Norway (Abrittus)

Norway is a democratic republic in Northern Europe. It borders Sapmi in the North and Sweden in the East. A number of sizable, but sparsely inhabited islands in the Arctic Sea also belong to Norway`s territory.

The official language is Norwegian, which, among the Norse languages, shows the greatest degree of Latin influences. It is also the only Norse language written in the Latin alphabet.

Norway is a member of the World Council and the Tlacopan International Climate Protocol.

History
Norway has been settled since the end of the last Ice Age. Agriculture developed in the third millennium BCE, but progressed slowly in the cold climate. Roughly a dozen tribes were the sparse inhabitation of the country. Around PoD, they lived in patriarchal (but not strictly patrilinear) extended families in longhouses. Free peasants (karls) were led in times of military conflict by wealthier peasants (yarls) who could afford to hire and train a few soldiers (hird). About a fifth of the population were indentured servants or slaves (thralls). Conflicts between clans were resolved in general assemblies (things), presided by law-speakers. Ancient Norwegians adhered to Germanic polytheistic cults, which differed slightly from those farther South or East by the prominent role of female magicians / witches, perhaps owed to the contact with shamanistic Sami in the North.

From the late 5th century on, Norway experienced a heavy influence of the Imperium Romanum Galliarum, which later renamed itself into Celtic Empire. In Southern Norway, important innovations in shipbuilding occurred, which brought forth a short period of military and commercial domination of the Baltic space by inhabitants of Southern Norway. It was ended in the 7th century by the rise of the Frisian Hansa, which had Celtic fire syphons for its defense at its disposal. In the next centuries, urbanisation slowly continued along the coasts, and almost a hundred monasteries of the Celtic Church were established. They taught local elites, later also the arising middle classes, Latin and the Christian faith. By 1000, more than half of Norway`s population had become Celtic Christians.

During the recurring Black Death pandemics of the 11th century, in which more than a third of Norway`s population was killed, public order broke down and redemptorist, apocalyptic sects became popular both in towns and in the countryside. The most powerful among them was led by a former Celtic monk of Norse ethnicity, Olav. He found ample support for his literalist, conservative interpretations of the Holy Writ among the peasant population and frightened city dwellers alike. The Olavist Revolution overthrew the patchwork of polities that had developed and united all of modern Norway as well as a portion of what is today Sapmi into a single theocratic nation state.

In the 12th century, Olavist Norway conducted frequent wars against Denmark and Sweden, which resisted Olavist conversion. At the same time, literacy campaigns were conducted hand in hand with a thorough Olavist Christianisation of the entire population, eradicating illiteracy at the end of the 12th century, i.e. much earlier than anywhere else in Scandinavia.

Norway participated actively in the Industrial Revolution, contributing iron and other metals and later oil. In the 14th and 15th century, the country slowly secularised and transformed its theocratic council into a democratically elected legislature. The emancipation of women took longer in Norway, though, and the country remained socially conservative for many centuries. This softened in the 18th and 19th century, though. Sapmi was allowed to secede peacefully in 1741. The Celtic Empire repeatedly wooed the country, but Norway rejected joining the republic.

Constitution and Politics
Norway has a centralised administration. Its legislature, the Concil, is elected every three years. Its two parties, the Christian Faction and the Popular Faction, are both centre-right parties. The executive is headed by two Consuls, elected for three years by the Concil. Like in many other European countries, the Consulate is traditionally bipartisan. At the moment, Piet Mikkelsen is Consul for the Popular Faction, and Lea Danielsen is Consul for the Christian Faction. Norway has a system of professional judges. Direct democracy is present in Norway only at the local level, where Things decide about local matters.

Norway is considered a close ally of the Celtic Empire.