On the History of Naming the North Sea

Bela Pokoly (Commission on Geographical Names, Ministry of AgricuUUfe and Regional Development, Department of Lands and Mapping, Hungary)

The North Sea - where it is - how it grew in importance

The sea is situated in the northern part of Western Europe roughly between the eastern coast of Britain, the 61st parallel in the North, the southern coasts of Norway, a small part of the SE coast of Sweden, the western shores of Denmark, the north- western coasts of Gennany. as well as those of [he Netherlands and Belgium, with a tiny French coastal part (around Dunquerque). Its area is about 225 thousand sq. miles, a little more than the land area of France. Being a shallow sea (overwhelmingly covering the continental shelves except in the Norwegian Trench where at one point it is almost 400 fathoms deep) it also holds a relatively small amount of water.

Fig. L {slide}

The North Sea belongs to the better-known seas not only in Europe, but throughout the world. Its familiarity has especially grown at great scales smce the 1970's as output of petroleum and natural gas from its continental shelf achieved global importance.

As the Hungarian scholar of geography M. Haltenberger wrote in his book Marine Geography (1965) the rough waters of the sea had been avoided by both the Romans and traders of the Hanseatic League. The importance of the sea started to grow only after the great discoveries as the Atlantic Ocean became the "Mediterranean Sea of the new times".

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Earliest occurrences of the name of the sea

Prehistoric people moved little from the area they inhabited, therefore, if it was a seacoast, they called the sea without any specific name, just "the sea", [n later times, when people realized that their sea was not the only one, did they begin to give specific names to seas,

The ancient Greek scholar Strabon, who lived between 60 B,C. and 20 AD" referred to the sea as Okeanos, the ocean surrounding the known world, Publius Cornelius Tacitus (cca 55-117 A.D') gave a brief description of the geography, ethnography and society of German lands and people in his work "Germania" (n In its first chapter he writes that the River Rhenus (Rhine) flows into the Northern Ocean (Oceanus Septentnonaiis), Thereafter he only refers to "the ocean". In Chapter 2. he adds that the name "Germania" is rather new, as those who first crossed the Rhenus and drove the Gau ls away were called Germans.

Apart from these the earliest mentioning I know of the sea is Pliny Jr. ("Germanicum Mare") and of course Ptolemy ("Gennanikos Okeanos", If) . They date from the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. respectively (2)

Abraham Ortelius' historical atlas, called Parergon (594), does not confirm Pliny's use of Gerrnanicum Mare. It states, that he used the names "Oceanus Septentrionalis" and "Oceanu s Britannicus".

Medieval usages

My investigations, which are of course far from complete, have been limi ted to the study of some printed maps. The first of these - sometimes called incunables - are exclusively based on Ptolemy's cartographic heritage, the "Geographia" (3),

Figure 2. and 3. show two printed maps based on Ptolemy. On Fig.2., where the so-called VIm Edition (1482) is presented, the name "Gennanicum Mare" is given. Figure 3. however, shows the same sea named "Gennanicu s Oceanus" in Ptolemy' s Venice Edition (1511). With so many hand- written copies of the original work, when the copiers had also allowed some textual interpretation of their own, the variants are no surprise. As the Latin translation of the text of "Geographia" also contains the name If Germanicus Oceanus" ("where the River

- 6- Rhine has its mouth") we can assume that the original name had the genenc term "ocean".

,• Fig. 2. (slide)

" Fig. 3. (slide)

l The German Hieronymus M nzer solved the dilemma of "oceanus or mare" » by placing "Oceanus Gennanicus" on the North Sea and "Mare Germanicum" on the Baltic Sea in his map dated 1493 (Fig. 4,), It is found in the famous chronicle of the World by Nuremberg scholar Hartmann Schedel (Liber Chronicarum ).

• Fig. 4. (slide)

The noted German humanist scholar and cartographer Nicolaus Cusanus had another solution. He put the name "Mare Oceanum Germaniae" on his famous • map of Central Europe (491), Another Gennan Erhard Etzlaub went a step further and translated the name into German. His map of Central Europe (1501) featured "Das Gros Teutsch mer" (The Great German Sea).

