Jan G. Ottema

Ga naar Ottema’s tweede uitgave van Thet Oera Linda Bok (1876).

late 1860s or early 1870s

mid to late 1870s

Jan Gerhardus Ottema (1804-1879) was the first (publishing) researcher and translator of the Oera Linda manuscript.

Biographic facts

• 1804 (December 1) born in Doetinchem, son of Nicolaus Ottema en Minke Dirks.
• Candidate’s diploma Literature in Groningen
• 1824 University enrollment Utrecht
• 1828 Doctor’s thesis (philosophy and literature) de Sophoclis Antigone
• 1830 (July 28) Marriage in Utrecht with Sara van Heukelom, daughter of Nicolaas van Heukelom en Sophia van Geuns.
• 1830 Assistant school principal Harlingen, till 1834.
• 1832 Registration as a member of the Friesch Genootschap (Frisian Society).
• 1834 (September 1) Appointment as teacher Latin and Old Greek at grammar school Leeuwarden.
• 1843 Appointment as board member of the Friesch Genootschap.
• 1850 (December 25) death of wife Sara van Heukelom, 45 years old.
• 1855 (June 14) Appointment as assistant principal of grammar school Leeuwarden.
• 1870 (November 24) Start study of Oera Linda manuscript.
• 1872 Honorable discharge at grammar school Leeuwarden; first publication of Thet Oera Linda Bok.
• 1879 (March 19) death in Leeuwarden, 74 years old, cause: pneumonia (HCL arch. 1002 inv. 3878). His address was Weaze 43 (now 12), Leeuwarden but the house no longer exists. His estate contained books, of which no inventory is known. Heiress was his housemate and housekeeper Dina W.M. Nauta Peters (1831-1887)

Publications related to Oera Linda

• 1871 (September 19) Thet Bok thêra Adela Folstar (newspaper article)
• 1872 Thet Oera Linda Bok
• 1873 Verslag omtrent een overoud Handschrift, bij het Friesch Genootschap uitgebragt (in: De Vrije Fries 12, pp. 223-242)
• 1873 (December 7) Geschiedkundige aanteekeningen en ophelderingen bij Thet Oera Linda Bok
• 1874 De Koninklijke Akademie en het Oera Linda Bok
• 1876 (after March 16) - De Deventer courant en het Oera Linda Bok
• 1876 (foreword dated September) Thet Oera Linda Bok (second edition)
• 1876 (October) Leeuwarden, de Middelzee en het Oera Linda Boek
• 1878 (22 December 1877) Geschiedkundige aanteekeningen en ophelderingen bij Thet Oera Linda Bok (second expanded edition)

Other publications (incomplete list)

