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Rulers of Frisia
Arms of Frisia
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![220px-WapenFriesland.gif](/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd299%2FJan-Maarten2%2F220px-WapenFriesland.gif&hash=f1a3461df3ed645d7e73a3ff0fcf25c0)
Arms of Frisia
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From this wikipedia article:
Of the first historically verifiable rulers of Frisia, whether they are called dukes or kings, the last royal dynasty below is established by the chronicles of Merovingian kings of the Franks, with whom they were contemporaries. In these contemporary chronicles, they were styled dux, a Latin term for leader which is the origin of the title duke and its cognates in other languages (duc, duce, doge, duque, etc). They were independent until the death of Radbod at the earliest.
Finn, son of Folcwald, is a semi-legendary figure, but J. R. R. Tolkien (Finn and Hengest) is convinced that he was a historical ruler in the 5th century. He was killed by Hengest, who later migrated to Britain and founded the Kingdom of Kent. For rulers prior to Finn the later Frisians developed a rich store of legend and myth, and these too are listed here in chronological order.
After coming under Frankish rule the Frisians elected their own governors known as potestates. In the early 16th century Pier Gerlofs Donia, a legendary Frisian folk hero and freedom fighter, declared himself King of the Frisians, but died without succesors (his rebellion had been overrun, and the members of his war band, the Arumer Black Heap, were killed). After him, no man has ever assumed the title again.