How did the Low Countries develop? (war, Roman, empire, assassin)

[linicx]

I've read several accounts, including the Catholic Encyclopedia, but none seen to agree on who "they" were or how boundaries were established. I am particularly interested in the abbeys and bishoprics (diocese?) The discussion of the Mongols is what prompted me to ask. Unfortunately I cannot translate Dutch history, nor am I able to read books due to failing vision. Your answers are appreciated.

[jtur88]

Languages are always pretty good indicators of history. Dutch is an offshoot from German, and about a millennium or so ago, was just a dialect of German, much as High German, Austrian and Swiss are now pretty distinctive but mutually intelligible. Once a political boundary is established, the language tends to go its separate ways independently, on either side of the border. Belgium hasn't been around long enough for the languages inside the borders to shift, and Belgians now speak a language still the same as those spoken in neighboring Netherlands and France, which attests to Belgium's relatively recent pedigree.

How long a fixed and defended border has been in place can often be estimated by how much time the languages on either side have had to deviate from one another.

Dutch has been quite distinct from German since about the 8th century, which implies that the division between the two countries was fairly complete by then. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Dutch

I know this doesn't answer your specific question, but looking at the development of the language can often tell you something about the political geography that might not be revealed just by looking at historical maps.

[Retroit]

I'm no expert and it would probably take a book to fully answer your question, but I would imagine some of the diocese go back to when that area was first Christianized under Charlemagne (I'm not sure why you wrote "diocese?", but basically a diocese is a geographical area under the authority of a bishop. An abbey is a place where monks live.) The Low Countries include The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg and have changed hands over the years, sometimes part of France, The Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Austria, etc. Basically a long complex history.

[Clark Park]

Although I have visited those countries many, many times I make no pretense on being an expert on the Benelux countries.

Basically, Belgium was predominantly Roman Catholic and the Netherlands was mostly Protestant. Hence the Belgian artist Peter Paul Rubens was a Catholic and the Dutch artist Rembrandt Van Rijn was a Protestant. Through the early 17th Century these countries were ruled by Spain, but gained their independence after a long war and struggle.

The hero of the mostly Protestant Netherlands (North Holland, South Holland, Friesland, Zealand, North Brabant, Groningen, Gelderland, etc.) was a fellow we English speaking people call William The Silent, the Dutch call him Wilhelmus Van Nassowe, and their beautiful National Anthem "Het Wilhemus" is about him. William the Silent, the Prince of Nassau, was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic, who was later caught and tortured before he was finally put to death.

[Six Foot Three]

Originally Posted by linicx

I've read several accounts, including the Catholic Encyclopedia, but none seen to agree on who "they" were or how boundaries were established. I am particularly interested in the abbeys and bishoprics (diocese?) The discussion of the Mongols is what prompted me to ask. Unfortunately I cannot translate Dutch history, nor am I able to read books due to failing vision. Your answers are appreciated.

Linicx

Are you asking about the early foundations of the Dutch people and language or are you asking about the early catholic church foundation in the low country since you mentioned the abbeys and diocese are your particular interests as i've studied both however i'm confused by what you're asking?