• 1827 Commentatio ad quaestionem literariam
• 1828 Specimen philologicum De Sophoclis Antigona (doctor’s thesis)
• 1834 Apollo courantier, of Mijne reize na den maaltijd
• 1834 Edition of Ars Poetica (Q. Horatii Flacci Epistola ad Pisones) by Horatius
• 1839 Recensie van: J.G. Römer, Specimen in doctrinam Francisci Hemsterhusii de Natura Divina
• 1840 Linguae Graecae Syntaxis contracta
• 1841 Latijnsche Spraakkunst voor Eerstbeginnenden
• 1842 Recensie van: Claudii Ptolemaei Geographiae, Libri VIII, Fasc. I. Lib. I, en Claudii Ptolemaei Geographiae caet. Fasc. II. Lib. II
• 1842 Beschrijving van een zeldzaam voorkomend werkje van Johannes Bogerman, predikant te Leeuwarden (in: De Vrije Fries 2, pp. 215-220)
• 1842 Over het leven van Suffridus Petrus Leovardiensis, (in: De Vrije Fries 2, pp. 413-471)
• 1843 Goniometrie, trigonometrie en Koorden-tafel, volgens Claudius Ptolomaeus
• 1844 Verslag over eenige handschriften der Chronijk van Worp van Thabor (in: De Vrije Fries 3, pp. 105-149)
• 1844 Iets over de Friesche taal
• 1845 De Latina nominum verborumque flexione
• 1846 Over den loop der rivieren door het land der Friezen en Batavieren, in het Rorneinsche tijdperk (in: De Vrije Fries 4, pp. 105-182)
• 1845 April - Vergilii Camilla
• 1845 Redevoering over het ontstaan der Zuiderzee (publ. Brandenburgh; ook in: De Vrije Fries 4, 1846, pp. 183-214)
• 1846 Antwoord van den Heer Dr. J.G. Ottema aan den Heer Mr. J.C.W. le Jeune (in: De Vrije Fries 4, pp. 411-420)
• 1847 Worperi Tyaerda ex Renismageest, prioris in Thabor, Chronicorum Frisiae libri tres (publ. Suringar)
• 1847 September 15 - Toespraak bij de opening van de bewaarschool voor kinderen uit den fatsoenlijken stand (publ. Suringar)
• 1849 De zamenstelling van het evangelie van Lukas (from: Jaarboeken voor Wetenschappelijke Theologie)
• 1850 Kores: Historisch chronologisch onderzoek naar den tijd der Babylonische ballingschap
• 1850 Verslag over eenige handschriften der Chronijk van Worp van Thabor - vervolg (in: De Vrije Fries 5, pp. 71-85)
• 1850 Worp Tyaerda van Rinsumageest, vierde boek der Kronijken van Friesland, bevattende de geschiedenis van de vijftiende eeuw (publ. Suringar)
• 1853 Beschrijving van de Waalsche Furie te Dockum, in het jaar 1572, door Hendrik Bra. Uit het Latijn vertaald, door J.G.O. (in: De Vrije Fries 6, pp. 131-152)
• 1853 Die Olde Freesche Chronike, met aanteekeningen en verbeteringen van E. Epkema; Gesta Frisiorum, en M. Alvini Tractatus (publ. Friesch Genootschap)
• 1851 De jubelperioden, aangewend bij de tijdrekening van de geschiedenis der Israëlieten, tot staving van het historisch chronologisch onderzoek naar den tijd der Babylonische ballingschap (publ. Suringar)
• 1854 De boeken Ezra, Nehemia, Esther en Daniël voor de regtbank der geschiedenis. Naar het Hoogduitsch van C.Th. Wetzke
• 1854 Het meer Flevo en de Middelzee, of Blikken op de wartaal van Jhr. Mr. M. de Haan Hettema, in zijn geschrift: Over de oudere geschiedenis van Friesland, met betrekking tot haren vroegeren en tegenwoordigen waterstaat (publ. Eekhoff)
• 1855 Geschiedenis der Joden gedurende het tijdvak der Babylonische ballingschap onder de overheersching der Persen (publ. Suringar)
• 1856 Aanteekeningen bij Hulptroepen uit Harlingen naar Zweden, gezonden in 1609 (in: De Vrije Fries 7, pp. 203-204)
• 1856 July - De Loco Sallustii in Bello Catilinario (in: publ. Stedelijk Gymnasium te Leeuwarden)
• 1859 Opschrift der grafzuil van Psamtik, in het Museum te Florence: bijdrage tot de chronologie der Babylonische ballingschap (publ. Suringar)
• 1859 Over den ouden druk der Friesche Wetten of het Friesche Landregt, vermoedelijk gedrukt te Dokkum in 1466 (in: De Vrije Fries 8, pp. 364-383)
• 1859 Naschrift over Botte van Holdinga (in: De Vrije Fries 8, pp. 384-387)
• 1860 Jens Lüng: eene noordfriesche sage naar Hansen gevolgd
• 1860 December 29 - Gelegenheidsrede bij de oprichting van het monument voor Dr. Simon Stijl te Harlingen
• 1862 August - Open brief van Dr. J.G. Ottema aan Ds. A.T. Reitsma, over zijne beoordeeling van de moderne theologie
• 1865 April 14 - De evangeliën van Mattheus en Markus in hunne oorspronkelijke overeenstemming hersteld
• 1871 Worp Tyaerda van Rinsumageest, vijfde boek der Kronijken van Friesland, bevattende de geschiedenis van het begin der zestiende eeuw (publ. Kuipers)

Two disputed choices

For his Oera Linda translation, Ottema had made two choices which the owner of the manuscript, Cornelis Over de Linden, objected to in their correspondence:

1) Translation of OD as animosity/hatred

On 8 November 1871 Over de Linden wrote:

You want to replace the word od with animosity. On page 128 I find FIAND for enemy. I would rather see you use fertilising force - or a more appropriate term. The word animosity will cause animosity. [Ottema would later replace animosity by hatred.] When one speaks to youths about love, they will fall in love. But when one speaks to them of war, they will separate in groups and play soldier, to the great pleasure of despotism.

In 1534 Martin Luther used Odem for God’s breath, which is what we might call life force. The old Dutch word odevaar (stork) suggests a link with fertility. The Old Greek word ὠδις (ódis) can mean birth. In the Westfrisian dialect, oôt is used for an indestructible weed (wild oat). Odd in Norse means point, tip, head, top, peak; in Russian odin means one; in Dutch slang, oeteren is to urinate and oetlul is an invective referring to the male member. Hod(e) is an old word for testicle (still used in German). While life force is a rather abstract concept, the simple, original meaning of od may have been penis. Ottema ignored Over de Linden’s objection and would, after Cornelis’ death, write to his son Leendert Floris Over de Linden (26 January 1876):

Od (anger, rage, hate, animosity) trad to-ra binna, means that hate entered the hearts of the three daughters of Irtha [Earth]; this hate was obviously inherited by all of their descendants, and this is cause of the inborn, innate animosity specially in Finda’s and Lyda's posterity against Frya’s children. An animosity that will not end until the people of Finda and Lyda will be exterminated, and the people of Frya at the final victory will remain and inherit and possess the whole earth. This animosity dominates all of history in the OLB and still goes on in our days. Frya’s people pervade in all continents and establish European supremacy all over the earth. Everywhere the peoples of Finda and Lyda will have to submit or disappear.

