Everything about Redbad King Of The Frisians totally explained
Radbod or
Redbad (died 719) was the
duke (or king) of Frisia from c. 680 until his death. He is often considered the last independent ruler of
Frisia before
Frankish domination.
Reign
While his father, Duke
Aldegisel (or
Eadgils,
Aldgisl which can be translated as 'Old Whip'), had welcomed
Christianity into his realm, Radbod attempted to extirpate the religion and free the Frisians from subjugation to the
Merovingian kingdom of the Franks. In
689, Radbod was, however, defeated by
Pippin of Herstal in the battle of
Dorestad and compelled to cede
West Frisia (
Frisia Citerior, meaning Nearer Frisia, from the
Scheldt to the
Vlie) to the
Franks.
Between
690 and
692,
Utrecht fell into the hands of
Pippin of Herstal. This gave the Franks control of important trade routes on the
Rhine to the
North Sea. Some sources say that, following this defeat, Radbod retreated, in
697, to the island of
Heligoland, others say he retreated to the part of Holland that's still known as Friesland.
On Pippin's death in
714, Radbod took the initiative again. He forced
Saint Willibrord and his monks to flee and advanced as far as
Cologne, where he defeated
Charles Martel, Pippin's natural son, in
716. Eventually, however, Charles prevailed and compelled the Frisians to submit. Radbod died in 719, but for some years his successors struggled against the Frankish power.
Relation with the Church
During the second journey of
Saint Boniface to
Rome,
Willibrord tried to convert Radbod, but not succeeding he returned to Fontenelle. It is said that Radbod was nearly baptised, but refused when he was told that he wouldn't be able to find any of his ancestors in Heaven after his death, since he preferred spending eternity in Hell with his pagan ancestors than in Heaven with strangers. This legend is also told with Willibrord being replaced with
Wulfram (or Vulfran), a monk and ex-
archbishop of Sens.
Willibrord tried this while on a
Carolingian-sponsored mission into Frisia with the express purpose of trying to convert the pagan
Frisians living there in the hope that, once they'd converted to
Christianity, the Franks could gain control of the important trade port
Dorestad, which they'd up to that point been unable to do.
Further Information
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