Question
Is Iceland really a part of Scandinavia, or is just said to be because of the country's connections with the Nordic countries?
Asked By
Ragnar Veigar Guðmundssson
Answer
The old meaning of the word Scandinavia embraced Norway and Sweden. The origin of the word is not entirely clear but people generally favour the idea that it means the island of darkness or fog island (The Norwegian word skodde meansfog and avia or aujo which are of Norwegian origin, mean island). On old maps, Scandinavia is often shown as an island, and as people's knowledge of world geography was then quite limited, then this interpretation is not unlikely.Part of a map of Scandinavia by Olaus Magnus (1490-1557). Click on the image to see the entire map.
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Dagsetning
Published13.1.2006
Category:
Citation
Guðrún Gísladóttir (1956-2023). „Is Iceland really a part of Scandinavia, or is just said to be because of the country's connections with the Nordic countries?“. The Icelandic Web of Science 13.1.2006. http://why.is/svar.php?id=5561. (Skoðað 5.10.2024).
Author
Guðrún Gísladóttir (1956-2023)prófessor í landafræði við HÍ