Exploring The NORDIC REGION...
Student Text Page No. 1: "Cultural Roots"

Magical ships, "sailing" across the sky ... princely heroes, adrift at sea ... warring gods ... giant trolls who threatened humans (but feared the sunlight)! These are just a few of the stories told by early Scandinavians. Tales recited during long, northern winter nights and daring sea voyages. Tales in which they believed....

The descendants of those Scandinavians — the Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians, and Swedes of modern Europe — view their world quite differently, of course. But they respect the old myths, preserved in such sources as the Icelandic Eddas. The myths are clues to their distant past — to the cultural roots of today's Nordic people.

Moving in. When did humans first arrive on the Scandinavian Peninsula? There's no record. But people were clearly there after the last Ice Age ended (around 10,000 BCE). As Scandinavia's ice cap receded, it left the region blanketed with lakes, forests, rivers, and meadows. This environment soon attracted migrating reindeer — and the humans who tracked them — from central Asia and southeastern Europe.
     Once in Scandinavia, most hunters became herders and farmers. With plentiful fish in the Baltic Sea, they became seafarers too. Many lived in coastal villages, preferring water travel to overland routes. (After all, there were trolls in those forests!) And by 500 BCE, all were sharing a distinct regional culture. Indeed, most used a local version of the same language: "Old German."

Making headlines. In the 9th century CE, their seafaring made history. Scandinavians from places we now call Norway, Sweden, and Denmark launched a series of daring voyages. Some of those "Vikings" raided nearby countries. Others sought new territory — and markets for their furs, woodcrafts, and tools. Swedes expanded into Finland and opened trade with Russia. Danes conquered parts of France and England. Norwegians settled in Iceland. Icelanders colonized Greenland — and even reached North America! Events back home were equally dramatic. For one thing, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish rulers pressed hard to unite their kingdoms and end wars among local lords. For another, all people now deemed to be "Scandinavians" — Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians, and Swedes — converted to Catholicism: a unifying influence.

Asserting priorities. In a way, it would have been surprising if someone hadn't tried to unite this region politically, too. Someone did. In 1397, Denmark's Queen Margrethe I joined her kingdom to the kingdoms of Norway (including Iceland) and Sweden (including Finland). This "Union of Kalmar" lasted until a series of wars ended the alliance: Sweden and Finland broke from Denmark in 1521; Norway separated in 1814; Iceland, in 1918.
     By the 1800s, Scandinavians (most were now Lutherans) felt strong loyalties to their individual "nations." But some goals were shared throughout the region, too. People in each country began calling for a new constitution with a representative legislature. They wanted peace (not war) and protection for the kinds of personal liberty, family security, and local self-rule their early ancestors had enjoyed. They demanded education in the skills needed for modern life. And they wanted "safety-net" laws, to protect all citizens from dire poverty.

Regional Matters. By the year 2004, all five nations in what is now called the Nordic Region had achieved those goals. Today, their 24.5 million people enjoy one of the best living standards in the world. And their long, eventful history helps us to ponder these questions: How does a country's geographic setting influence its people's identity? What kinds of influences tend to bind the peoples of neighboring countries within a region? (And what kinds of influences could drive them apart?)