The Friso-Hollandic Wars, also called Frisian–Hollandic Wars (Dutch: Fries-Hollandse Oorlogen; West Frisian: Frysk-Hollânske oarloggen), were a series of short medieval wars (ranging from single battles to entire campaigns) consisting of the attempts made by the counts of Holland to conquer the free Frisian territories, which lay to the north and east of their domain. These wars were waged off and on from 1256 to 1297, 1324 to 1348, 1396 to 1411, and from 1421 to 1422, although it could be argued that a state of war continued to exist between the County of Holland and the Frisian territories till well after the year 1500.
Combatants
Frisians
The Frisians were at that time unique in Europe in that they did not adhere to the feudal system. In fact, since the time the Frisian territories had been part of the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, they had drifted away from mainstream European culture on a separate course, similar to that of the Swiss Confederation. Egalitarianism was such that no noble class started to develop until the late thirteenth century, and even then these "nobles" were only firsts among equals, with only as much power as they could grab, instead of being granted such power by a liege lord. These "nobles" were called chieftains (Dutch: hoofdelingen; West Frisian: haadlingen).
The Frisian freedom took the place of the feudal system in Frisian society. According to a popular myth, Charlemagne had granted the Frisians their freedom, that is to say: freedom from any and every lord excepting the Holy Roman emperor. A fake charter sought to legitimise this freedom, a not uncommon behaviour in those days.
In an age when feudalism was embedded in religion, with every man having a lord above him, a king over the lords and God over all, the Frisian freedoms were seen as a sort of anarchy, or worse, a rebellion against God's will, and scandalised the rest of Europe.
The Frisian lands in those days stretched along a large part of the North Sea coast, including West-Friesland, now part of North Holland, the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen, excepting the city of Groningen, the German districts of Ostfriesland and Friesland and two small areas east of the Weser river, Wursten and Würden.
Hollanders
The conflicts between the counts of Holland and the Frisians have a long history. Arnulf (died 18 September 993) was the first Hollandic count to wage war on the Frisians.
Since the twelfth century the counts of Holland made claims on a large part of the Frisian territories. It is hard to ascertain what they based those claims on, and although several historians have delved into the matter, they have not as yet come up with any conclusive answers. The case is complicated, because contemporary writers hardly paid much attention to such a side-issue, while later sources are filled with anti-Frisian propaganda.
The usual source which is quoted in this instance, is Melis Stoke, a chronicler in the service of count Floris V of Holland, but although he tries to back up the Hollandic claims on the Frisian territories, he lacks sound arguments. He suspects the counts of Holland obtained their rights as heirs to one Gerolf, Count in Friesland (the operative word here being in), who had been count of Holland during the Franconian period, which was at that time a part of Greater Frisia, but even there he has to admit it is only as suspicion.
In the thirteenth century the county of Holland entered a period of expansion, not unlike those which occurred in England and France at the time. This was at the expense of the Bishopric of Utrecht, but also of peripheral territories like Waterland and West-Friesland.
Civil wars
Holland and Frisia both experienced protracted civil wars in the same period. In Holland the Hoek and Kabeljauw parties fought for power, and sometimes this was aggravated when there were two candidates for the countship and both sought support among the nobles.
Meanwhile, among the Frisians there were also two parties, the Vetkopers and the Schieringers, and virtually every headling belonged to one of these. Their positions were not always clear; both claimed to fight for the preservation of the Frisian freedom, even though their infighting jeopardised this freedom.
Relationship between Holland and Friesland
Across the Zuiderzee, which is today Lake IJsselmeer, lay the Frisian territories of Westergo and Oostergo (the borders of which approximately coincide with the present-day Dutch province of Friesland).
However, the situation in these territories was quite unlike the one in West-Friesland. The counts of Holland had rivals for these rich lands. The bishops of Utrecht, who were also in the possession of the now Dutch provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, to the southeast of Friesland, also coveted control of the area. To the east the rich city of Groningen, nominally under the control of the bishop of Utrecht, but quite independent and very influential, was trying to develop its own sphere of influence in the Frisian lands.
The German emperor, who was the only authority recognised by the Frisians, did nothing to rectify their unorthodoxy, which maintained his popularity and kept the counts of Holland from becoming too influential in this corner of his empire.
When emperor Frederick Barbarossa travelled to the Netherlands in 1165, to settle the dispute between the counts of Holland and the bishops of Utrecht over the Frisian territories, he came up with a solution which was virtually guaranteed to keep things as they were. He ruled that the power in the disputed lands should be wielded by both the counts and the bishops in condominium. Count and bishop should together chose a vice-count to rule in their stead. When they could not agree on a candidate, the emperor could name the vice-count himself. Because this system of government could only function when the bishop of Utrecht was a partisan of the count of Holland, usually when a younger brother of the count was named as bishop of Utrecht, usually the status quo remained. When there was a weak bishop the influence of the count in the Frisian territories was greater, but usually still limited to the coastal region opposite Holland and the important trade city of Staveren. When there was a strong bishop the influence of Holland and Utrecht cancelled each other out.
