Scandinavian countries: common historical and cultural heritage

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

The term "Scandinavian countries" is used to designate a region in Northern Europe, uniting Denmark, Norway, Sweden, as well as related autonomous territories located in the North Atlantic. These are Greenland, Faroe Islands, Svalbard, Aland Islands. Many experts argue that it should be used as a synonym for all Nordic (Nordic) countries, including Finland and Iceland. If we consider strictly geographically, then only Norway, Sweden and the northwestern part of Finland are located on the Scandinavian Peninsula. There is also such a definition as Fennoscandia. It is typical for a physical and geographical country that includes Denmark, Finland, the Kola Peninsula and Karelia.

The Scandinavian countries share a common early history (like Russia, Ukraine and Belarus), related cultural characteristics and social systems. Danish, Norwegian and Swedish form a continuum of dialects, all of which are considered mutually intelligible to each other. If we talk about Faroese and Icelandic (island Scandinavian) languages, then theysignificantly different from them - maybe only with the exception of some words borrowed from each other throughout history. Greenlandic generally belongs to the Eskimo-Aleut group.

The name "Scandinavian countries", according to many historians, is relatively new. It was coined in the eighteenth century as a term for three kingdoms (Denmark, Sweden, Norway) that shared a common historical, cultural and linguistic heritage. But it was actively perceived in the nineteenth century in connection with the development of a movement known as pan-Scandinavism, agitating for a single national idea. It was popularized to a large extent thanks to the famous song composed by Hans Christian Andersen, which speaks of an integral people. The famous writer, after his visit to Sweden, became an active supporter of the movement. He sent the lyrics to a friend and wrote that he suddenly realized how closely connected "our peoples" are.

Presumably etymologically the name "Scandinavian countries" is associated with the historical region of Scania, which is located in the southern part of Sweden. Both the terms "Skåne" and "Skandinavien" come from the Germanic root "Skað-awjō". The vast majority of Danes, Swedes and Norwegians are the descendants of several Germanic tribes that inhabited the southern part of the peninsula and the northern part of Germany. They spoke a Germanic language, which eventually evolved into Old Norse (known as the northern language in the Middle Ages).

Still, even ifthe Finnish language has no common roots with this ancient language (it belongs to the Finno-Ugric group), one should take into account the fact that Suomi was historically and politically connected with all three countries. Iceland, which was actively settled by Norwegians since the eleventh century, and became part of Denmark in 1814, can also be safely included in the category of "Scandinavian countries".

Interesting facts from common history: for more than 500 years there was a close connection in foreign policy, starting with the attack of Hygelak, the ruler of the Goths mentioned in Beofulf, on Gaul, and until the unsuccessful campaign of King Harald III of Norway the Severe in England in 1066. Another commonality lies in the rejection of Catholicism (in favor of Lutheranism) at a time when it was the only religion in all of Western Europe. In addition, there were cases when all the kingdoms of the region were united under one administration - for example, Knut the Great, Magnus the Good. The most striking example of coexistence is the Kalmar Union. The yellow-red flag of this union is still used in some cases, thus uniting Scandinavia.

Today, all countries in the region are actively participating in joint promotions through the travel union, cooperating with many agencies (including "Scandinavia Tour") in many parts of the world.