Rather dead than slave

There is a monument in the Netherlands that commemorates a battle between of the Frisian-Hollandic war. Upon the boulder at the monument, it reads: "Leaver dea as slaef." This is West Frisian for "Rather dead than slave." The word "slaef" is actually an archaic spelling, where today it is spellt "slaaf."

Here are various versions of the phrase in different Germanic languages:

West Frisian: Leaver dea as slaaf

East Frisian: Ljauer dood as Sklaawe

Low German: Laiwer daud äs Unfrie

Mennonite Low German: Leewa doot aus Schklow

Dutch: Liever dood dan slaaf

German: Lieber tot als Sklave