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Often in videos I use this amazing and detailed map made by
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Ratka Tavobratka on Reddit. Sorry if I mispronounced that. I'm going to be using this map a lot through this video, so all credit to them for making it
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In it, they depict what Europe looked like in the year 1444
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At this point, Europe was leaving the period usually known as the Middle Ages
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which had lasted for around a thousand years since 476 AD with the fall of the Roman Empire
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Since then, the landscape of Europe changed drastically, and this is how it looked by 1444
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So I thought it would be interesting to go through the map, finding out the main differences between Europe then and now
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namely in one specific thing, which countries existed back then that don't anymore
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Countries are a bit of a modern concept. The idea of a nation-state emerged at its earliest
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in the 17th century only. At this point there was a feudal system, with counts, dukes, kings and
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emperors, each ruling small to large portions of land and paying vassalage or having as vassals
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others who did the same. But even if it is this absence of countries that we notice
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let's find out where. I'll provide a brief description of each old country we run into
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If you want, I can make more dedicated videos for each of them. We can begin west to east because I'm Portuguese and I'm biased, wanting to start with my own country
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Portugal is a remarkable example. As early as this, its modern European borders were established, in fact they arguably date
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back even earlier to 1297. However, an important difference must be pointed out, Algarve
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Despite being ruled by the Portuguese king, Algarve was technically a dominion of the
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crown and a kingdom in name, if you will, a country in itself
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With this idealized flag depicting both the Christian ruler and the former Muslim one
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this could technically be a medieval country that no longer exists, but not really
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Spain was at this time not yet unified. Only Leon and Castile had come together, but two significant other countries or kingdoms
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still existed in the peninsula, Aragon, comprising what is today the east coast of Spain, and
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Granada in the south. Granada was still under the control of the Moors and was, I believe, the last Muslim stronghold to fall in the Iberian Peninsula
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It was known as the Emirates of Granada, a breakaway state from the Almohad Caliphate that once ruled much of Spain
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with sovereign Granada existing from 1230 to 1492. It had the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a natural barrier that kept it safe for long
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It was integrated into Mediterranean trade networks and heavily financed by Genoese bankers
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who wanted to gain control of the gold trade carried in through the Sahara Desert
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They were also known for their beautiful architecture, some of which remains up to today in southern Spain
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Their destruction is connected with the Spanish Reconquista, which took place just after the destruction of this other country, Aragon
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Although destruction is a little far-fetched. Aragon was a Christian kingdom in Spain
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existing from 1035 and unifying with Leon Castile in 1469. Although technically remaining in existence within Spain
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up to the 18th century. However, this was their period of full sovereignty
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Flying as their flag the colors now associated with the region of Catalonia Their ruler through the crown of Aragon also controlled Catalonia itself and Valencia as well as Mallorca I think Their loss of sovereignty came with the union with Castile and the unification of Spain As we move further north
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the mess starts. France looks more broken apart than it effectively was. A lot of the territory
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was already under the rule of the French crown or somewhat connected to it. This more simplified
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map by another reddit user, Willem Dill, makes it clearer. I believe a lot of these middle regions
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were sovereign but to some extent connected to the French crown, but correct me in the comments
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if I'm wrong. The control of coastal regions in the north and west by England is also noteworthy
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but those weren't their own countries. I want to focus on two sovereign states
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Brittany and Burgundy. Brittany was not a kingdom at this point, only a duchy
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but it was still a sovereign one. It's odd how at this time, different types of countries could
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exist at different levels or different rankings, if you will. A kingdom could be independent pretty
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much in the same way that a duchy was. It's kind of hard to think that they're different
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but also at the same level. Brittany had this really cool flag, black and white
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and their existence is connected to the expulsion of the Viking armies from the region
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but its control was always disputed from the English to high influence of local monastic
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orders and internal struggles for power, eventually the King of France acquired the title of the Duchy
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through marriage and it was effectively annexed into France. And next, I believe one of the most
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interesting examples from this video, Burgundy. Burgundy was a name given to many states in Europe
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throughout history. This particular one is the Duchy of Burgundy, which existed from 918 to 1482
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emerging precisely as a successor to an older kingdom of the Burgundians, which in turn came
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from the Burgundian people and East Germanic tribe, so they were pretty much descendants
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of a people of their own. They held at this time separated lands throughout what is now France and the Low Countries
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The Burgundian state was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time
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of the emergence of early modern Europe. At one point, Duke Charles the Bold, their last Duke, went to war with the Swiss Confederacy
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and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. The extinction of his dynasty led to the absorption of the duchy into the French crown by King
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Louis XI, while their possessions in the Low Countries passed onto Habsburg descendants
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I believe this is the perfect example of a full-on country that existed in medieval Europe
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holding a vast amount of land. It's odd to think that they very well could have maintained their sovereignty if that
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king hadn't died in battle and today we could have this country here bordering France, Germany
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Switzerland, and Italy, it would be very strange. As we go through this map, we come to realize one thing
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Most of Europe's modern countries were not unified as they are today. In fact, it's quite rare to see
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France was fragmented, but reasonably whole. England and Scotland were pretty much their current territory
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same as Norway and Sweden and Denmark. These, however, all controlled more land than they do today
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Norway had Iceland, Sweden had Finland, and Denmark had Scania and southern Sweden
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Oh, not to mention they were all temporarily united under the Kalmar Union
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And in fact we have quite a few countries of today that already existed back then in another form
