Nordic countries | Region, Number, Meaning, & vs Scandinavian

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class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nordic-countries">Nordic countries</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Nordic-countries">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref353239"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Nordic-countries#ref353239">Viking 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src="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/106981-004-42EB6D2E/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg" alt="Germanic languages" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-050-0FE56516/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg" data-href="/media/1/2215727/229219" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-004-7E45CF2C/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg" alt="Viking travels" height="50" /> </a> </div> <button disabled class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Previous"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span> </button> <button disabled class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-blue " aria-label="Next"> <span class="material-icons md-24" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span> </button> </div> </div> <div class="mb-30 tlr-read-next"> <div class="text-gray-900 p-5 font-serif font-14 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4193258/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Recent health policy initiatives in Nordic countries</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://nordics.info/show/artikel/the-nordic-region" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">nordics.info - The Nordic region</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/nordic.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">GlobalSecurity.org - Nordic Countries</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: Norden</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/Adam-Zeidan/12409087" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Adam Zeidan</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Adam Zeidan is an Assistant Managing Editor, having joined <em>Encyclopædia Britannica</em> in 2018. He covers a range of topics related primarily to the Middle East and North Africa.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Adam Zeidan</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-29T00:00:00CST" >Nov 29, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Nordic-countries/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish: </dt> <dd>Norden (“the North”)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>On the Web: </dt> <dd><a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4193258/" target="_blank">National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Recent health policy initiatives in Nordic countries</a> (Nov. 29, 2024)</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Nordic-countries"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/world/europe/sweden-russia-ukraine-crisis-war-advice.html" rel="nofollow">Nordic Countries, Eyeing Russia, Dust Off Their Crisis Advice</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 20, 2024, 2:36 AM ET (New York Times) </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1307251"></span>Nordic countries</strong>, group of countries in northern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Europe</a> consisting of <span id="ref1307499"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Denmark" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Denmark</a>, <span id="ref1307500"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Finland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Finland</a>, <span id="ref1307501"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Iceland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Iceland</a>, <span id="ref1307502"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Norway" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Norway</a>, and <span id="ref1307503"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Sweden" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sweden</a>. The <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="designation" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/designation" data-type="MW">designation</a> includes the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Faroe-Islands-Atlantic-Ocean" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Faroe Islands</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Greenland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Greenland</a>, which are <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="autonomous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomous" data-type="MW">autonomous</a> island regions of Denmark, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Aland-Islands" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Åland Islands</a>, an autonomous island <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/region-geography" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">region</a> of Finland.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The term is sometimes used interchangeably with <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Scandinavia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Scandinavia</a>, a peninsular region of northern Europe that serves as the geographic core of the Nordic countries. Scandinavia is typically defined more restrictively, however, and refers primarily to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="216802" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/106981-050-8AB9E39A/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/2215727/216802"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/106981-050-8AB9E39A/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/106981-050-8AB9E39A/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg?w=300" alt="Germanic languages" data-width="1418" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/81/106981-050-8AB9E39A/Distribution-languages-Germanic-Europe.jpg" data-href="/media/1/2215727/216802">Germanic languages</a><span>Distribution of Germanic languages in northern Europe.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Most inhabitants of the Nordic region speak <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scandinavian-languages" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">North Germanic languages (also called Nordic or Scandinavian languages)</a>: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Danish-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Danish</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Norwegian-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Norwegian</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Swedish-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Swedish</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faroese-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Faroese</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Icelandic-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Icelandic</a>. Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are mutually intelligible, especially when written, which has enabled the continual exchange of ideas between the Nordic countries. Faroese and Icelandic, which retain many <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="characteristics" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/characteristics" data-type="EB">characteristics</a> of Old Norse, have similar orthographies but are not mutually intelligible. In Greenland the Inuit Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/language" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">language</a> is the predominant language, but Danish is often used in administration and education. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/population-biology-and-anthropology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">population</a> of Finland primarily speaks <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Finnish-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Finnish</a>, a Finno-Ugric language. However, there is a Swedish-speaking minority, and Swedish serves as one of two official languages of Finland. In the north of Norway, Sweden, and Finland, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sami-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Sami</a> languages, also members of the Finno-Ugric group but not mutually intelligible, are spoken.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref353239"> <h2 class="h1">Viking era</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="229219" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-050-0FE56516/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/2215727/229219"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-050-0FE56516/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-050-0FE56516/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg?w=300" alt="Viking travels" data-width="2000" data-height="1394" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/19/69619-050-0FE56516/Routes-travel-settlements-Vikings.jpg" data-href="/media/1/2215727/229219">Viking travels</a><span>Routes of travel and settlements by the Vikings from the 9th century to the 11th century.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Nordic historiography generally begins with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Viking-people" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Viking</a> era. During this period the settlements of Scandinavia commanded a broad network of trade that stretched as far east as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Novgorod-oblast-Russia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Novgorod</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Istanbul" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Constantinople</a> and as far west as Greenland and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">North America</a>. The Vikings’ sturdy longships <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="facilitated" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitated" data-type="MW">facilitated</a> both trade and war missions across heavy seas.