Editing Low Countries (section)

==Terminology==
{{main|Terminology of the Low Countries}}
[[File:The Low Countries.png|thumb|The Low Countries from 1556 to 1648]]<!-- The map inset provides us a small-scale map. -->
[[File:Lage Landen (Frankische Tijd).svg|thumb|Southern part of the Low Countries with bishopry towns and abbeys {{circa|7th century}}]]
Historically, [[Terminology of the Low Countries#Netherlands|the term ''Low Countries'']] arose at the Court of the [[Duke of Burgundy#House of Valois-Burgundy (1361–1482)|Dukes of Burgundy]], who used the term ''{{lang|fr|les pays de par deçà}}'' ("the lands over here") for the Low Countries as opposed to ''{{lang|fr|les pays de par delà}}'' ("the lands over there") for the [[Duchy of Burgundy]] and the [[County of Burgundy|Free County of Burgundy]], which were part of their realm but geographically disconnected from the Low Countries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vre.leidenuniv.nl/vre/dutchrevolt/dutch/verhaal/Pages/verhaal01.aspx |title=1. De landen van herwaarts over |publisher=Vre.leidenuniv.nl |access-date=2014-01-01 |language=nl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513115131/https://vre.leidenuniv.nl/vre/dutchrevolt/dutch/verhaal/Pages/verhaal01.aspx |archive-date=13 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bmgn-lchr.nl/index.php/bmgn/article/download/5967/6021 |title=The Elusive Netherlands. The question of national identity in the Early Modern Low Countries on the Eve of the Revolt |author=Alastair Duke |access-date=2014-01-01 }}</ref> Governor [[Mary of Hungary (governor of the Netherlands)|Mary of Hungary]] used both the expressions ''{{lang|fr|les pays de par deça}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|Pays d'Embas}}'' ("lands down here"), which evolved to ''{{lang|fr|Pays-Bas}}'' or ''Low Countries''. Today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries<ref>{{cite web |title=Low Countries |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Low+Countries |website=TheFreeDictionary.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Low Countries {{!}} region, Europe |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Low-Countries |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |date=31 May 2023 |language=en}}</ref> and used in the same way as the term ''[[Benelux]]''.

[[File:Benelux.png|thumb|Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg form the Benelux]]

The name of the country of the [[Netherlands]] has the same etymology and origin as the name for the region Low Countries, due to "nether" meaning "low".<ref>{{cite web |title=Netherlands |department=Origin & meaning of Netherlands by Online Etymology Dictionary |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/Netherlands#etymonline_v_35463 |website=etymonline.com}}</ref> In the Dutch language itself {{Lang|nl|De Lage Landen}} is the modern term for Low Countries, and ''De Nederlanden'' (plural) is in use for the 16th century domains of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]], the historic Low Countries, while ''Nederland'' (singular) is the normal Dutch name for the country of the Netherlands. However, in official use, the name of the Dutch kingdom is still [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]], {{lang|nl|Koninkrijk der Nederlanden}} (plural). This name derives 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. For example, a ''{{lang|nl|[[Low Countries derby]]}}'' (''Derby der Lage Landen''), is a sports event between Belgium and the Netherlands.

[[Belgium]] separated in 1830 from the (northern) Netherlands. The new country took its name from ''Belgica'', the [[Latinisation of names|Latinised]] name for the Low Countries, as it was known during the [[Eighty Years' War]] (1568–1648). The Low Countries were in that war divided in two parts. On one hand, the northern [[Dutch Republic|Federated Netherlands]] or ''Belgica Foederata'' rebelled against King [[Philip&nbsp;II of Spain]]; on the other, the southern [[Spanish Netherlands|Royal Netherlands]] or ''Belgica Regia'' remained loyal to the Spanish king.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Buys |first1=Ruben |title=Sparks of Reason: Vernacular Rationalism in the Low Countries, 1550–1670 |date=2015 |publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren |isbn=9789087045159 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=286ECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA17 |language=en}}</ref> This divide laid the early foundation for the later modern states of Belgium and the Netherlands.