The learned Swedish bishop Olaus Magnus also used the name "Mare Gennanicum" on his celebrated Carta Marina in 1539, showing Northern Europe B Fig. 5. I

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Fig. 5 - Abb.28 O. Magnus, Carta marina, Venedig 1539. Ausschnitt

These name versions seemed to be therefore the accepted ones among scholars, cartographers of this age. Mention should also be made of Gerard Mercator, whose Atlas has several instances of using the names. In his 1587 Atlas I found both "Mare Gerrnanicum" (on his map of Zelandia part of the Netherlands, Fig. 6,) and "Gerrnanicus Oceanus" (on the map of Belgium, Fig. 7'>. On his lovely ''Europae Descriptio" (map of Europe, 1572) I have also seen the name "Oceanus Gerrnanicus" between a narwhal and a fish-eating sea monsler. His son Rumold applied the name "Mare Germanicum" on his map of Europe (around 1590, Fig. 8,).

Fig. 6. (slide)

Fig. 7. (slide)

Fig. 8. (slide) - 11-

Ptolemy's well -known authority on geography and geographical names as we have seen "the first UNGEGN toponymist" in Prof. Kadmon's words (4) kept the name variants "Mare GeffilanicwnlOceanus Gennanicus" or equivalent in use long after popular or local usage shifted to "North Sea". In England, for example, the official name was changed from German Ocean to the present compass point name as late as 1914! We should also bear in mind that the Hanseatic league of German cities had their zenith of power in the 14th and 15th centuries adding their influence in retaining the specific element "German" of the sea.

The name German Sea (or Ocean) was therefore prevailing, but not exclusively used in these old times. As I already mentioned, according to A Orteliu s, Pliny used the names "Oceanus Seplentrionalis" and "Oceanus Britannicus". Dani sh scholar Claudius Clavus al so used another name on his map of Northern Euro~ (1424): "Oceanus Cimbricus", Chersonesus Cimbrica was the Roman name for the Jutland Peninsula. As for "British Ocean (or Sea)" one can find a few examples of its use (e.g. at O. Magnus) written closer to the shores of Britain. but Mare Britannicum almost always stood for the present English Channel. According to another source Graesse- Bencdict (5), other ancient variants of the sea include Amalchium Mare, Britannie et Frisie mare, Fresonicus Oceanus, Magnum Mare. Occidentale Mare, Occidentalis Oceanus. As for the last two (Western Sea or Ocean) one should compare them with the Norman Vestur Veg, with the old Swedish Vesterhqfuet or with the present Danish name Vesterhavet (see later).

First instances of the use of "North Sea'"

As opposed to this overwhelming use of Ptolemy's versions there is evidence that the sea has not been named "Gennan" by people of the Low Countries for a very long time. Professor Ferjan Onneiing from Utrecht University (Netherlands) argues that North Sea has been the local or popular name for the sea (for people in the Low Countries) since the beginning of printed maps. He quotes e.g. a map by Jan de Beeldsnijder named "De Caerte van de Oostcrsche Zee: De Noort Zee" dated 1526. Evidence is obvious therefore. that the sea was first called North Sea in its equivalent fonns by people of the Netherlands in the Middle Ages. Although these people are called "Dutch" in the English language, a word etymologically identical with "Deutsch" (Gennan), they do not call themselves this way, still less by the Latin fonn "Germanicus". (The Dutch word "Duits" means "German"), According to Egli (6), the local

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inhabitants called the large bay north of the Rhine delta Zuider Zee, or South Sea. As counterpart to it, the large open sea to the north was named Noord

, Zee. (The Zuiderzee has been renamed lj sselmeer. following its damming in " 1934). There reportedly had also been a "Middelzee" in medieval times in J, , Friesland but it has been dry land since the 16th century. A. Haeyens names the sea on his map of 1585 showing the estuary of the River Ems "De Noort ! Zee" (Fig. 9,). 1,

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Fig. 9.

- 16 - I was glad to find a lovely PIece of another evidence for the early use of the name "North Sea". The Swiss chronicler j. Stumpf supplemented his Schwyzer Chronik ( 554) with several beautiful maps. Among them a map of Europe dated 1554 featured the name "Mitternchtig Meer" (old Gennan North Sea) for the North Sea. The Baltic Sea however was named "Das Deutsche MeeT",

Fig. 10. (slide)

Naming the sea following the great discoveries

The di scovery of the New World, Magellan's and others' celebrated travels, and not the least the growth of the sea might of the Netherlands have resulted in a political shift of balance. The Hanseatic League declined in importance, while the Netherlands became a leading world JX)wer. Following the Union of Utrech (1579) the country asserted a leading role in European naval commerce, but its global influence was also marked by settlements in South and Southeast Asia as well as the Americas.

