Northern Europe#History

File:Satellite image of Northern Europe2.jpg and Baltic Sea]]

The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors such as climate and ecology.

Climate

File:Europe Köppen Map.png map is presented by the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia and the Global Precipitation Climatology Center of the {{lang|de|Deutscher Wetterdienst|italic=no}}.]]

The climate is mainly Oceanic climate (Cfb), Humid continental climate (Dfb), Subarctic climate (Dfc and Dsc) and Tundra (ET).

Geography

{{Main|British Isles|Scandinavian Peninsula|Fennoscandia|Jutland|Baltic region}}

Northern Europe might be defined roughly to include some or all of the following areas: British Isles, Fennoscandia, the peninsula of Jutland, the Baltic plain that lies to the east, and the many islands that lie offshore from mainland northern Europe and the main European continent. In some cases, Greenland is also included, although it is only politically European, comprising part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and not considered to be geographically in Europe.

The area is partly mountainous, including the northern volcanic islands of Iceland and Jan Mayen, and the mountainous western seaboard, Scotland and Scandinavia, and also often includes part of the large plain east of the Baltic Sea.

The entire region's climate is at least mildly affected by the Gulf Stream. From the west climates vary from maritime and maritime subarctic climates. In the north and central climates are generally subarctic or Arctic and to the east climates are mostly subarctic and temperate/continental.

Just as both climate and relief are variable across the region, so too is vegetation, with sparse tundra in the north and high mountains, boreal forest on the north-eastern and central regions temperate coniferous forests (formerly of which a majority was in the Scottish Highlands and south west Norway) and temperate broadleaf forests growing in the south, west and temperate east.

Classifications

There are various definitions of northern Europe which always include the Nordic countries, often the British Isles and Baltic states, and sometimes Greenland.

=UN geoscheme classification=

File:Europe subregion map UN geoscheme.svg:{{legend|#FF8080|Eastern Europe}}

{{legend|#00FFFF|Western Europe}}]]

The United Nations geoscheme is a system devised by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) which divides the countries of the world into regional and subregional groups, based on the M49 coding classification. The partition is for statistical convenience and does not imply any assumption regarding political or other affiliation of countries or territories.{{Cite web|url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/|title=UNSD — Methodology|website=unstats.un.org|access-date=17 June 2019|archive-date=30 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830170949/https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/|url-status=live}}

In the UN geoscheme, the following countries are classified as being in northern Europe:

as well as the dependent areas:

=EuroVoc=

File:European_Regions_EuroVoc_(Denmark_in_Northern_Europe).png:{{legend|#0076D3|Northern Europe}}

{{legend|#E62121|Central and Eastern Europe}}]]

EuroVoc is a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union, giving definitions of terms for official use. In the definition of "northern Europe", the following countries are included:{{cite web |last1=Publications Office of the European Union |title=EU Vocabularies 7206 Europe |url=https://publications.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/th-concept-scheme/-/resource/eurovoc/100277?target=Browse |publisher=EuroVoc |access-date=24 April 2019 |archive-date=24 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424195555/https://publications.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/th-concept-scheme/-/resource/eurovoc/100277%3Ftarget%3DBrowse |url-status=live }}

as well as the dependent area:

Faroe Islands

In this classification Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and Ireland are included in Western Europe.

=''CIA World Factbook''=

File:Europe subregion map world factbook.svg:{{legend|#007FFF|Northern Europe}}

{{legend|#F88379|Eastern Europe}}]]

In the CIA World Factbook, the description of each country includes information about "Location" under the heading "Geography", where the country is classified into a region. The following countries are included in their classification "northern Europe":{{cite web |last1=CIA |title=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ |access-date=26 January 2021 |archive-date=4 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104183935/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/ |url-status=live }}

as well as the dependent areas:

In this classification Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and Ireland are included in Western Europe, while Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are included in Eastern Europe.