2) Manipulation of the alphabet page Perhaps because Old Frisian specialist De Haan Hettema had written that the curly runskrift (or: continuous script) letters looked like the 19th century longhand, Ottema decided to change the alphabet page altogether. Over de Linden wrote him about this decision on 11 June 1872:

(...) revision (...) I ask you, and all who reject the so-called runskrift as of younger date.

In your translation I read: "Oh dear, never let the eyes of a monk gaze upon this script, they speak sweet words, but... etc." (...)

That the monks, who have invented their own letterscript, stifled ours to make it unreadable, lies in their nature. But who knows how many Copies of the book of Adela’s Folstar remain here and elsewhere with kings or in Rome. Now that more than a thousand years have passed, they may have introduced the walking script as capitals, because they are similar to our capitals.

If you are so weak as to reject the walking script, out of fear for some barkers, than it is as if you want to duel with the sheath, while passing the sword to them.

For in the manuscript it says: When Fàsta was Mother of honor, she made the running or walking script out of it. The Witking, that is sea king Godfried... etc. So, if the runscript was added more recently, then the above fragment was also added, and then anything can have been added. So I keep protesting against the mutilation.

so-called facsimile, printed in Ottema’s editions

letters in original manuscript numbers in original manuscript

The malicious suicide falsehood

Death certificate report Ottema

The report of corpse (‘proces-verbaal van de overlijdensaangifte’: HCL arch. 1002 inv. 3878, dated 20 March 1879) states that Ottema died of pneumonia (long ontsteking).

However, in his PhD thesis (2004) about Oera Linda, Goffe Jensma wrote:

According to some, Ottema eventually had to admit that he had been wrong and that he had lost his honour as a classical scholar. He could no longer live with that truth and hanged himself. [With added note:] Information from both A. Lysen, Santpoort, and from retired professor P. Gerbenzon, who were both -in different ways- well informed in the circles of notables in Leeuwarden.

Note that both Adriaan Lysen (1921-2012) and Pieter Gerbenson (1920-2009) were born more than 40 years after Ottema’s death, so Jensma’s sources can not be considered reliable. There will have been ample motives to bring such gossip into the world, aiming to discourage others to take Oera Linda seriously and advocate its authenticity, like Ottema had done. This gossip may very well have kept people from following his footsteps. In the introduction to his Dutch Oera Linda translation (2006), Jensma stated:

When Ottema, abandoned by all, in 1879 finally accepted that he was wrong and that he had considered something to be ancient that was actually modern, he decided that it made no sense to live on, and hung himself.

This lie was parroted by other authors, and sometimes even enhanced. Nick Draaijer for example, a descendant of Cornelis Over de Linden, wrote:

The discussion about authenticity lasted for years and drove Ottema insane. (...) In 1879, when he finally saw that it was all a fabrication, he hanged himself.

There are no factual clues suggesting that Ottema at some point got doubts about Oera Linda's authenticity. On the contrary, in his latest publication on the subject, he wrote:

Seven years of uninterrupted study of that book and all that has been written about it has always confirmed this conviction.

Genealogy (Ahnentafel)

1) Jan Gerhardus Ottema, born 1-12-1804 Doetinchem (bapt. 30-12 Reformed), died 19-3-1879 Leeuwarden, son of 2/3;

married 28-7-1830 Utrecht

Sara van Heukelom, born 24-2-1805 Leiden (Mennonite), died 25-12-1850 Leeuwarden, daughter of Nicolaas van Heukelom and Sophia van Geuns.

No children.

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2) Nicolaus (Claas) Ottema, rector of Latin school Doetinchem resp. Brielle, bapt. 19-10-1779 Leeuwarden (Ref.), died 8-9-1808 Brielle, son of 4/5;

married 10-4-1803 Leeuwarden

3) Minke Jans Dirks, born 1781 Leeuwarden, died 3-3-1857 Leeuwarden, daughter of 6/7.

Children:

1. Jan Gerhardus Ottema, bapt. 30-12-1804 Doetinchem → 1)
2. Jan Dirks Ottema, bapt. 23-7-1806 Doetinchem.
3. Hendrik Ottema, born 1808, died 14-10-1826 Utrecht

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4) Nanne Ottema, bapt. 24-1-1745 Grouw, burried 20-5-1812 Leeuwarden, commissary of the Harlinger ferry (between Harlingen and Amsterdam), confession of faith Leeuwarden 12-12-1766, son of 8/9;

married 1-10-1769 Beetsterzwaag (both living in Leeuwarden)

5) Hendrikje Geerts, born 1739, died 22-12-1812 Leeuwarden (parents not mentioned), merchant lady.