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but holding more territory Hungary was much larger than it is now holding Slovakia parts of Romania and Serbia In fact Belgrad itself seems to be under Hungarian rule at this time Oddly enough
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despite losing sovereignty for various times, they only definitively lost this land in the 20th
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century with World War I. Lithuania too, it held much of Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
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this Grand Duchy of Lithuania occupied a tremendous amount of land. Moldova was also
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slightly bigger than it is today and of course the Ottoman Empire was quite big, although not
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shown here at its peak, territorial reach. Turkey today doesn't stretch into the Balkans in the
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same way that they did. The examples of countries that either didn't exist yet due to their
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territory being fragmented are much more. Let's go through some of them and focus on specific
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regions that were sovereign at the time but aren't anymore. Ireland was absolutely a mess
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a mosaic of independent counties and duchies with a small English foothold. Munster, Ormond
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Breffny and Ulster are some among many that were at the time independent. I believe these small
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sovereign states progressively disappeared with English conquest, then regaining their independence as a united Ireland in modern times. All the way to the east, Russia was not yet united either
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and many were the principalities, republics and duchies that were independent, although many of them having just broken free from being vassals of the Mongol Golden Horde
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The Republic of Novgorod is one of them, the easternmost trading post of the Anseatic League
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with its people being very much influenced by the culture of the Byzantines
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despite the population being Slavic. They were eventually destroyed through conquest by the Grand Duchy of Moscow
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another sovereign state at the time, who would come to evolve into the Tsardom and Empire of Russia
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It's therefore interesting to see how some of these medieval countries disappeared so that our modern ones could be created
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both through the example of Novgorod, conquered by Muscovy, and allowing it to grow into Russia
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but also in Muscovy itself, that through conquest became a new, larger country
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A similar example is the Teutonic Order, which eventually formed into Prussia and paved the way for the creation of the modern German state
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While a similar situation to Novgorod is found throughout Italy, where the various Italian sovereign states, such as Venice, Milan, Savoy, Genoa, the Papal States, and above all Naples and Sicily, were eventually destroyed so that they could unite into Italy
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Although it wasn't a linear process, they didn't exist all the way to the point of Italian unification, other things happened in between, but still
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The Republic of Venice was one of Italy's many mercantile seafaring republics that traded and established outposts along the Mediterranean coast
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In its early years, it prospered on the trade of salt, then expanding to dominate much of the sea trade of the Mediterranean
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such a great sea power that their navy was even used in the Crusades, having one of the coolest flags ever
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The opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of their decline as a powerful maritime republic
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then losing their sovereignty due to Ottoman attacks, as well as French and Austrian invasions
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Genoa is another example of a maritime republic of Italy, at the time also controlling Genoa
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and surprisingly the southern coast of Crimea, so far away from their homeland
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which was another sovereign country at the time occupying not only much of the peninsula actual territory but also stretching into southern and eastern Ukraine The Crimean Kanat used this interesting looking blue flag and was a Tatar state
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It existed from 1441 to 1783, the longest living of the Turkish Kanats that succeeded
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the Empire of the Golden Horde. In 1783 the Russian Empire annexed them, violating a 1774 treaty which had guaranteed non-interference
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of both Russia and the Ottomans in the affairs of Crimea. impressive existence and sovereignty, or semi-sovereignty, over 300 years makes it a big
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example on this list of countries of medieval Europe that don't exist anymore. Milan and Florence
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were important sovereign states as well, not to mention the vast rule that the people's states
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still had over central Italy before eventually becoming reduced to what the Vatican is today
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The Kingdom of Naples was previously known as the Kingdom of Sicily, then losing Sicily proper to
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Aragon and thus renaming itself after their capital city, it eventually became under the
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control of the Spanish ruling dynasty. The Duchy of Savoy was also relevant, at the time taking up
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territory of modern Italy, but also France and Switzerland, their sovereignty existed but they
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were, at least at times, subjects of the Holy Roman Empire. Which brings us precisely to the
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HRE, which wasn't a country in itself, I would argue more of a confederation, and it's the biggest
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chaotic mess on this map with a lot of small semi-sovereign duchies, bishoprics, republics
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counties, and kingdoms. Here's a couple that stood out to me. Luxembourg, which at the time was bigger
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than it is today, and Bohemia and Moravia today joined together in the Czech Republic but which
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were at the time two separate sovereign states, although I think the Bohemian crown also ruled
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Moravia at least at one point. Numerous kings of Bohemia were also elected Holy Roman emperors
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and the capital of Prague was the imperial seat at various times
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After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the territory became part of the Habsburg Austrian Empire
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and subsequently the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867, progressively losing its sovereignty as their own country
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Either joining the Habsburg Empire around Austria-Hungary or becoming a part of a larger German kingdom such as Bavaria or Prussia
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these small sovereign German states eventually disappeared, later being further united into Germany itself
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And while there are countless other examples of sovereign states that existed in medieval Europe
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that no longer do today, so many of which present on this map, that's how far we'll go in this video
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there's even more examples if we expand this into northern Africa or the Middle East
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namely with Karaman, Mamluk Egypt or Clemson, but that's for another time
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And here we were still able to learn about some countries that existed in medieval Europe
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that don't anymore, such as Granada, Aragon, Burgundy, Venice, Genoa, Crimea, and many others
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that, despite existing back then, didn't exist in the same way they do today. If any of these
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mentioned ones particularly spark your interest, I can make a dedicated video about them going
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further into each of their history, so let me know in the comments, along with any corrections
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or additional information you might have. Again, all credit to the Reddit user who made this
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incredible map. I posted the link to his original post in the video description. Thanks so much for
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watching this video. Subscribe if you want and I will see you next time for more general knowledge