It is no wonder therefore that the use of the name "North Sea" became ever more widespread at the expense of "German Sea (or Ocean)". The change was much more gradual, however. Around the 16th and 17th centuries there was a random use of the names Mare Gennanicwn, Oceanus Germanicus, Oceanus Britannicus and North Sea. In 1579 Christoper Saxton still confidently put Oceanus Gennanicus in his Atlas of England and Wales. Less than !50 years later on the other hand John Speed was far Jess consequent in his atlas "A Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World" (1626). On his map of Europe for example one may read "The Gennaine Ocean". In the Description of Germany we read: the "Rhene (Rhine) ... runs into the German Ocean". On the "Newe Mape of Gennany" he uses the name "The Ocean Sea". Maps of the Low Countries and Denmark both feature "Genna(i)ne Ocean" and "North Sea".

From the 17th and especially during the 18th centuries the usual standard name featured "Mare Gennanicum vulgo in everyday use Noord Zee". The Baltic Sea on the other hand had an identical way of designation "Mare Balticum vulgo De Oost Zee". Fig. 11. and 12. show I.B. Homann's maps of Europe from 1706 and 1712 respectively. On the earlier one the solar ec lipse of the year 1706

- 17- is nicely shown by a blue band.

Fig. 11. (slide)

Fig. 12. (slide)

In the 19th century we can still see a transition (at least outside the Netherlands). An American map from 1832 only uses "North Sea" (Fig. 13,), but another American atlas

Fig. 13. (slide)

Fig. 14. (slide)

Fig. 15. (slide)

German atlases of the last century alternatively used "Deutsches Meer" and "Nordsee". An atlas of Bartholomew published in 1892 only "North Sea" is given.

Present names of the sea

The name of the sea is now almost exclusively "North Sea" or equivalent. in all countries (Gennan N ordsee, French la mer du N ord etc.). In a Gennan atlas (Andree's Allgemeiner Handatlas, 1924) one can see a map titled Verkehrskarte der Nord- und Ostsee (Transport map of the North and East Seas; the East Sea being the Gennan form of the Baltic Sea, Fig. 16).

Fig. 16. (slide)

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It may also be noted that another relevant geographical name is used on Gennan maps: "Deutsche Bueht" ("German Bay") designating the corner of the North Sea with Gennan seashore. This name never appears on non -Gennan maps. Instead, the name "Bay of Helgoland" and equivalent (e.g. Gennan: "Helgolnder Bueht") is given on all maps of sufficient detail. although it usually refers to a smaller part of the bay closer to the coast.

The fanner Swedish Vesterlrtuet (Western Sea) has changed to Nords} n (sometimes Norskelnvet), and it is only in Denmark, where the long-established name of Vestermvet is still used, based on the geographical position of the sea relative to the country. Otherwise all countries of the world use the original Dutch form "Noord Zee" (Fig. 17,) or eqivalent translations. Two maps pubHshed in Hungary for the international market demonstrates this practice (Fig. 18. and 19,).

Fig. 17. (slide)

Fig. 18. (slide)

Fig. 19. (slide)

Use of cardinal points in naming of seas

Present usage of alternative names with compass points of high seas when the specific element of one name variant (allonym) includes a country or people's name is not uncommon, e.g. South China Sea - Bien Dong (Vietnamese East Sea), Baltic Sea - Ostsee (German East Sea), Sea of Japan - East Sea. Allonyms may also occur when the specific cardinal point does not well fit in the case of a given country: In the very case of the North Sea we have seen that the Danes call it "Vesterhavet" (Western Sea).

These alternatives may include a specific element other than a cardinal point. A well-known example here are the allonyrn English Channel - La Manche. Although the fIrst version has global familiarity due to the position of the English language, the second, variant (or its translation) is used in most other countries where English is not official.

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Summary

The classica1 old Roman name "Oceanus Germanicus" or "Mare Gennanicum", also used by the celebrated goographer Ptolemy, had been in long use in Europe, designating the present North Sea, Local or popular use of the present fann also has a long history in the Low Countries, but cartographic usage of the old versions changed gradually from the beginning of the Modern Age to earlier this century. People of the Low Countries chose the name "De Noord Zee" after a compass point which was relative to their position. The acceptance of this name at Dutch initiative was obviously due to the economic importance of the Netherlands during the early modem times. The nature of being a more neutral name, not named after a country or a people, may have facilitated the spread of its use.

