When I first read of the legendary Radbod and his most defiant tale, it struck me as just as much a love story as it was one of defiance.
Radbod was a king of Frisia, although his exact heritage is unknown, some believe he was the son of Aldgil whom Radbod succeeded. Although King Aldgil is said to of converted to Christianity via his friendship and protection of the exiled Saint Wilfrid of Northumbria, if Radbod was his son then defiance to Frankish authority certainly ran in the family. Aldgil’s himself tore up a “dead or alive” demand for Wilfrid in front of Frankish ambassadors in a bold display disobedience to their power. There is some controversy here though, there is no actual evidence of Aldgil’s conversion, and Wilfrid left none to minister the new “converts”. It is much more likely that Aldgil simply helped Wilfrid, because of the good relations between the Frisians and Northumbria, and of course as a tool of defiance against the overbearing Franks, as is seen by their demand, he was no ally of the theirs.
Even if Wilfrid did convert Aldgil, he had little if any success other than that. Later missionaries never mention a Christian contingent among the Frisian’s. There is no doubt about Radbod’s spiritual allegiance though, Radbod was a firm follower of the old ways of the North. With no power in Frisia the church had no say in their allegiances, this made them a major threat to Frankish power. Unable to use the church as a means to domination, they would be forced to use strength of arms.
Radbod’s Reign began around 679, and it appears, he like Aldgil was disinterested in Frankish attempts to convince them of their “divine” right to rule. With little options of a “peace”, that is of Frisian subjugation, if the Franks wanted to control Frisia, they would have to take it by force. At around the same time Radbod became king of Frisia, Peppin of Herstal had united the Frankish kingdoms and became its head under the title “Mayor of the Palace”. Peppin was clearly an ambitions man and had through military victory reduced the Frankish kings to mere baubles of pomp and ceremony, with him being the real power behind the curtain. This move showed Peppin not only to be an accomplished general in war, but also a shrewd political mover, as he had avoided any outright challenge to the throne, yet had effectively removed all of its power. Given the characters of these two men, it was now only a matter of time before they clashed.
With Peppin at its “head”, the united Frankish states became even more aggressive in their quest for domination and Frisia was a high priority. This resulted in all out war in about 689/690 where we are told Radbod was defeated in the battle of Dorestad, eventually losing Utrecht too. Not much is known of what happened in this battle, with some even believing it may never of took place. Whatever happened though some form of peace had been achieved, albeit with the Franks now seemingly in control of most of Frisia. To seal this peace Radbod’s Daughter Theodelinda married Peppins second Son Grimoald the younger.
With this new peace came missionaries sent by Peppin himself. Interestingly here Peppin chose to send Anglo-Saxon Priests considering them to have a better chance of converting the Frisian Heathens. The reasoning for this is quite simple, The Frisian peoples were closely related to the Anglo-Saxons, with some even believing they were essentially one and the same peoples. This is something that can be seen in their language and even the jewelry (below) of the period.
Anglo-Saxon 
Frisian
Anglo-Saxon 
Frisian
Given their close racial bonds, it seems Radbod was happy to allow these missionaries into his lands. We are told via Bede, that despite Willibrord’s (the Anglo-Saxon missionary) best efforts Radbod was unwilling to convert.
“He [Willibrord] had the boldness to present himself at the court of Radbod, at that time King of the Frisians and like his subjects, a pagan. Wherever he travelled he proclaimed the Word of God without fear; but though the Frisian king received the man of God in a kind and humble spirit, his heart was hardened against the Word of Life”
Bede states that Radbod’s “heart was hardened against the word of life”, I would argue Radbod’s heart far from being “hardened” to the word of life, was truly in tune with it.
It was via another missionary Saint Wulfram, that we get the most legendary event of Radbod’s life, that of his baptism, well failed baptism that is.
The story starts as you would expect from a medieval Christian point of view. Wulfram upon visiting the Frisian’s and having no luck in their conversion, witnesses a “sacrifice”, well two. One of two children apparently tied to stakes to be taken by the sea, Wulfram obviously leaps to their rescue untying them and saving them from a miserable fate. It is the second though, that is of importance, as this is where Wulfram is said to of performed a miracle, which thus persuaded the Frisians to convert. Wulfram apparently pleading with Radbod to stop the slaughter of innocents, is told that it cannot be stopped, as it is the will of the Gods. At this point a young man called Ovon is picked to be sacrificed, and Wulfram is given chance to prove his Gods power. Radbod tells Wulfram that if his God can, then he could free Ovon from his fate. Wulfram then proceeds to kneel and pray. After two hours of hanging, Ovon was thought to be dead, and the crowd that had gathered begin to leave. This is when the rope holding Ovon suddenly breaks and the young man is saved by “God”. Ovon becomes a follower of Wulfram and later a monk.