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The Viking period fostered a literary <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a> that, although oral at first, proved enduring and rich. The tales exchanged by the Vikings made their way into the written literature of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Norse-language" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Old Norse</a>, which was composed especially in <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="medieval" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval" data-type="MW">medieval</a> Iceland and Norway. By that time the Nordic peoples were largely Christianized, and many of the earliest sagas dealt with the lives of Christian saints. But the sagas also became a repository for Norse mythology (<em>see</em> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Germanic-religion-and-mythology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germanic religion and mythology</a>), preserved perhaps most famously in the works of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edda" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Edda</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h3"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref353240"> <h2 class="h1">Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish kingdoms and the Kalmar Union</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Meanwhile, the Viking settlements across Scandinavia began to coalesce into kingdoms about the 9th and 10th centuries. Much of the Norwegian coast was united through conquest in the 9th century by a warrior chief, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-I-king-of-Norway" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Harald I Fairhair</a>. In the 10th century, Gorm the Old and his son <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harald-I-king-of-Denmark" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Harald I Bluetooth</a> united the Danes, who at the time were at the centre of the Vikings’ trade network. The historical consolidation of Sweden under one monarch is less clear, although Eric the Victorious and his son Olaf Skötkonung are often credited with establishing the royal line by the end of the 10th century.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the 13th century the Swedes settled gradually eastward along the Baltic coast. By the early 14th century Swedes had begun administering much of Finland and transplanting Swedish nobility there. The Finns would remain under Swedish <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="sovereignty" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereignty" data-type="MW">sovereignty</a> until the 19th century.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=black-friday-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the late 14th century the entanglement of the royal families of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden led to the formation of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kalmar-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Kalmar Union</a>. It was forged through the marriage of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Margaret-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Margaret I</a>, the daughter of Denmark’s King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Valdemar-IV-Atterdag" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Valdemar VI</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Haakon-VI-Magnusson" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Haakon VI</a>, who was the king of Norway and the son of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Magnus-II-Eriksson" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Magnus Eriksson</a>, the king of Sweden and former king of Norway. By 1389, after the deaths of both Valdemar and Haakon, Margaret had brought all three kingdoms under her regency. The union was formalized when her nephew Erik, whom she had adopted as her <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="heir" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/heir" data-type="EB">heir</a>, came of age and had his coronation in 1397. However, Margaret continued to be the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/de-facto" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">de facto</a> ruler of Scandinavia until her death in 1412. The three countries retained their individual policy-making councils and maintained their distinct identities. Despite the potential this left for the union to be unwound, it managed to remain intact for more than a century, until King <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christian-II-Scandinavian-king" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Christian II</a> massacred Swedish nobility in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Stockholm-Bloodbath" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Stockholm Bloodbath</a> (1520). Unified in outrage, the Swedes revolted and established Sweden’s independence under the leadership of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gustav-I-Vasa" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gustav I Vasa</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="marker h4"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref353241"> <h2 class="h1">The Reformation in Scandinavia and the modern era</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The dissolution of the union was cemented with the help of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Reformation</a>. Gustav centralized his authority by embracing <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Lutheranism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lutheranism</a>: the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="conversion" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/conversion" data-type="EB">conversion</a> allowed him to confiscate property belonging to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Roman-Catholicism" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Roman Catholic Church</a>, systematically diminish the church’s political independence, and direct its wealth toward his new state. A similar development took place in Denmark just years later. After <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christian-III" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Christian III</a> became the victor in a succession crisis that was instigated by the predominantly Catholic Rigsråd (Council of the Realm), he seized church property and established a Lutheran state church that would be tethered to the Danish crown. Despite taking similar directions in the dissolution, Denmark and Sweden became engaged in a rivalry that lasted centuries.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Matters changed in the 19th century, when Sweden lost Finland to Russia (1809) and Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden (1814). Norway drew up a constitution, which the Swedish <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="crown" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/crown" data-type="EB">crown</a> was forced to accept, and became self-governing. Talk of a new Scandinavian union with Denmark gathered clout by the mid-19th century. That union was never realized, however, and Norway became independent in 1905. In 1918 Iceland became self-governing, and in 1944 it became an independent <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/republic-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">republic</a> after an agreement to remain under the Danish crown expired.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The First and Second World Wars, meanwhile, saw Scandinavia sandwiched between <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany</a> to the south and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Russia" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Russia</a> to the east. Except for Finland, which was under Russian rule until 1918, the Nordic countries maintained <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/neutrality" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">neutrality</a> throughout <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a>. They had hoped to continue that neutrality during <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>, but the Soviets invaded Finland in 1939, and German forces occupied both Denmark and Norway in 1940. Faced with falling to the same fate, Sweden was forced to grant transit to German troops.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Despite being split up during the war, the Nordic countries shared the common experience of being caught in the middle of two warring powers. In the aftermath of the war, the countries sought to strengthen their cooperation. Attempts at a defense union failed after Denmark, Iceland, and Norway opted to join the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/North-Atlantic-Treaty-Organization" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)</a> in 1949. An avenue for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="dialogue" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dialogue" data-type="MW">dialogue</a> and coordination was created in 1952 with the establishment of the interparliamentary Nordic Council; government ministers followed suit in 1971 when they formed the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nordic-Council-of-Ministers" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nordic Council of Ministers</a>. In 2009 the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO) finally brought the Nordic countries into military cooperation, a relationship that was likely to deepen after Finland and Sweden applied for accession to NATO in 2022.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/Adam-Zeidan/12409087">Adam Zeidan</a></span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":2215727,"pageLength":1090,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"C","adLeg":"C","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"LARGE","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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Nordic countries | Region, Number, Meaning, & vs Scandinavian | Britannica