Northern England : Ask Biography

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Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North or the North Country, is a cultural region of England. It is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. The southern extent of the region is roughly the River Trent, while the North is bordered by Scotland. The counties of Northern England combined have a population of around 14.5 million covering an area of 37,331 km2 (14,414 sq mi).

During antiquity most of the area was part of Brigantia - homeland of the Brigantes and the largest Brythonic kingdom of Great Britain. After the Roman conquest of Britain the city of York became capital of the area, called Britannia Inferior then Britannia Secunda. In Sub-Roman Britain new Brythonic kingdoms of the Hen Ogledd emerged. The Angle settlers created Bernicia and Deira from which came Northumbria and a Golden Age in cultural, scholarly and monastic activity, centered around Lindisfarne and aided by Irish monks. Norse and Gaelic Viking raiders gained control of much of the area, creating the Danelaw. During this time there were close relations with Mann and the Isles, Dublin and Norway. Northumbria was unified with the rest of England under Eadred around 952.

After the Norman conquest in 1066, desolation was brought with the Harrying of the North, though much construction and town founding was done shortly after. A Council of the North was in place during the Late Middle Ages until the Commonwealth after the Civil War. The area experienced Anglo � Scottish border fighting until the unification of Britain under the Stuarts.