The Oera Linda Book is a manuscript written in a version of Old Frisian. It claims to describe historical, mythological, and religious stories from a very long time ago, from 2194 BCE to 803 CE. Scholars who study Germanic languages believe the document is a fake or a forgery.
The manuscript became known to the public in the 1860s. In 1872, a man named Jan Gerhardus Ottema published a Dutch translation and said the text was real. For several years, people debated its authenticity, but by 1879, it was widely agreed that the text was written recently. Later, during the 1930s, the book was discussed again because of interest in Nazi occult beliefs. Today, it sometimes appears in writings about mystical topics and the legend of Atlantis. The author of the manuscript is unknown, so it is unclear if the goal was to create a fake document, a parody, or simply a creative story.
In 2004, historian Goffe Jensma wrote a detailed study about the manuscript titled De gemaskerde god (The Masked God). He also published a new translation in 2006. Jensma believes the manuscript was likely created as a trick to mislead some nationalist Frisians and orthodox Christians. He also suggests it was an exercise in storytelling by a Dutch theologian and poet named François Haverschmidt. Jensma notes that educated readers in the 19th century could likely translate the text if they wished. Learning the language was challenging but rewarding, as it included many clever wordplay, common word origins, and humorous terms borrowed from European languages. For example, the word "BEDRVM" in the text means "bedroom."
History of reception
The Oera Linda Book, known in Old Frisian as Thet Oera Linda Bok, was discovered in 1867 when Cornelis Over de Linden (1811–1874) gave a manuscript to Eelco Verwijs (1830–1880), the provincial librarian of Friesland. Over de Linden claimed he had inherited the manuscript from his grandfather through his aunt. Verwijs did not accept the manuscript for translation, but in 1872, Jan Gerhardus Ottema (1804–1879), a member of the Frisian Society for History and Culture, published a Dutch translation. Ottema believed the text was written in authentic Old Frisian. The book was later translated into English by William Sandbach in 1876 and published by Trübner & Co. of London.
Soon after the book appeared, its recent origin was confirmed due to its unusual claims and errors in historical details. Despite this, the book inspired some occultists and historians who studied ancient mysteries. During the 1870s, Dutch scholars and newspapers debated its authenticity. By 1879, it was widely accepted as a forgery.
More than 40 years later, in 1922, Herman Wirth, a Dutch scholar interested in ethnic history, revived the book’s story. In 1933, Wirth published a German translation titled Die Ura Linda Chronik, calling it the "Nordic Bible." A discussion about Wirth’s book at the University of Berlin on May 4, 1934, led to the creation of the Ahnenerbe organization by Himmler, Wirth, and Richard Walther Darré. Because of Himmler’s interest in the book and its link to Nazi mystical beliefs, it became known as "Himmler’s Bible." However, not all Nazi scholars supported Wirth’s work. Alfred Rosenberg and his group rejected it, while others, like Gustav Neckel, initially praised it but later criticized it.
Some scholars, including Walther Wüst and Otto Huth, defended the book’s authenticity, while others, such as Karl Hermann Jacob-Friesen and Arthur Hübner, argued it was a fake. Hübner, a respected scholar, helped end support for Wirth’s ideas. This led to the founding of Ahnenerbe, which attracted occultists like Karl Maria Wiligut but was viewed with suspicion by mainstream Nazi leaders. The book was later banned by the Nazi party.
The book gained new attention in English-speaking countries through Robert Scrutton’s writings. In The Other Atlantis (1977), he included the full English translation by Sandbach and added his own historical comments. In Secrets of Lost Atland (1979), he connected the book to ideas about ancient mysteries, such as ley lines and energy patterns. English-language accounts often place the book in the New Age or alternate history genres, avoiding its links to National Socialism.
Tony Steele, another scholar, developed a modern spiritual tradition influenced by the book. He believed it revealed truths about ancient European cultures and explored its connection to the Frisian-descended people of the English Midlands. Steele also linked the book’s religious practices to medieval witchcraft traditions. His 2023 novel, In a Flat Landscape, features the book as a central element.
In the 1990s, Russian political philosopher Alexander Dugin revived Herman Wirth’s work. In his 1999 book Absoliutnaia rodina, Dugin described the Oera Linda Book as an example of a myth about the Aryan race. He used the book to support his ideas about Eurasianism, a political movement. Dugin also promoted the idea of a lost book called the Palestinabuch, which he claimed described Jewish history. In 2007, one of Dugin’s students published a Russian translation of the Oera Linda Book with a detailed introduction.
Authorship
People who question the book's realness believe the most likely authors are Cornelis Over de Linden or Eelco Verwijs. A newer possibility is François Haverschmidt, a Protestant preacher who wrote poetry using the name Piet Paaltjens. Haverschmidt lived in Friesland and was an acquaintance of Verwijs.
In 2004, Goffe Jensma suggested that Haverschmidt was the main writer, with help from Over de Linden and Verwijs. Jensma, who later became a professor of Frisian language and literature at the University of Groningen, said Haverschmidt created the Oera Linda Book as a copy of the Christian Bible. A 2007 article by Jensma stated that the three authors intended the book to be a short trick to trick some nationalist Frisians and strict Christians, and to help people read the Holy Bible in a more symbolic, non-literal way.
Ottema believed the book was real, which made it popular for the reasons mentioned. The book's creators could not admit they wrote it, and it led to new mysterious beliefs. Jensma ended his article by saying, "It is ironic that a book meant to show the Bible was made by humans ended up becoming a kind of Bible itself."
Contents
The Oera Linda Book includes themes such as catastrophism, nationalism, matriarchy, and mythology. It says that Europe and other regions were, for much of their history, governed by a series of leaders called "folk-mothers," who oversaw a structured system of priestesses who did not marry. These priestesses were devoted to the goddess Frya, the daughter of the creator god Wr-alda and Jrtha, the earth mother. The text also claims that the Frisian civilization had an alphabet that influenced the Greek and Phoenician alphabets. Modern historical studies are not considered, especially regarding the timeline of known events in Europe’s past. Geographical evidence that was available at the time is reported incorrectly.
The earliest part of the book, called Frya's Tex, is said to have been written in 2194 BC. The latest section, the letter of Hidde Oera Linda, claims to be from AD 1256. Nearly half of the book is made up of "The Book of Adela's Followers," which is believed to have been compiled in the 6th century BC using writings from that time and ancient inscriptions. The final two sections of the book have missing parts, and the text ends mid-sentence.
The book also describes a lost land called "Atland," a name used by the 17th-century scholar Olof Rudbeck for Atlantis. It says Atland was supposedly submerged in 2194 BC, the same year 19th-century Dutch and Frisian calendars, based on traditional Biblical timelines, dated Noah’s flood.
The Oera Linda Book is divided into six sections, which are further split into a total of 53 chapters.