Test new EN00b.01 Liko

Liko Ovira-Linda

Letters of Instruction · B · passage b.01 · manuscript page 00b

Work	Codex Oera Linda
Text type	English translation
Translation	Jan Ott, 2026
Passage reference	b.01 — manuscript page 00b, starting at line 1
Shared passage ID (prototype)	`OL:00b.01`
Source text	Edited Fryas: LIKO
Manuscript and transcription	Manuscript images and raw transcription (00a–00b) · Edited transcription of page 00b
Other languages	Deutsch · Español · Frysk · Nederlands · Norsk

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Translation

Ott 2026. Note numbers link to commentary below the translation.

b.01 [00b] My dear heirs,

For our beloved ancestors’ sake, and for the sake of our precious freedom, a thousand times I bid you — dearest^[1] — never to let the eyes of a papist stray across these writings.^[2]

They utter sweet words, but they subtly distort all that concerns us Fryas. To gain rich endowments,^[3] they collaborate with the puppet kings.^[4] These know that we are their greatest enemies because we dare speak to their people of freedom, justice, and the obligations of nobility. Thus, they make certain to obliterate all traces of our ancestral heritage and what is left of our morals.^[5]

My dear ones! I have visited their palace.^[6] If Wralda allows, and if we fail to make ourselves strong, they will exterminate us all.

Written in Liudwerd, year eight hundred and three in Christian understanding.^[7]

Liko, surnamed Ovira-Linda.^[8]

Translator's notes

These notes explain translation choices and offer linguistic or historical interpretation. They are commentary, distinct from the translated manuscript text.

↑ Dear ... beloved ... precious ... dearest — in original all LJAWA/-E (cognates Dutch/German: lieve/liebe).
↑ papist (PÁPE.KAPPE) — lit.: priest-cloak; likely used as an invective, reducing the subject to an external characteristic. Possibly also friend of the clergy; see keppe in Dictionary of the Dutch language (WNT).
↑ endowments (PREBENDNE) — a prebend is a stipend paid to a clergyman in the service of the Church.
↑ puppet kings (POPPA KENINGGAR) — i.e., figureheads loyal to or controlled by hidden powers, like marionettes. The West-Frisian invective poepe and even Dutch poep (English: poop) may have been derived from this use of the word.
↑ morals (SÉDUM) — Dutch/German: zeden/Sitten; SÉDUM or SÉDA can also mean seeds.
↑ Rulers [from dubious sources] at the time would have been: Hamacarus, Bishop of Utrecht (no historical records other than his name); Charlemagne, who would have subdued the Frisians after a three-year war (783-785); and Leo III, Pope of Rome.
↑ See note about dating in previous chapter. [Add note about year 781, the traditional year of the Frisians’ Christianization.]
↑ Ovira-Linda (OVIRA.LINDA) — a variety of Oera Linda; see note at a.01.