A country of northern Europe in the western part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway was ruled by numerous petty kingdoms from the ninth century, and raiding parties reached Normandy, Iceland, Greenland, islands off Scotland and Ireland, and the coast of the New World. Norway was finally unified in the 12th century. After 1397 it was controlled at various times by Denmark and Sweden. Independence was achieved in 1905. Oslo is the capital and the largest city.