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The Low Countries ((オランダ語: de Lage Landen), (フランス語: les Pays-Bas)) is a coastal region in western Europe, consisting especially of the Netherlands and Belgium, and the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Meuse, Scheldt, and Ems rivers where much of the land is at or below sea level.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Low Countries - definition of Low Countries by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. )〕 This wide area of Northern Europe roughly stretches from French Gravelines and Dunkirk at its southwestern point, to the area of Dutch Delfzijl and German Eastern Frisia at its northeastern point, and to Luxembourg and French Thionville in the southeast. Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to form one union of port and hinterland. The Low Countries were the scene of the early northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres, that marked the reawakening of Europe in the 12th century. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe. Most of the cities were governed by guilds and councils along with a figurehead ruler; interaction with their ruler was regulated by a strict set of rules describing what the latter could and could not expect from them. All of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, although Romance languages also played an important role. Secondary languages included French (Luxembourg, Brabant around Nivelles), Romance-speaking Belgium (cf. the Bishopric of Liège), the Romance Flanders (i.e. Cambrai, Lille, Tournai), and Namur (Walloon). ==Terminology== Historically, the term ''Low Countries'' arose at the Court of the Dukes of Burgundy, who used the term ''les pays de par deçà'' (~ ''the lands over here'') for the Low Countries as opposed to ''les pays de par delà'' (~ ''the lands over there'') for the Duchy of Burgundy and the Free County of Burgundy, which were part of their realm but geographically disconnected from the Low Countries. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions ''les pays de par deça'' and ''Pays d'Embas'' (~ ''lands down here''), which evolved to ''Pays-Bas'' or ''Low Countries''. Today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term ''Benelux'', which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the modern country the Netherlands has the same meaning and origin as the term "low countries" due to "nether" meaning "lower". The same name of these countries can be found in other European languages, for example German ''Niederlande'', French, ''les Pays-Bas'', and so on, which all literally mean "the Low Countries". In the Dutch language itself (known in Dutch as "''Nederlands''", meaning "Netherlandish") no plural is used for the name of the modern country. So ''Nederland'' (singular) is used for the modern nation and ''de Nederlanden'' (plural) for the 16th century domains of Charles V. (However, in official use the name of the Dutch kingdom is still Kingdom of the Netherlands (''Koninkrijk der Nederlanden''), a name deriving from the 19th century origins of the kingdom which originally included present-day Belgium.) In Dutch, and to a lesser extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands and Flanders—the Dutch-speaking north of Belgium. (This version does not include Luxembourg.) For example, a 'Derby der Lage Landen' (Derby of the Low Countries), is a sports event between Belgium and the Netherlands. "Belgium" was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in order to distinguish it from its northern neighbour. It had previously also commonly been referred to as one part of the geographic "Netherlands", being the part which remained in the hands of the Habsburg heirs of the Burgundian Dukes until the French Revolution. Politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the "Southern", "Spanish" or later "Austrian" Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the "low countries". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Low Countries」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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