Germania Superior
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| - | The '''Low Countries''', the historical region of ''de Nederlanden'', are the [[country|countries]] on low-lying land around the [[river delta|delta]] of the [[Rhine]], [[Scheldt]], and [[Meuse River|Meuse]] (Maas) rivers. | ||
| - | == Linguistic distinction == | ||
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| - | In English, the plural form [[Netherlands]] is used for the present-day country, but in Dutch that plural has been dropped; one can thus distinguish between the older, larger Netherlands and the current country. So ''Nederland'' (singular) is used for the modern nation and ''de Nederlanden'' (plural) for the domains of Charles V. | ||
| - | == Historical situation == | ||
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| - | The low countries were part of the Roman provinces of [[Gallia Belgica|Belgica]], [[Germania Inferior]] and [[Germania Superior]]. They were inhabited by [[Belgic]] tribes, before these were replaced by [[Germanic tribes]] in the 4th and 5th century. They were governed by the ruling [[Merovingian dynasty]]. | ||
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| - | By the end of the 8th century, the Low Countries formed a part of [[Francia]] and the Merovingians were replaced by the [[Carolingian dynasty]]. In 800 the Pope crowned and appointed [[Charlemagne]] [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] of the re-established [[Holy Roman Empire|Roman Empire]]. | ||
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| - | After the death of Charlemagne, Francia was divided in three parts among his three grandsons. The Low Countries became part of [[Middle Francia]], which was ruled by [[Lothair I]]. After the death of Lothair, the Low Countries were coveted by the rulers of both [[West Francia]] and [[East Francia]]. Each tried to swallow the region and to merge it with their spheres of influence. | ||
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| - | Thus, the Low Countries consisted of [[fief]]s whose sovereignty resided with either the [[France|Kingdom of France]] or the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The further history of the Low Countries can be seen as a continual struggle between these two powers. | ||
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| - | Gradually, separate fiefs came to be ruled by a single family through intermarriage. This process culminated in the rule of the [[House of Valois]], who were the rulers of the [[Duchy of Burgundy]] | ||
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| - | In 1477 the [[Duchy of Burgundy|Burgundian holdings]] in the area, the [[Burgundian Netherlands]] passed through an heiress -- [[Mary of Burgundy]] -- to the [[Habsburgs]]. In the following century the "Low Countries" corresponded roughly to the [[Seventeen Provinces]] covered by the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1549]] of [[Holy Roman Emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], which freed the provinces from their archaic feudal obligations. | ||
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| - | After the northern [[Seven United Provinces]] of the seventeen declared their independence from [[Habsburg Spain]], the provinces of the [[Southern Netherlands]] were recaptured (1581) and are sometimes called the ''[[Spanish Netherlands]]''. | ||
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| - | In 1713, under the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] following the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], what was left of the Spanish Netherlands was ceded to [[Austria]] and thus became known as the [[Austrian Netherlands]]. The [[United Kingdom of the Netherlands]] (1815-1830) temporarily united the Low Countries again. | ||
| - | ==Art of the Low Countries== | ||
| - | :''[[Art of the Low Countries]] | ||
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| - | '''Art of the Low Countries''' is [[painting]], [[sculpture]], [[architecture]], [[printmaking]], and other forms of [[visual art]] produced in the [[Netherlands (terminology)|Low Countries]], and since the 19th century in [[Belgium]] and the [[Netherlands]]. It includes the traditions of [[Early Netherlandish painting]] and the [[Renaissance in the Low Countries]]. During the 17th century [[Dutch Golden Age painting]] prominently represents the artistic culture of the northern Netherlands while [[Flemish Baroque painting]] and the art of [[Peter Paul Rubens]] is the cornerstone of art in the [[southern Netherlands]]. | ||
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| - | Paintings produced anywhere in the Low Countries during the 15th and early 16th century are collectively called [[Early Netherlandish painting]] (in Dutch ''Vlaamse primitieven'', ''Flemish'' primitives—also common in English before the mid 20th century). Later art and artists from the southern [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] provinces are usually called ''[[Flemish people|Flemish]]'' and those from the northern [[Protestant]] provinces called ''Dutch'', but art historians sometimes use '[[Netherlandish art]]' for art produced in both areas between 1400 and 1830. | ||
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| - | ==Geo-political situation== | ||
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| - | The term is not particularly current in modern contexts because the region does not very exactly correspond with the [[sovereignty|sovereign state]]s of [[The Netherlands]], [[Belgium]] and [[Luxembourg]], for which an alternative term, the [[Benelux]] was applied after [[World War II]]. | ||
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| - | Before [[early modern]] [[nation building]], the Low Countries referred to a wide area of northern Europe roughly stretching from [[Dunkirk, France|Dunkirk]] at its southwestern point to the area of [[Schleswig-Holstein]] at its northeastern point, from the [[estuary]] of the [[Scheldt]] in the south to [[Frisia]] in the north. The Low Countries were the scene of the early northern towns, built from scratch rather than developed from ancient centres, that mark the reawakening of [[Europe]] in the [[12th century]]. | ||
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| - | A collection of several regions rather than one homogeneous region, all of the low countries still shared a great number of similarities. | ||
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| - | * Most were coastal regions bounded by the [[North Sea]] or the [[English Channel]]. The countries not having access to the sea politically and economically linked to the ones that had so as to form one union of port and [[hinterland]]. A poetic description also calls the region ''the Low Countries by the Sea'' | ||
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| - | * Most spoke [[Middle Dutch]] out of which later would evolve [[Dutch]]. However some regions, such as the [[Bishopric of Liège]], the [[Romance Flanders]] around [[Cambrai]], [[Lille]], [[Tournai]] and [[Marquis of Namur|Namur]], where French was the dominant language are often considered as part of the Low Countries as well. | ||
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| - | * Most of them depended on a lord or count in name only, the cities effectively being ruled by guilds and councils and although in theory part of a kingdom, their interaction with their rulers was regulated by a strict set of liberties describing what the latter could and could not expect from them. | ||
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| - | * All of them depended on trade and manufacturing and encouraging the free flow of goods and craftsmen. | ||
| - | == See also == | ||
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| - | *[[The Netherlands (disambiguation)]] | ||
| - | *[[Greater Netherlands]] | ||
| - | *[[Seventeen Provinces]] | ||
| - | *[[Burgundian Netherlands]] | ||
| - | *[[Early Netherlandish painting]] | ||
| - | *[[Burgundian Circle]] | ||
| - | *[[Benelux]] | ||
| + | '''Germania Superior''' ("Upper [[Germania]]"), so called for the reason that it lay upstream of ''[[Germania Inferior]]'', was a [[Roman province|province]] of the [[Roman Empire]]. It comprised an area of western [[Switzerland]], the French [[Jura mountains|Jura]] and [[Alsace]] regions, and southwestern [[Germany]]. Important cities were [[Besançon]] (''Besontio''), [[Strasbourg]] (''[[Argentoratum]]''), [[Wiesbaden]] (''Aquae Mattiacae''), and Germania Superior's capital, [[Mainz]] (''Mogontiacum''). It comprised the [[Middle Rhine]], bordering on the [[Limes Germanicus]], and on the Alpine province of [[Raetia]] to the south-east. | ||
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Germania Superior ("Upper Germania"), so called for the reason that it lay upstream of Germania Inferior, was a province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon (Besontio), Strasbourg (Argentoratum), Wiesbaden (Aquae Mattiacae), and Germania Superior's capital, Mainz (Mogontiacum). It comprised the Middle Rhine, bordering on the Limes Germanicus, and on the Alpine province of Raetia to the south-east.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Germania Superior" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
