Oera Linda Book

Published May 30, 2010

The Oera Linda Book, sometimes referred as the Ura-Linda Chronicle, is a highly controversial book from Holland that occasionally is referred to in books and articles relating to Atlantis. It is claimed to be one of the oldest books ever discovered.

The Oera Linda Book came to light in 1867 when Cornelis Over de Linden (1811–1874) handed the manuscript, which he claimed to have inherited from his grandfather, via his aunt, over to Eelco Verwijs (1830–1880), the provincial librarian of Friesland, for translation and publication. Verwijs rejected the manuscript, but in 1871 Jan Gerhardus Ottema (1804–1879), a prominent member of the Frisian Society for History and Culture, published a Dutch translation. Ottema believed it to be written in authentic Old Frisian^(r⁾.

While a Dutch translation appeared in 1871, it was not until 1876 that the first English translation of the Oera Linda Book by William R. Sandbach was published by Trubner & Co^(k). This was allegedly a translation of a 13th-century Frisian manuscript based on much earlier traditions.

The book tells the story of the destruction of a large landmass in the North Sea known as ‘Atland’ following earthquakes and tidal waves. Atland means Old Land in Frisian. It dates this catastrophe to 2193 BC. However, the current consensus is that the landbridge between the Shetlands Isles and Norway was submerged around 5500 BC and not the date given in the Oera Linda Book.

Nearly seventy years were to pass before the book came under scrutiny again in Britain, when Harold T. Wilkins wrote an article in Egerton Sykes’ first issue of Atlantis magazine, supporting its authenticity. Thirty years later another English writer, Robert Scrutton, wrote two books^[¹¹⁷^][¹¹⁸^] on the Oera Linda Book. These again opened up the controversy regarding the authenticity of the book.

Andrew Collins has written a short paper⁽^g⁾ casting doubt on the authenticity of the book.

Now Anthony Radford presents a new review of the Book and offers the first edition of his book free online ⁽^f⁾.

Andi Zeneli, the Albanian researcher, has used the text of the Oera Linda Book in an attempt to support his claim of an Albanian connection with Atlantis. Georg Lohle also follows the Oera Linda Book in suggesting^[⁴⁴⁶^] a North Sea location for Atlantis^(s^)*.

The English text of the book is available on the internet^(b)(c) with the original 212 Frisian language pages, which is accessible on a Dutch site^(d). A recent (2012) vindication of the OLB is now available online^(h).

It is reported^(p) that when Heinrich Himmler was given a translation of the OLB by his friend Hermann Wirth he was totally besotted with its contents and it became known as ‘Himmler’s Bible’. However, even within the Nazi party, there were many sceptical voices, which led to much dispute. Finally, “The two opposing camps officially “squared off” during a panel discussion centred on The Oera Linda Book that took place on May 4th 1934 at the aforementioned University of Berlin. The discussion turned into a heated debate, but in the end, The Oera Linda Book was officially declared “a hoax” by the NSDAP, and “Himmler’s Bible” receded once again into obscurity.”

I must mention that the American neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement has taken an interest in the Oera Linda Book^(e), promoting it as ‘positive’ reading material!

The late Antonis Kontaratos was favourably disposed to quote the OLB in support of Atlantis, in a paper delivered to the 2005 Atlantis Conference ^[629.435], although he also noted that “the authenticity of the Oera Linda Book still awaits official approval or disapproval”.

Alewyn J. Raubenheimer has theorised^[744] that an asteroid impact created the Burckle Crater in the Indian Ocean which in turn generated a megatsunami recorded in the bible as Noah’s Flood and in the Oera Linda Book as the flooding of Atland in 2193 BC. With regard to Atlantis he states categorically (p.49)“that no attempt is made here to equate Atland with Atlantis although there may be a connection.” His defence of the Oera Linda Book has been hailed by some as an important scholarly contribution⁽ⁱ⁾ while others have endeavoured to discredit the book’s authenticity^(j).

James Nienhuis also accepts the historicity of the OLB⁽ⁿ⁾, but today’s leading proponent of its authenticity is arguably Jan Ott, a Dutch researcher, born in West Friesland, who has released video and audio interviews on YouTube^(l)(m) in support of his views. A list of all translations of the OLB can be accessed on his website^(o) as well as many other aspects of Oera Linda studies. Ott has been interviewed on Red Ice Radio, a Swedish right-wing broadcaster.

A 2022 critical review of the OLB by an Indian researcher, Bipin Dimri, added support to the more generally accepted view that the OLB is a forgery. He suggests that “Either Cornelis Over de Linden or Eelco Verwijs (or possibly an acquaintance of both men) are the two most likely authors, writing a comedy text to poke fun at an overtly nationalistic audience in the late 19th century. It was likely never to be taken seriously^(q).

>The Oera Linda Foundation is a Dutch organisation founded in 2020. Its Dutch/English website^(t) aims to support the authenticity of the OLB. This interesting website, includes a forum, a wiki and up-to-date translations of the Book.<

^(b) https://archive.org/stream/oeralindabookfr00sandgoog#page/n40/mode/2up

⁽^c⁾https://www.earth-history.com/Europe/index.htm

⁽^d⁾ https://archive.org/details/oeralindabookfr00ottegoog

⁽^f⁾ https://earth-history.com/Europe/God-king/radford-intro.htm

⁽^g⁾ https://www.andrewcollins.com/page/interactive/northeur.htm

^(h) https://www.historum.com/speculative-history/36777-oera-linda-book-7.html

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AOera_Linda_Book

^(j)https://spiritualitydiscussiongroup.yuku.com/topic/793/The-Oera-Linda-Book (link broken)*

^(k) https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CDgQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forgottenbooks.org%2Fdownload_pdf%2FThe_Oera_Linda_Book_1000847682.pdf&ei=vhw3U9WULZDT7Abd34GIBA&usg=AFQjCNHcQ7T8MwZfRDYovr0BdftweYTKBA &bvm=bv.63808443,d.ZGU

^(l) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kflHJpB9f1s

^(m) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CAoZS52CoU

⁽ⁿ⁾ https://dancingfromgenesis.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/netherlands-ancient-dutch-history-friesland-oera-linda-bok-frisian-timeline-chronology-king-adel-sons-friso-saxo-bruno-navigators-great-flood-end-ice-age-sea-level-rise-covered-doggerland-atland-atlan/