Low Countries

The Low Countries is a historical and geographically coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe. It forms the lower basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consists today of three modern countries known as the Benelux: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Sometimes, parts of France and some German regions are also included.

Since the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, this area has been divided into many different political entities. Despite this, the regions without access to the sea historically linked themselves to coastal areas for trade and economic growth, forming unions that reached into parts of the German Rhineland.

During the Roman Empire, the Low Countries served as a militarised frontier and contact point with Germanic tribes. Later, in the 12th century, the region became one of Europe's early independent trading centres. It was one of the most densely populated areas in Western Europe and rivalled northern Italy in importance. Cities were governed by guilds and councils, with trade, manufacturing, and the free flow of goods and craftsmen forming the basis of their economies. Dutch and French dialects were commonly used in everyday city life.

Terminology

Main article: Terminology of the Low Countries

The term Low Countries started a long time ago at the court of the Dukes of Burgundy. They called these lands "the lands over here" to distinguish them from their other lands far away. Over time, the name changed to Low Countries. Today, this term usually refers to the modern countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which are often called the Benelux countries.

The name Netherlands also means "low lands." In Dutch, the modern name for the Low Countries is De Lage Landen. Belgium became its own country in 1830 and chose the name Belgium based on an old Latin name for the region. The Low Countries were once divided during a long war, which helped shape the countries we know today. Sometimes, sports events between Belgium and the Netherlands are called a Low Countries derby.

History

See also: History of urban centers in the Low Countries

The Low Countries have a long and rich history. They began as part of the Carolingian Empire, specifically within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. Over time, the region came under the rule of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy and was known as the Burgundian Netherlands. Later, it was controlled by the House of Habsburg and called the Habsburg Netherlands or the Seventeen Provinces.

Eventually, the region split into different parts. The northern areas formed the Dutch Republic, while the southern areas remained under Spanish control as the Spanish Netherlands. In 1815, the Low Countries were briefly united again as the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which later divided into the modern countries of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Literature

One of the earliest literary figures from the Low Countries was a blind poet named Bernlef, who lived around the year 800. He sang songs about both Christian psalms and older pagan stories, showing how people at that time mixed these two beliefs. Christianity and Germanic polytheism lived together during this period.

The first written examples of literature from this area are called the Wachtendonck Psalms. These are 25 psalms that were created around the middle of the 9th century in a region called Moselle-Frankish.