As readers of my previous post know, I have a cousin (who’s actually my mother’s cousin, but let’s just say he’s my cousin too…) who has a theory that our family is in some way related to Radbod, a guy who lived 1100 years ago. How did my cousin come up with this theory? Well, he inherited a waffle iron from his father.
Not very special you might think, but this waffle iron has stirred up the family’s imagination for generations, as it was said that it held a family secret – something to do with being descended from kings and having had loads of money and a connection with the church. But as it turned out, no one knew the full story anymore and most of what was left were rumours and hearsay.
The family farm in Westenesch near Emmen, Netherlands
Koop (my cousin) has always been interested in history and while he was cleaning the waffle iron one Sunday afternoon, he started thinking about things. He knew that there used to be a bishop called Radbod, who had had a large farm in a town called Emmen. Koop was actually born on a farm near Emmen, a farm that had been in our family for many generations. Koop’s mother, and her sister (my grandmother), had been born on the same farm and their maiden name was Rabbers.
In and around the town of Emmen there were quite a few families named Rabbers. As Koop started to dig deeper into the mystery of the waffle iron, he found out that a long time ago Rabbers was spelled in a number of different ways – Rabbing, Rabbold, and Rabbot being just a few examples. Keen readers might have noticed the similarities between those different spellings of Rabbers and the name Radbod.
On top of that, there was the decoration on the waffle iron. It depicted a six-pointed star surrounded by 14 double loops. Radbod, Koop knew, had been the 14th bishop of Utrecht, so did the decoration on the iron tell us something about him?
These three things together: the similarities to the name Rabbers, Radbod’s farm in Emmen and the decoration on the iron, brought Koop to his theory that Radbod is our ancestor. Not a bad theory, if you ask me.
I have not yet seen the waffle iron, but I am going to visit Koop in a couple of day’s time and he is going to show it to me. I must say I have become really curious about this family heirloom and of course I will blog about it some more soon!
Very interesting Maria! I’m looking forward to the vist we are going to pay your cousin. Is there, as far as you know, any evidence that the family farm is located on property of the church?
Interesting question. At this moment I don’t know the answer yet. I think my cousin might have found some evidence in the archives. He knows much more about Radbod’s connection to the farm than I do, so I am looking forward to talking to him.
Good luck with your visit, exciting isn’t it?