Were there Frisian Vikings on the Faroe Islands?



In combination with the release of Baldrs Draumar’s new album Njord, I’ll be exploring the various sagas, songs and stories of Faroese folklore about the pagan Frisians who settled in the Faroe Islands and maintained a distinct identity as heathen warriors and raiders for several centuries.

I’d like to thank my father for helping me by filming me during our visit to the Faroe Islands in August of 2020.

Check out Baldrs Draumar’s new album here:
www.baldrsdraumar.com/store

Baldrs Draumar – Jûl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I9twO3UKfw

Baldrs Draumar – Akraberch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69u6Q3aGXD4

Baldrs Draumar – Sieletocht:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SztCEPZ3tqU

More info on the Frisians of the Faroe Islands in this blogpost:
https://frisiacoasttrail.blog/2020/10/27/latid-meg-ei-a-frisaland-fordervast/

Music Used:
Achaidh Cheidh – Kevin MacLeod

Raid the Merch Market:
https://teespring.com/en-GB/stores/history-with-hilberts-market

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https://www.patreon.com/HistorywithHilbert

Join in the Banter on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/HistorywHilbert

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https://www.facebook.com/HistorywHilbert/

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https://www.instagram.com/historywithhilbert/

Send me an email if you’d be interested in doing a collaboration! [email protected]

#faroeislands #fryslân #vikings

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23 thoughts on “Were there Frisian Vikings on the Faroe Islands?”

  1. There are some extension to this folktale, and I would like to share specifically two versions i really like.
    The first one is about Dávaborð, a split rock in the mountains near the battleground Kollfirðadalur. The story goes that a farmer in Skælingur called Dávur was one of the foremen for the northerners and he didn't want weak men in his army. So he asked everyone north of Hórisgøta to lift Dávaborð. He lifted it with ease, but no one else managed to. He got so angry that he slammed his hand on the rock so hard that it split. He then thought that he could be go into the battle alone so he asked every man to join him. This resulted in the victory of the northerners in the first clash.
    The second one is about Rinkusteinarnir in Oyndarfjørður, two perpetually rocking rocks. After the defeat the southerners went back home made some plans. One of the plans was to get some irish to plunder in the northern parts of the Faroes to weaken the northerners. The irish came and plundered all around the eastern side of Eysturoy, but when they came to Oyndarfjørður a witch cast a spell so their ship became stone. The southerners then ultimately won the second clash in Mannafelsdalur, the valley where men fall.
    A thing or two about frísakvæði and frísaspælið. Frísakvæði was published at wedding in 4. nov 1964 and is written by Poul F from Sumba. Frísaspælið was almost extinct in the Faroes until Albert Djurhuus á Høgugeil from Sumba revitalised it in the 60s.

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  2. I bet we Frisians even taught them Danes how to adequately viking in the Northsea
    we had much older nautical knowledge about the region and the southwestern harbors of the danish realm were situated in a region populated by Frisians

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  3. "Sometime around 500 A.D., an unknown band of humans settled in the remote Faroe Islands, a small, rugged archipelago about midway between Norway and Iceland, some 200 miles northwest of Scotland. This is a significant revision of the older consensus, which had Vikings peopling the Faroes around 850 AD, and it was made possible by evidence dredged up from the bottom of a lake." Copy and paste above, for the study. YouTube and links don't seem to work even when permitted?
    During the migration period. Geat-Jute Anglo-Saxon folk. Now widely known as such. Carried another label, Frisian. These warrior's farmer, traders, moved down from the North. Occupying old Frisia. With Archeology pointing too Frisia being abandoned. They made the land their own.
    They may have already known about these northern Isles centuries before the Viking age. Great stories handed down. Maybe some about Iceland also.

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  4. I like this music! I don't think I have heard Frisian before but I listening to this I feel like I should be able to understand it even though I don't. It sounds "familiar" I guess that's the relatedness of our languages

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