england. it is not an official government region, but rather an informal amalgamation of counties. the southern extentof the region is roughly the river trent,[4] while the north is bordered by scotland. the counties of northern englandcombined have a population of around 14.5 million covering an area of 37,331 km2 (14,414 sq mi).
during antiquity most of the area was part of brigantia — homeland of the brigantes and the largest brythonickingdom of great britain. after the roman conquest of britain the city of york became capital of the area, calledbritannia inferior then britannia secunda. in sub-roman britain new brythonic kingdoms of the hen ogledd emerged.the angle settlers created bernicia and deira from which came northumbria and a golden age in cultural, scholarlyand monastic activity, centered around lindisfarne and aided by irish monks.[5] norse and gaelic viking raidersgained control of much of the area, creating the danelaw. during this time there were close relations with mann andthe isles, dublin and norway. northumbria was unified with the rest of england under eadred around 952.
after the norman conquest in 1066, desolation was brought with the harrying of the north, though much constructionand town founding was done shortly after. a council of the north was in place during the late middle ages until thecommonwealth after the civil war. the area experienced anglo–scottish border fighting until the unification of britainunder the stuarts.
