Thread replies: 6
Thread images: 3
Thread images: 3
File: germany_charles_v_1519.jpg (834KB, 2207x1684px)
834KB, 2207x1684px
When the >H>R>E extended further west into present-day France, did the locals speak Germanic dialects, or was the cultural/language border more-or-less the same as it is today?
Also, would it be accurate to say that prior to the 19th century, the term "Germany" was more akin to a term like "Scandinavia" in that it described a cultural/linguistic region rather than an actual political entity?
>>
Yes. Before the Second Reich, Germany referred to a cultural region. Even Austria would have counted as being part of Germany before the late 19th Century.
>>
File: High German.png (549KB, 800x931px) Image search:
[Google]
549KB, 800x931px
>>1898105
As far as I'm aware of, they mostly spoke French/Arpitan in Burgundy; however, it's possible that West Central Germanic dialects extended further into Alsace and Lorraine.
>>
>>1898202
Occitan
>>
>>1898105
>or was the cultural/language border more-or-less the same as it is today?
It's more or less the same. The main differences are that Alsace and parts of Lorraine used to be German speaking whereas it's pretty much dead now. Also, the people in the area around Dunkirk used to speak Dutch, now it's French. The western part of Lorraine and the Franche Comté were always French speaking.
>Also, would it be accurate to say that prior to the 19th century, the term "Germany" was more akin to a term like "Scandinavia" in that it described a cultural/linguistic region rather than an actual political entity?
In the Middle Ages, probably yes (I'm not sure though). In the Modern Era, when the Italian posessions were lost, it was already called HRE of the German Nation. Some people began to call the HRE just Germany or German Empire.
>>
>>1898202
>Metz
I always assumed this was part of Alsace but I later discovered it's in Lorraine and it's firmly French.
How did it end up with such a German-sounding name?
Thread posts: 6
Thread images: 3
Thread images: 3