Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent , not including the islands around it [regardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity]." The term is often politically, economically and/or demographically more significant than politically associated remote territories , such as exclaves or oceanic islands situated outside the continental shelf .
20-529: Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe , excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent , – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by some, simply as the Continent . When Eurasia is regarded as a single continent, Europe is treated both as a continent and subcontinent . The continental territory of
40-743: A commentary which focused on linguistic problems and set the tone for the approach to such works in the subsequent centuries. He later gave similar attention to the Old High German translation of the Benedictine Rule. In Elizabethan era and Jacobean England, Robert Cotton 's collection and studies of the manuscripts now in the Cotton Library marks the beginnings of scholarship of the Old English language and Anglo-Saxon literature . The pace of publications started by
60-616: Is also sometimes used. Usage of these terms may reflect political or cultural allegiances, for example it has been observed that there is a correlation between whether a British citizen considers themselves "British" or "European" and whether they live in an area which primarily supported Brexit . Derivatively, the adjective continental refers to the social practices or fashion of continental Europe. Examples include breakfast , topless sunbathing and, historically, long-range driving (before Britain had motorways ) often known as Grand Touring . Differences include electrical plugs, time zones for
80-542: Is relative: in Tasmania , continental Australia is the mainland, while to residents of Flinders Island , the main island of Tasmania is also "the mainland", though the geological Australian continent includes all the former plus the island of New Guinea and all the smaller islands (e.g. the Torres Strait Islands ) in between. This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish
100-553: Is that although the Scandinavian peninsula is attached to continental Europe, and accessible via a land route along the 66th parallel north , it is usually reached by sea. Kontinenten ("the Continent") is a vernacular Swedish expression that refers to an area excluding Sweden , Norway , and Finland but including Denmark (even the Danish Archipelago which is technically not a part of continental Europe) and
120-700: The Balearic Islands , Great Britain and Ireland and surrounding islands, Novaya Zemlya and the Nordic archipelago, as well as nearby oceanic islands , including the Canary Islands , Madeira , the Azores , Iceland , the Faroe Islands , and Svalbard . The Scandinavian Peninsula is sometimes also excluded even though it is a part of "mainland Europe", as the de facto connections to
140-485: The Grimm's law , documenting the sound shift across all Germanic languages . Important 19th-century scholars include Henry Sweet , Matthias Lexer , and Joseph Wright . One of the most famous and respected 20th-century scholars, whose work as a Germanic philologist heavily influenced his poetry, fiction, and high fantasy writing, was Oxford University professor J.R.R. Tolkien . This philology -related article
160-643: The Gutenberg Revolution increased during the 17th century with Latin translations of the Edda (notably Peder Resen's Edda Islandorum of 1665). Germanic philology, together with linguistics as a whole, emerged as a formal academic discipline in the early 19th century, pioneered particularly in Germany by linguists such as Jacob Grimm , the German author, philologist, and folklorist who discovered
180-406: The continental part of any polity or the main island within an island nation . In geopolitics , "mainland" is sometimes used interchangeably with terms like metropole as an antonym to overseas territories . In the sense of " heartland ", mainland is the opposite of periphery . In some language a separate concept of "mainland" is missing and is replaced with a "continental portion". The term
200-542: The continental part of Greece (excluding the Aegean Islands , Crete , and the Ionian Islands ), the continental part of Italy (excluding Sardinia , Sicily , etc.), the continental part of Portugal (excluding the Azores and Madeira ), and the continental part of Spain (excluding the Balearic Islands , the Canary Islands , the plazas de soberanía , etc.). The term is used from the perspective of
220-465: The 16th century, with the discovery of literary texts in the earlier phases of the languages. Early modern publications dealing with Old Norse culture appeared in the 16th century, e.g. Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus (Olaus Magnus, 1555) and the editio princeps of the 13th century Gesta Danorum by Saxo Grammaticus , in 1514 . In 1603, Melchior Goldast made the first edition of Middle High German poetry, Tyrol and Winsbeck, including
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#1732765737814240-452: The historical Carolingian Empire was one of the many old cultural concepts used for mainland Europe . This was consciously invoked in the 1950s as one of the basis for the prospective European integration (see also multi-speed Europe ) The most common definition of mainland Europe excludes these continental islands : the Greek islands , Cyprus , Malta , Sicily , Sardinia , Corsica ,
260-570: The island residents of each country to describe the continental portion of their country or the continent (or mainland) as a whole. Metropolitan France is also known as l'Hexagone , "the Hexagon", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Italy is also known as lo Stivale , "the Boot", referring to its approximate shape on a map. Continental Spain is referred to as peninsular Spain . Mainland In geography, "mainland" can denote
280-414: The islands of a continent from the mainland of a continent through a geopolitical lens. This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish between distinct regions within a single country based on an "islands-to-mainland" relationship. Note that the "mainland" can sometimes consist of a large island rather than a continental landmass. This list denotes prominent internal usages of
300-616: The mainland of Europe. An amusing British newspaper headline supposedly once read, "Fog in Channel ; Continent Cut Off". It has also been claimed that this was a regular weather forecast in Britain in the 1930s. In addition, the word Europe itself is also regularly used to mean Europe excluding the islands of Great Britain, Iceland, and Ireland (although the term is often used to refer to the European Union ). The term mainland Europe
320-722: The most part, the use of left-hand traffic , and for the United Kingdom, currency and the continued use of certain imperial units alongside the metric units which have long since displaced customary units in continental Europe. Britain is physically connected to continental Europe through the undersea Channel Tunnel (the longest undersea tunnel in the world), which accommodates both the Eurotunnel Shuttle (passenger and vehicle use – vehicle required) and Eurostar (passenger use only) services. These services were established to transport passengers and vehicles through
340-568: The rest of continental Europe. In Norway, similarly, one speaks about Kontinentet as a separate entity. In Denmark, Jutland is referred to as the mainland and thereby a part of continental Europe. The Scandinavian Peninsula is now connected to the Danish mainland (the Jutland Peninsula ) by several bridges and tunnels. The Continent may sometimes refer to the continental part of France (excluding Corsica and overseas France ),
360-496: The rest of the continent were historically across the Baltic Sea or North Sea (rather than via the lengthy land route that involves travelling to the north of the peninsula where it meets Finland, and then south through northeast Europe). The Øresund Bridge now links the Scandinavian road and rail networks to those of Western Europe. In both Great Britain and Ireland, the Continent is widely and generally used to refer to
380-519: The term "mainland" that are disputed. This list denotes prominent usages of the term "mainland" to distinguish between distinct regions within an irredentist region Germanic philology Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages , particularly from a comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in
400-589: The tunnel on a 24/7 basis between England and continental Europe, while still maintaining passport and immigration control measures on both sides of the tunnel. This route is popular with refugees and migrants seeking to enter the UK. Especially in Germanic studies , continental refers to the European continent excluding the Scandinavian Peninsula , Britain, Ireland, and Iceland. The reason for this
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