Abstract

Contrary to the German Lands and the Nordic Countries the Lutherans in the Netherlands were always a religious minority under a non-Lutheran authority.
 The history of the Dutch Lutherans is closely related to the migration streams of the 16th and 17th century, especially from the German Lands and the Nordic Countries. But the Nordic countries have barely been considered in the historiography of Dutch Lutheranism. 
 This article shows that the relations between the Netherlands and the Nordic Countries happened on a variety of levels. Even though the confessional motivation wasn't always paramount, this Northern dimension had a decisive influence on the development of Dutch Lutheranism and provides an excellent comparative context to study it. In order to understand its place in the Dutch religious landscape and within the broader context of global Lutheranism, research on the role of the Nordic countries is indispensable.

Highlights

  • By all the customary definitions the Netherlands are not perceived as a Nordic country: They do not belong to the geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic that encompasses the Nordic countries

  • When I started to study the history of the Lutherans in the Netherlands, it became quite obvious that the Nordic countries had a decisive influence on the development of Dutch Lutheranism

  • A large number of the migrants who came to the Republic, and in particular to Amsterdam, came from the German Lands and the Nordic Countries where the Lutheran Reformation had gained a strong foothold in the first decades of the 16th century

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Summary

Introduction

By all the customary definitions the Netherlands are not perceived as a Nordic country: They do not belong to the geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic that encompasses the Nordic countries. When I started to study the history of the Lutherans in the Netherlands, it became quite obvious that the Nordic countries had a decisive influence on the development of Dutch Lutheranism. I will start by briefly describing three of the core characteristics of Dutch Lutheranism that are relevant in the context of this topic in order to provide an outline, and proceed to discuss a variety of examples of Nordic influences on its development

Sabine Hiebsch
Are the Netherlands a Nordic country?
Nordic influences on the development of Dutch Lutheranism
Swedish agents
Conclusion
Findings
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