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Fig. l. (slide): • Hammond's New Era Atlas of the World New YorkiChicago/l..A. 1964, Europe (p. 9) North Sea (Baltic Sea)

Fig. 2. (slide): • Ptolemy, C. - (Northern Europe), Dim edtition, 1482 Germanicum Mare

Fig . 3. (slide): • Ptolemy C. - Geograohia (Venice, 1511), Theatrum Orbis T errarum (facsimile edition published 1969): Prima Europae Tabula Germanicus Oceanus

Fig . 4. (slide): • Munzer, H. (Map of Central Europe) 1493 in Hartmann Schedel' s Liber Chronicarum Oceanus Germanicus (North Sea), Mare Germanicwn (Baltic Sea)

Fig. 5. (xerox COpy): • Olaus Magnus Carta Marina (539) Mare Gennanicum

f ig. 6. (slide): • Mercator, G. - Atlas (587) Belgji Germanicus Oceanus,

Fig . 7. (slide): • Mercator, G. Atlas (1587) Zelandia Comitatus Mare Germanicwn

Fig . 8. (slide): · Mercator, R. Atlas sive Cosmographicae Med.itationes ... (complete Mercator Atlas, 1595): Europa Mare Gennanicum

Fig. 9. (xerox COpy ): • A. Haeyens Map of the estuary of the River Ems (585) De Noorr Zee

Fig. to. (slide): • Stumpf. 1. - Schwyzer Chronik (short edition 1554) Europa IJas Mitnechtig Meer correctly Ion another sheet!: Das Mitternchtig Meer

Fig. 11. (slide): • Homann, J.B. - (Map of the solar eclipse of 1706 in Europe) Mare Germanicwn vulgo De Noord Zee, (Mare Balticum lJulgo de Oost Zee)

- 31 - Fig. 12. (slide): • Homann, j.B. New Atlas. 1712, (Europe) Mare Gerrrnnicum uuigo De Noord Zee

Fig. 13. (stide); • Olney, J - A New and ImoroVed School Atlas Hartford, Conn., USA 1832, Europe North Sea

Fig. 14. (slide): • Mitchell's New General Atlas Philadelphia, 1875: Map of Europe (p. 67) North Sea

Fig. 15. (slide): • Mitchell's New General Atlas Philadelphia, 1875: County Map of England and Wa1es (p. 68) German Ocean or North sea

Fi a- . 16. (slide): • Andree's Allgemeiner Handatlas BielefeJd/Leipzig, 1924. Verkehrskarte der Nord- Dod Ostsee (p. 34) Nordsee (Ostsee)

Fig. 17. (slide): • Bos- Nienneyer Schoolatlas der Gebele Aarde Wolters, Groningen/Djakarta 1956 (Europe and Asia Minor p. 6) Noord Zee (Oost Zee)

Fig. 18. (slide): • Cartographia' s Road Map of Western Europe Onset: Southern Scandinavia) Budapest, 1979 Nordsjoen / Vesterhauet

Fig. 19. (slide): • Cartographia' s Map of Europe Budapest, 1996 North Sea / Nordsoen / Nordsee

- 32- Literature

I. Tacitus, P.C.: Germania (Hungarian translation), Budapest, 1980)

2. Deschamps, P.: Dictionnaire de g agraphie ancienne et modeme I'usage du librairc et de J'amateur de libre, j. Altmann, Berlin 1922

3. Ptolemaeus, c.: Geographia (Facsimile edition by the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Publishers), Amsterdam, 1969)

4. Kadmon, N.: Ptolemy ~ the first UNGEGN toponymist (Paper No E/CONF.9I1L.14. presented to the 7th UN Conference on the Standardization of Geographgicai Names, 1998)

5. G ra essc ~ Bened i ct: Orbis Latinus (Lexikon lateinischer Geographischen Namen des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit, Braunschweig, 1972)

6. Egli, j. j.: Nomina Geographica, Lepzig, 1893

7. Lang, A.w. Seekarten der sudlichen Nord und Ostsee (Deutsche Hydrog raphischc Zeitschri ft, Reihe B, Nr. 10), Hamburg, 1968

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to express his thanks to the assistance of the many experts, and scholars who helped his work, and especially to

F. Ormeling (Utrecht), B. Winters (Hamburg), P. Woodman (London), J Sievers (FrankfurUMain), E. Z gner (Berlin), H- G Glaesser (KieD , E. F ldi, A. lank , A. Gombocz. L. Kiss, and K Plih 1 (Budapest).

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