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
[All rights reserved]
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?
There is nothing in the narratives of this book inconsistent with
probability, however they may vary from some of our preconceived
ideas; but whether it is really what it pretends to be--a very ancient
manuscript, or a more modern fiction--it is not the less a most curious
and interesting work, and as such I offer it to the British public.
In order to give an idea of the manuscript, I have procured photographs
of two of its pages, which are bound with this volume.
I have also followed Dr Ottema's plan of printing the original Frisian
opposite to the translation, so that any reader possessing a knowledge
of the language may verify the correctness of the translation.
In addition to the Preface which I have translated, Dr Ottema
has written two pamphlets on the subject of the Oera Linda Book
(1. Historical Notes and Explanations; 2. The Royal Academy and Het
Oera Linda Bok), both of which would be very valuable to any one who
wished to study the controversy respecting the authenticity of the
work, but which I have not thought it necessary to translate for the
present publication.
There has also appeared in the "Deventer Courant" a series of twelve
letters on the same subject. Though written anonymously, I believe
they are from the pen of Professor Vitringa. They have been translated
into German by Mr Otto.
The writer evidently entered upon his task of criticism with a feeling
of disbelief in the authenticity of the book; but in his last letter
he admits that, after a minute examination, he is unable to pronounce
a positive conviction either for or against it.