Ultmar

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Ultmar is both a geographical region and socio-political area in Levantia, corresponding roughly to northern and western Levantia. The region is distinguished by cultural and religious diversity comprising of Gaelic and Gothic people, among others. The region, which is outside the Levantine Union, largely came into existence referring to areas in northwestern Levantia outside of the reach of Great Levantia and, later, parts of Levantia not part of the Holy Levantine Empire. Ultmar is fairly diverse relative to Catholic Levantia, and after the Great Confessional War received a large demographic boost from refugees fleeing the Dragonnades. It is comprised of two smaller regions, referred to as Gothica and Gallia Magna.

Etymology

Ultmar is a term derived from the original Ecclesiastical Latin term, "Ultramurus", which means "beyond the wall(s)". The term was used in Great Levantia to refer to everything to the north and west of modern day Urcea. Consequently, though Ultmar is an exonym, the term entered common parlance and was accepted by the natives of the region during the Medieval Period.

Gothica

Gallia Magna

The region of Gothica north of the Vandarch Sea, including modern Faneria, Caergwynn, and parts of Vithinja, is referred to as Gallia Magna. In various sources, it is also known as Gallia Septrionalis, Ulta Vandia, Seach Bacadh, and DĂ©italamh, depending on the Gaelic or Latin/Romance culture from which references to the region were sourced. Its formal title Gallia Magna extends from Gallia, referring to the 'civilized' regions of Fiannria; as a result, the exact border of Gallia with Gallia Magna varied over centuries depending on the border fluctuations between the Holy Levantine Empire and the various neighboring Gaelic principalities and the later Kingdom of the Fhainn.

Gallia Magna and Gallia are collectively referred to as Northern Levantia, a term which has since surpassed both as the layterm for the region, but the distinction remains important in political and historic circles due to the differences between the two areas' cultural differences and respective relations with the Levantine Union. From 1854 to 1948, the government of Faneria encouraged the revival of the name Seach Bacadh ('Beyond the Barrier') for Gallia Magna and former parts of the region as part of its cultural policy; while the term never gained traction outside of the country itself, it was dropped from official parlance and became a synonym several years after the Second Great War.