Modern Use
In current usage, the northern parts of Great Britain are often referred to simply as 'the North' though this term is also used to describe the northern parts of England. This usage is often prevalent in social commentary on the suggested 'North-South divide'.
The universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh, in addition to Heriot-Watt University, organise a North Britain Student Forum on geoscience and engineering topics. There is a North British Rowing Club based in Edinburgh.
It is also used in prehistoric studies to delineate between geographical areas, taking in the idea that it is incorrect to pose modern boundaries onto past situations, such as the modern country of Scotland onto the non-unified early tribes of North Britain of prehistory.
The term is now used very little as it is seen as derogatory by the Scots who with the rise in Scottish nationalism prefer to be referred to as Scottish or British usually depending on their view of the union.
Read more about this topic: North Britain
Famous quotes containing the word modern:
“We could hardly believe that after so many ordeals, after all the trials of modern skepticism, there was still so much left in our souls to destroy.”
—Alexander Herzen (1812–1870)
“Tried by a New England eye, or the more practical wisdom of modern times, they are the oracles of a race already in its dotage; but held up to the sky, which is the only impartial and incorruptible ordeal, they are of a piece with its depth and serenity, and I am assured that they will have a place and significance as long as there is a sky to test them by.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)