West Frisian War (1256–1297)
In 1256, Count William II of Holland, who was also King of the Romans, that is to say, Emperor elect of the Holy Roman Empire, tried to conquer West-Friesland, which lay to the north of his county, on the same landmass. It was a winter campaign, because the marshy nature of the terrain made a common summer campaign unfeasible for knights on their heavy horses. However, in the Battle of Hoogwoud, the count went through the ice and was killed by the West Frisians.
He was succeeded by his young son Floris V, whose age prevented him from avenging his father immediately. In 1272, however, he resumed his father's war. Although this first attempt of his to conquer the West Frisians failed, and he was forced by circumstances to let the matter rest for a decade, he did not give up.
In 1282 he made another attempt. Unlike William II and his predecessors, this time, Floris V did not attack West-Friesland from the south, but rather, he built a fleet, sailed around the coast, and came at his enemies from the rear. With this strategy, he succeeded in conquering several regions. It took the disastrous flood of 1287 and 1288 for him to finally break the resistance posed by the West Frisians. Even so, it was not until 1289 before all resistance was firmly quashed.
After the death of Floris in 1296, however, a large portion of West Frisia revolted, especially around Westflinge. On 27 March 1297, at a battle near Vroonen (close to present day Sint Pancras) the army of Holland and Zeeland defeated the West Frisians; the village was destroyed during the battle and all the men of West Frisia who could fight (between 15 and 45) were killed, leaving a region of women, children and old folks.
Détente (1297–1324)
After the West Frisians were defeated near Vroonen in 1297 peace prevailed for approximately 27 years. During that time, the Counts of Holland assumed the title of Counts of Holland and West Friesland.
Although there was no warfare, the Hollanders turned their eyes east, to the Frisian territories across the Zuiderzee, in particular to Westergo. And in 1310, count William III of Holland negotiated a reconciliation with representatives of Westergo, whereby the Frisians of Westergo acknowledged him as count and granted him certain rights in their territory in exchange for him recognising certain privileges of theirs.
William III believed that he would be able to quietly assume more rights over time, but the Frisians resisted his efforts. Then in 1323, the agreement between Holland and the Frisians fell apart when William III got impatient with Frisian intransigence and the Frisians started expelling Hollanders and their Frisian supporters.
Failed conquest of Westergo (1324–1348)
In 1324 the rebellion by the Frisians was in full swing. From 1325 to 1327 there were open hostilities at Staveren in Westergo and at sea. Frisian representatives of Staveren opened negotiations with the Hollanders in 1327, which led to a new agreement in 1328, primarily on the same terms as the agreement of 1310, although the Frisians did make some concessions on the appointments of certain officials.
But in 1337 William III died, and his successor, William IV was recognised only in Staveren, as Westergo used the succession to break away from the formal authority of the counts of Holland. This resulted in renewed hostilities, again mainly at sea, between Hollandic and Frisian ships.
In 1344 the pro-Holland party in Staveren was defeated, and Staveren also broke away from the count's authority. In the same year negotiations took place, but the Frisians had, apparently, stiffened their spines since 1327, and refused to make concessions. With a true knight errant as the new count of Holland, this made war virtually inevitable.
Battle of Warns (1345)
In 1345 war erupted again when William IV called his vassals together and crossed the Zuiderzee to Friesland on 26 September. William IV had fought against the Muslims in Granada, travelled through Venice and Cyprus to the Holy Land, and had been on crusade against the pagan Prussians three times. He was not only count of Holland, but also of Zeeland and Hainaut in modern-day Belgium.
Before the battle, a party of knights, led by William's uncle, John of Hainaut, Lord of Beaumont, went ashore south of Staveren, and captured the monastery of Saint Odulphus. What happened next is still not entirely clear.
According to the traditional tale, meanwhile William IV, with the bulk of his army, sailed east past Staveren and went ashore somewhere between the villages of Mirns and Laaxum. From there he marched inland in a northerly direction. At the village of Warns the outraged farmer population, led by a few headlings, came at the knights with whatever weapons came to hand, mainly farm implements. They drove them back to the coast, where the ships that had carried the Hollanders were, on William's orders, standing off from the shore, so retreat was not possible. Almost all of the Hollanders were killed, including the young count himself. This battle was called the Battle of Warns and is still commemorated by the Frisians each year on 26 September.
However, historical research has presented another version. When John of Beaumont took the monastery he had to use violence to do it. This so enraged the Frisians, they drove him and his men out and back to the shore, thus preventing him from attacking the main Frisian force from the rear, as had been the plan. Meanwhile, William IV had disembarked on the coast north of Staveren with an army of approximately 500 men. There he proceeded to burn some houses and attack and kill any Frisian in sight. However, the Frisians had seen him coming and assembled an army of their own, outnumbering William's force. William was ambushed and driven back to the sea, where he and most of his men were killed or drowned trying to swim to the ships in their heavy armor. Among Dutch historians this version is usually called the Battle of Staveren, to differentiate it from the traditional Battle of Warns.
When John of Beaumont heard of his nephew's demise, he evacuated his position and sailed back to Holland.