The Oera Linda Book, from a Manuscript of the Thirteenth Century

"INTRODUCTION. / / C. over de Linden, Chief Superintendent of the Royal Dockyard at / the Helder, possesses a very ancient manuscript, which has been / inherited and preserved in his family from time immemorial, without / any one knowing whence it came or what it contained, owing to both / the language and the writing being unknown. / / All that was known was that a tradition contained in it had from / generation to generation been recommended to careful preservation. It / appeared that the tradition rests upon the contents of two letters, / with which the manuscript begins, from Hiddo oera Linda, anno 1256, / and from Liko oera Linda, anno 803. It came to C. over de Linden by / the directions of his grandfather, Den Heer Andries over de Linden, / who lived at Enkhuizen, and died there on the 15th of April 1820, / aged sixty-one."

"C. over de Linden, Chief Superintendent of the Royal Dockyard at / the Helder, possesses a very ancient manuscript, which has been / inherited and preserved in his family from time immemorial, without / any one knowing whence it came or what it contained, owing to both / the language and the writing being unknown. / / All that was known was that a tradition contained in it had from / generation to generation been recommended to careful preservation. It / appeared that the tradition rests upon the contents of two letters, / with which the manuscript begins, from Hiddo oera Linda, anno 1256, / and from Liko oera Linda, anno 803. It came to C. over de Linden by / the directions of his grandfather, Den Heer Andries over de Linden, / who lived at Enkhuizen, and died there on the 15th of April 1820, / aged sixty-one. As the grandson was at that time barely ten years old, / the manuscript was taken care of for him by his aunt, Aafje Meylhoff, / born Over de Linden, living at Enkhuizen, who in August 1848 delivered / it to the present possessor."

" This paper was read at a meeting of the Frisian Society, / February. 1871. / / / / / / COMPARATIVE SAMPLE / / OF THE OLD FRISIAN LAWS, AND THE LANGUAGE OF THE MANUSCRIPT."

"Dyo forme need is: hweerso en kynd jongh is finsen ende fitered / noerd wr hef, jefta (sud) wr birgh. Soe moet die moder her kindes / eerwe setta ende sella ende her kynd lesa ende des lives bihelpa. / / Dioe oder need is: jef da jere diore wirdat, ende di heta honger wr / dat land faert, ende dat kynd honger stere wil, so moet dio moder / her kindes eerwe setta ende sella ende capia her bern ky ende ey ende / coern deerma da kinde des lives mede helpe. / / Dyo tredde need is: Als dat kind is al stocnaken, jefta huus laes, / ende dan di tiuestera nevil ende calde winter oen comt sa faert / allermanick oen syn hof ende oen sin huis ende an waranne gaten, ende / da wiilda dier seket diin holla baem ende der birgha hlii, aldeer / hit siin liif oen bihalda mey. Soe weinet ende scryt dat onieriga / kind ende wyst dan syn nakena lyae ende syn huuslaes, ende syn fader / deer him reda schuld, to ienst dyn honger ende winter nevil cald, dat / hi so diepe ende dimme mitta fiower neylen is onder eke ende onder / da eerda bisloten ende bitacbt, so moet dio moder her kindes eerwe / setta ende sella omdat hio da bihield habbe ende biwaer also lang so / hit onierich is, dat hit oen forste ner oen honger naet forfare."

"HERE ARE THE RULES ESTABLISHED FOR THE SECURITY OF ALL FRISIANS. / / / / 1. Whenever new laws are made or new regulations established, they / must be for the common good, and not for individual advantage. / / 2. Whenever in time of war either ships or houses are destroyed, / either by the enemy or as a matter of precaution, a general levy / shall be assessed on the people to make it good again, so that no / one may neglect the general welfare to preserve his own interest. / / 3. At the conclusion of a war, if any men are so severely wounded as / to be unable to work, they shall be maintained at the public expense, / and shall have the best seats at festivals, in order that the young / may learn to honour them. / / 4. If there are widows and orphans, they shall likewise be maintained / at the public expense; and the sons may inscribe the names of their / fathers on their shields for the honour of their families. / / 5. If any who have been taken prisoners should return, they must be / kept separate from the camp, because they may have obtained their / liberty by making treacherous promises, and thus they may avoid / keeping their promises without forfeiting their honour. / / 6. If any enemies be taken prisoners, they must be sent to the interior / of the country, that they may learn our free customs. / / 7. If they are afterwards set free, it must be done with kindness / by the maidens, in order that we may make them comrades and friends, / instead of haters and enemies."

" THE / OERA LINDA BOOK / / From / A Manuscript of the Thirteenth Century / / With the Permission of the Proprietor / C. over de Linden, of The Helder / / The Original Frisian Text / As Verified by Dr J. O. Ottema / / Accompanied by an / English Version of Dr Ottema's Dutch Translation / / / / By / William R. Sandbach / / / / London / Trübner & Co., Ludgate Hill / / 1876"

"TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. / / The work of which I here offer an English translation has excited, / among the Dutch and German literary societies, a keen controversy / in regard to its authenticity--a controversy not yet brought to / a conclusion, some affirming that it contains internal evidence of / truth, while others declare it to be a forgery. But even the latter / do not insist on its being the work of a modern fabricator. They / allow it to be one hundred, or perhaps one hundred and fifty, years / old. If they admit that, I do not see why they refuse it a greater / antiquity; and as to the improbability of the stories related in it, / I refer the reader to the exhaustive inquiry in Dr Ottema's Preface. / / Is it more difficult to believe that the early Frisians, being hardy / and intrepid marine adventurers, sailed to the Mediterranean, and / even proceeded farther, than that the Phoenicians sailed to England / for tin, and to the Baltic for amber? or that a clever woman became a / lawgiver at Athens, than that a goddess sprang, full grown and armed, / from the cleft skull of Jupiter?"

"[99] Phonsiar are Carthaginians. / / [100] Hals is Holstein. / / / / / / / / / / *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE OERA LINDA BOOK, FROM A MANUSCRIPT OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY ***"