7.6.1 Sweden: Skåne and Skåneland
Description
This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
7.6.1 Sweden: Skåne and Skåneland
<This section by Malte Lewan>
Lat: Scania,
Eng: Scania,
Ger: die Schonen,
Fr: la Scanie
"Skåne" is old Danish/Scanian and means "the dangerous beach". It is
possibly the same word as modern "skada" / "skade" in Swedish and Danish
respectively which mean "damage".
Skåne is the most southern of the provinces in Sweden. Together with
Blekinge, Halland and Danish Bornholm, it has a unique history while it was
an integral part of Denmark all the years before 1658 except 1332- 1360 when
Denmark had no king and was in chaos and Scania had status as country under
the Swedish king. "Skåneland" in Swedish or "Skånelandene" in Danish is a
name used for the four provinces together. In Latin and English it is
"Scania". In 1658, they all became Swedish, but Bornholm was returned to
Denmark in 1660 while the other provinces remained Swedish.
"Scania" is used for representing "Skåneland" in the text below but not in a
strict sense. Sometimes, the meaning might be closer to the province of
Skåne. And Bornholm will in this use often not be included. When emphasizing
that it is only the southern province that is referred to, "Skåne" is used,
but when emphasizing that all provinces are referred to, "Skåneland" will be
used.
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