Children:

1. Engeltje Ottema, bapt. 29-10-1769 Beets, burried 18-12-1793 Leeuwarden; married 13-6-1790 Workum/Leeuwarden Lammert Roelofs.
2. Tjitse Ottema, born 23-6, bapt. 10-7-1772 Leeuwarden, died 4-10-1809 Leeuwarden; married 17-5-1795 Leeuwarden/Blessum Jetske Appelhof, born 1771 Leeuwarden, died 26-12-1833 Leeuwarden (5 children in 1809), daughter of Oege Appelhof and Aafke van der Meulen.
3. (Taetske Ottema, born 6-5, bapt. 29-5-1774 Leeuwarden)
4. Geerardus, bapt. 17-7-1777 Leeuwarden.
5. Claas Ottema, bapt. 19-10-1779 Leeuwarden → 2)
6. Taetske Ottema, bapt. 12-1-1782 Leeuwarden.

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6) Jan Dirks Dirkse, born 1741 Leeuwarden, died 5-1-1817 Leeuwarden (parents not mentioned);

married

7) Akke Nollides/ Nolles, born 1746 Gorredijk, confession of faith 6-6-1794 Leeuwarden, died 15-11-1831 Leeuwarden, daughter of 14/15.

Children:

1. (Dirk, bapt. 15-10-1766 Leeuwarden)
2. (Nolle, bapt. 2-12-1767 Leeuwarden)
3. Tjamke, bapt. 11-7-1770 Leeuwarden
4. Dirk, bapt. 28-9-1772 Leeuwarden
5. (Antie, bapt. 30-4-1775 Leeuwarden)
6. Nolle Dirks, bapt. 26-8-1776 Leeuwarden, living in Leeuwarden (1828)
7. Antje Dirks, bapt. 22-3-1879 Leeuwarden, died 9-3-1837 Leeuwarden; married 15-4-1804 Leeuwarden Jan Reerink, born 1776 Lochum Duitsland, died 20-2-1852 Leeuwarden.
8. Minke Jans Dirks, bapt. 13-6-1781 Leeuwarden → 3)
9. Pietrik Dirks, bapt. 27-9-1783 Leeuwarden, living in Haarlem (1828)
10. Janke Dirks, bapt. 17-5-1786 Leeuwarden, died 1-5-1848 Beverwijk; married 31-10-1807 Sneek/Leeuwarden Steven Wybes Bleeker.
11. Dirkje, bapt. 7-9-1788 Leeuwarden

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8) Tjitse Rimmerts Ottema, executeur of Idaarderadeel, (remarried 25-4-17621 Grouw Ynske Hylkama), living in Grouw 1740, bapt. 13-12-1711 Balk, died 19-8-1794 Grouw, son of 16/17;

married 5-5-1743 Grouw (registered 14-4-1740 Balk)

9) Taetske Nannes, bapt. 19-3-1724 Balk (living in Balk 1740), daughter of Nanne Franses and Antje Innes.

Children:

1. Nanne Ottema, bapt. 24-1-1745 Grouw → 4)

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14) Nolle Rinkes, born 1707 Kortezwaag, died 15-12-1749 Gorredijk;

married (1)

15) Antje Alberts, bapt. 14-9-1710 Gorredijk, died 9-1-1748 Gorredijk.

married (2) 9-2-1749 Gorredijk Trijntje Stephanus (from Bergum, widow Claas Minnes, remarr. Freerk Perzijn)

Children from (1):

1. Rinke Nollides, born 18-7-1739 Gorredijk, died 1-7-1810 Leeuwarden (burried Gorredijk), miller, lime burner Ritsumazijl, jenever distiller, barley maker, husk miller, merchant, member of the municipal council Leeuwarden; married Grietje Douwes.
2. Akke Nollides/Nolles, born 1746 Gorredijk → 7)

from (2):

1. (Nolle, bapt. 1-3-1750 Gorredijk (after father's death), burried 30-7-1753 Opsterland.)

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16) Rimmer Eelkes Ottema;

married

17) Ymk Lieuwes, bapt. 12-3-1685 Balk, daughter of Lieuwe Gerrits and Ymk Reins.

Children:

1. Tjitse Rimmers Ottema, bapt. 13-12-1711 Balk → 8)
2. Lieuwe, bapt. 12-8-1716 Balk.
3. Ysk, bapt. 13-3-1718 Balk.
4. Rein Rimmers Ottema, bapt. 29-8-1723 Balk; married Gertje Innes.
5. Jelle, bapt. 20-10-1726 Balk.