Muslim geographers divided the world into seven latitudinal zones and the position of given peoples in a particular zone predisposed them towards certain attributes or dispositions.

As regards the people of the northern quadrant, they are the ones for whom the sun is distant from the Zenith, those who penetrate to the North, such as the Slavs, the Franks, and those nations that are their neighbours The power of the sun is weak among them because of their distance from it; cold and damp prevail in their regions, and snow and ice follow one another in endless succession. The warm humour is lacking among them; their bodies are large, their natures gross, their manners harsh, their understanding dull, and their tongues heavy. Their color is so excessively white that it passes from white to blue; their skin is thin and their flesh thick. Their eyes are also blue, matching the character of their coloring; their hair is lank and reddish because of the prevalence of damp mists. Their religious beliefs lack solidity, and this is because of the nature of cold and the lack of warmth.