After this “miracle”, Radbod is said to of considered being baptised. All the ceremony was organised for Radbod to embrace the word of “God”, then Radbod asks a most pertinent question. With one foot in the baptismal font, Radbod asks, “when I die will I be with my ancestors in heaven?”, Wulfram Replies “of course not, they are sinners and will burn in hell”. This angered the Noble Radbod, and he immediately withdrew his foot and stated “He would rather be in hell with his ancestors, than spend an eternity in heaven with his enemies”.
Radbod’s powerful statement is somewhat marred by the first part of the story, that of child sacrifice, seemingly for no good reason. This was of course common of the time period, to paint the “Heathens” as some kind of superstitious killers, who regularly practice human sacrifice to their Gods and Goddesses. This is itself a big subject, and one that I cannot expand upon to much here. As for the story above though, apart from the obvious fear mongering there is clear symbolic meaning. Many of the miracles claimed by the church have an “unbinding” element to them, as with the children and Ovon above. this is something that should not be quickly overlooked and clearly points to deeper hidden meaning. In the case above we even have a hanging of a certain “Ovon”, now given the name and the manner of sacrifice, we can only assume that this in some way speaks of the God “Woden”. Whatever the symbolic meaning of this “miracle” though, what we can say is that despite Claims Wulfram converted many a Frisian, similarly to Wilfrid, this is not backed up by the events that follow. Radbod and the Frisians appear to be even more determined “Heathens” than before Wulfram’s visit.
Whilst it is possible that the Frisians were practising some sort of Human sacrifice, I would severely doubt it was in the random manner attributed to them in the story above. Radbod’s actions themselves speak far greater to actions of love and obedience to nature, than cruelty. This obedience to the natural order is often overlooked by people claiming Heathens randomly sacrificed their children to their Gods. As what is more unnatural than killing ones own posterity? Anyway, as I said we will leave this subject for another time.
No one is sure what occurs in Frisia whilst Peppin is still in charge of the Franks. There are stories of Radbod leaving for the island of Heligoland. Which itself is interesting given its speculated association with the Goddess “Nerthus”. If he left because of his failed conversion or some other reason, there is little record. Whatever the occurences during Peppin’s “reign” though, when he died, things take a dramatic turn.
Shortly before Peppin’s death, Radbod’s son in law Grimoald the Younger had been placed in the position of “mayor of the palace” which at this time was the central authority of the Franks. By this time, Grimoald had a son by Radbod’s Daughter Theodelinda. This meant that Radbod’s own blood was in direct line to the Frankish power. Grimoalds “Regin” was sadly not to last long, as whilst travelling he was unceremoniously murdered.
Many a later historian puts the blame for this act upon Radbod himself, stating that the murderer was in his employment. This is of course feasible, I mean it would make his grandson Theudoald heir to the title “Mayor of the Palace” and with it control over the Frankish power. But, his Grandson was a child (8), was also heir anyway, and how do you explain to your Grandchild you had to kill their father? In my opinion there is another option for the culprit behind the murder of Grimaold, and that is the famous Charles Martel, Peppin’s other son, often referred to as his “illegitimate son” and Grimaold’s half brother. The evidence begins to mount up when you consider that on Peppin’s Death bed he persuaded by his wife Plectrude, had Charles disinherited, and picked Theudoald to be “mayor of the palace” despite his young age. As with the Christian stories, this would also make more sense given the events that follow.
Plectrude acting for the young Theudoald, had Charles locked up, but this didn’t hold him long. He was soon free and on the war path. He wasted little time after his escape and attacked cologne, only to come up against Radbod and the Frisians. So here we have Radbod coming to the aid of his 8 year old Grandson, despite his grievances with the Franks. On the one side we have Radbod, honoring his blood ties to his Grandson and on the other Charles Martel, riding to war against his nephew and disobeying his father’s wishes. Charles Martel was defeated at the battle of Cologne, giving Radbod the renown of being the only man to ever defeat the famous King of the Franks.
Sadly, despite Radbod’s best efforts the Frisians were eventually beaten back. Charles Martel seized power and then removed the hidden nature of his families true influence and declared himself “king of the Franks”. After Radbods death he also brought Frisian lands under his control, although they resisted his authority and that of the church for several years afterwards. His Famous Grandson Charlemagne would further his efforts in bringing the Heathen Germanic peoples to heel. Most famously with the massacre of Verden, where he killed unarmed Heathens by the thousand, for their refusal to “accept Christ”
As we all know history is written by the victor, in this case Charles and Christianity, so is it any wonder Radbod is painted as murderer of his son in law and a man who sacrifices children? I mean the church gets to paint a grim picture of Heathenism, whilst Charles is absolved of the title Kin slayer. If we read through the propaganda and look to Radbod’s actions a different picture appears. Despite being called Radbod the “unpeace” he nearly converts to Christianity for peace, and he also offers his daughter in marriage for peace. Despite the claims of unnatural sacrifice, in every instance he honors the laws of nature, that of blood. Radbod, honored his ancestors at the baptismal font, and in his war with Charles Martel he obeyed natural law and rode out to assist his posterity. Radbod clearly in both cases shows his love for his blood, where as Charles goes against this natural order and shows his lust for power.