=World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions=

File:WGSRPD Northern Europe.svg

The World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions is a biogeographical system developed by the international Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) organization, formerly the International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases. The WGSRPD standards, like other standards for data fields in botanical databases, were developed to promote "the wider and more effective dissemination of information about the world's heritage of biological organisms for the benefit of the world at large". The system provides clear definitions and codes for recording plant distributions at four scales or levels, from "botanical continents" down to parts of large countries. The following countries are included in their classification of "northern Europe":{{Cite book |last = Brummitt |first = R. K. |year = 2001 |title = World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions |edition = 2nd |publisher = International Working Group on Taxonomic Databases For Plant Sciences (TDWG) |url = https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tdwg/wgsrpd/master/109-488-1-ED/2nd%20Edition/TDWG_geo2.pdf |access-date = 27 July 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160125135239/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/tdwg/TDWG_geo2.pdf |archive-date = 25 January 2016}}

as well as the dependent areas:

Demographics

File:AtlEurRelig.jpg

Countries in northern Europe generally have developed economies and some of the highest standards of living in the world. They often score highly on surveys measuring quality of life, such as the Human Development Index. Aside from the United Kingdom, they generally have a small population relative to their size, most of whom live in cities. The quality of education in much of Northern Europe is rated highly in international rankings, with Estonia and Finland topping the list among the OECD countries in Europe.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

=Language=

Germanic languages are widely spoken in northern Europe with North Germanic languages being the most common first language in the Faroe Islands (Faroese),{{cite web |url=https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/ |title=The Faroese Language |website=faroeislands.fo |access-date=27 June 2021 |archive-date=16 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816183723/https://www.faroeislands.fo/arts-culture/language/ |url-status=live }} Iceland (Icelandic),{{cite web |title=Act [No 61/2011] on the status of the Icelandic language and Icelandic sign language |url=http://eng.menntamalaraduneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf/Icelandic-Language-Act-tr-260711.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Education, Science and Culture |access-date=15 November 2013 |page=1 |quote=Article 1; National language – official language; Icelandic is the national language of the Icelandic people and the official language in Iceland. Article 2; The Icelandic language — The national language is the common language of the Icelandic general public. Public authorities shall ensure that its use is possible in all areas of Icelandic society. All persons residing in Iceland must be given the opportunity to learn Icelandic and to use it for their general participation in Icelandic society, as further provided in leges speciales. |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011124402/https://eng.menntamalaraduneyti.is/media/MRN-pdf/Icelandic-Language-Act-tr-260711.pdf |url-status=live }} Denmark (Danish),{{cite book |editor1-first=M. Paul |editor1-last=Lewis |year=2009 |title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World |edition=16th |publisher=SIL International. |location=Dallas, Texas |isbn=978-1-55671-216-6 |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/ |access-date=27 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227170852/http://www.ethnologue.com/ |archive-date=27 December 2007 |url-status=live }} Norway (Norwegian){{cite web|url=http://www.sprakrad.no/Tema/Fakta/|author=Vikør, Lars|author-link=Lars Vikør|title=Fakta om norsk språk|access-date=9 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203190655/http://www.sprakrad.no/Tema/Fakta/|archive-date=3 February 2014|url-status=dead}} and Sweden (Swedish).{{cite journal |last1=Parkvall |first1=Mikael |title=Sveriges språk. Vem talar vad och var? |journal=RAPPLING 1. Rapporter Från Institutionen för Lingvistik Vid Stockholms Universitet |date=2009 |page=24 |url=http://www.xn--sprkfrsvaret-vcb4v.se/sf/fileadmin/PDF/Parkvall_spraakstatistik.pdf |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=20 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140920233246/http://www.xn--sprkfrsvaret-vcb4v.se/sf/fileadmin/PDF/Parkvall_spraakstatistik.pdf |url-status=live }} The West Germanic language English is the most common first language in Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and Ireland, however, the West Germanic language Scots is also spoken as a minority language in parts of Scotland and Ireland.{{Cite news |date=30 November 2015 |title=Facts about Jersey |work=Government of Jersey |url=https://www.gov.je/Leisure/Jersey/Pages/Profile.aspx |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221081233/https://www.gov.je/Leisure/Jersey/Pages/Profile.aspx |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Languages – Languages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102173300/http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/uk.shtml |archive-date=2 November 2020 |access-date=1 January 2023 |website=BBC}}{{cite book |last1=Ranelagh |first1=John |title=A Short History of Ireland |date=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-46944-9 |page=118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfx0VGIXiPYC&pg=PA118 |language=en |access-date=1 January 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918133912/https://books.google.com/books?id=xfx0VGIXiPYC&pg=PA118 |url-status=live }} Beyond this, the Finnic languages of Finnish and Estonian are the most common first languages of Finland{{cite web |url=https://www.sprakinstitutet.fi/sv/om_sprak/sprak_i_finland |language=sv |title=Språk i Finland |trans-title=Language in Finland |date= |website=Institute for the Languages of Finland |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104021948/https://www.sprakinstitutet.fi/sv/om_sprak/sprak_i_finland |url-status=live }} and Estonia{{cite web |title=The Estonian Language |url=http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |website=Estonica.org |access-date=15 October 2022 |archive-date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703043901/http://www.estonica.org/en/Society/The_Estonian_Language/ |url-status=live }} respectively. The Baltic languages of Lithuanian and Latvian are the most common first languages of Lithuania{{cite web |last1=Rodiklių duomenų bazė |title=Oficialiosios statistikos portalas |url=https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize/?hash=ea516958-db7e-431f-931e-0f42e7f9e6bc&portletFormName=visualization#/ |website=osp.stat.gov.lt |language=lt-LT |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=4 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104021935/https://osp.stat.gov.lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize/?hash=ea516958-db7e-431f-931e-0f42e7f9e6bc&portletFormName=visualization#/ |url-status=live }} and Latvia{{Cite web |title=Dažādu tautu valodu prasme |url=http://www.vvk.lv/index.php?sadala=129&id=389 |website=vvk.lv |language=lv |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=11 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011121119/http://www.vvk.lv/index.php?sadala=129&id=389 |url-status=live }} respectively. A number of Celtic languages are spoken in the British Isles including the Brythonic Welsh and the Goidelic Scots Gaelic and Irish. The Celtic languages Cornish and Manx have been revived since becoming classed as extinct, being now spoken to a limited extent in Cornwall and the Isle of Man respectively.{{cite web |title=Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026/PDF/187026eng.pdf.multi |website=unesdoc.unesco.org |access-date=31 December 2022 |pages=39–40,164–165,182–183 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920200715/https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026/PDF/187026eng.pdf.multi |url-status=live }} The Norman languages of Jèrriais and Guernésiais are spoken in Jersey and Guernsey, though are listed as endangered due to the increasing prominence of English in the islands.{{Cite web|url=http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/8649|title=Endangered Languages Project – Jèrriais|language=en|access-date=10 September 2019|archive-date=11 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211112813/http://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/8649|url-status=live}}{{Cite journal |last=Sallabank |first=Julia |date=1 July 2013 |title=Can majority support save an endangered language? A case study of language attitudes in Guernsey |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=332–347 |doi=10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |s2cid=144265439 |issn=0143-4632 |access-date=4 January 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918133916/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01434632.2013.794808 |url-status=live }}

