hardback
Page Count 438
Imprint The Boydell Press
Publisher Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Weight(grams) 1g