The western of the two old Frisian lands between the Vlie and the Middelzee inlet, with Stavoren, Bolsward, Franeker, Harlingen, Workum and Sneek on their terps; rich in cattle and in sea trade.
Its Frisians backed William against his brother in 1195.
Who holds it
- Name
- No single holder: the land of Westergo and its judges
- Title
- The land's own assembly and judges
- Confidence
- low
Leading families that winter are not pinned.
Overlord
Comital rights shared by Holland (held by William) and the bishop of Utrecht
How things stand that morning
Self-governing under the shared, mostly nominal lordship of Holland and Utrecht; William of Holland lives in the south of Frisia.
Law and courts
The land's own law (the Seventeen Statutes, compiled about 1080, and the general Frisian landrights, with the land's own statutes) declared by the asega, the law-finder, in the land's courts; the elected judges called redjeven and the written land-laws of each terra appear in the thirteenth century (not pinned for 1200). Church courts of the bishop's synod (send) through the provosts.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Boundaries follow the old Middelzee inlet, now land.
Primary sources for Frisia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
- Chronicle of the abbots of Wittewierum (Bloemhof), Emo of Wittewierum (from 1219 to 1237, continued by Menko to 1273). The chronicle opens only in 1204 with the founding of Emo's Premonstratensian house in the Groningen Ommelanden, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online
Sources and studies
- Friesische Freiheit (de.wikipedia)
- P. J. Blok, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche volk, deel 1 (DBNL)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.