While not the most common first languages in any country, Sámi languages such as North Sámi, Lule Sámi and South Sámi are spoken in the transnational region of Sápmi and are listed as endangered.

=Religion=

{{See also|Reformation#Reformation outside Germany|label1=§ Reformation outside Germany}}

During the Early Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church expanded into northern Europe and spread Christianity among the Germanic peoples.{{cite book |last1=Tanner |first1=Norman |title=New Short History of the Catholic Church |page=41}} Christianity reached the peoples of Scandinavia and the Baltic region in later centuries. The Latin alphabet along with the influence of Western Christianity spread northward from Rome, leading to written English, German, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Irish,{{Cite web |title=Celtic languages – Irish | Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-languages/Irish |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031851/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Celtic-languages/Irish |archive-date=26 March 2023 |access-date=25 April 2023 |website=www.britannica.com}} Scottish,{{cite journal|last=Mackenzie|first=Donald W.|year=1990–92|title=The Worthy Translator: How the Scottish Gaels got the Scriptures in their own Tongue|journal=Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness|volume=57|pages=168–202}} Welsh,Watkins, T. Arwyn (1993) "Welsh" in Ball, Martin J. with Fife, James (Eds) The Celtic Languages. London/New York: Routledge: 289-348. Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Finnish and Sámi languages. The Sámi were the last peoples to be converted in the 18th century.Kenneth Scott Latourette, A history of expansion of Christianity. Vol 2. The thousand years of uncertainty: AD 500–AD 1500 (1938) pp. 106–43.

Regional cooperation

File:White Sea Canal map.svg, connecting eastern Baltic Europe to the Arctic]]

The Hansa group in the European Union comprises most of the northern European states, plus the Netherlands.

The melting of the Arctic is likely to create new possibilities and issues involving collaboration in the region.{{Cite journal |last=Heininen |first=Lassi |date=2017-10-02 |title=The Arctic, Baltic, and North-Atlantic 'cooperative regions' in 'Wider Northern Europe': similarities and differences |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01629778.2017.1305180 |journal=Journal of Baltic Studies |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=435–450 |doi=10.1080/01629778.2017.1305180 |issn=0162-9778|url-access=subscription }}

References

External links

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