Search for Gothic DNA: Feasibility

[sturlus]

Dear Arthur
I have done some thinking on the royal families and inter-marriages, 
also in England. Could it be possible to find DNA back to Gothic 
princesses in this way? Well, it remains to be seen, but it sure is 
an interesting thought, and a tempting one as well.

Hopefully, we might get closer to finding out if pockets of 
Gothic "bloodlines" exists in this project. I will certainly give it 
a shot. On our first expedition now in 2006, to the Canary Islands 
and the search for Guanches, we are trimming our new expedition team 
in preparations for Russia and the Ukraine in August. Hopefully, we 
can establish a working team able to easily retrieve DNA to try out 
theories in this way. I'll keep you posted!

Thanks for interesting thoughts!


Sturla


--- In gothic-l at yahoogroups.com, Arthur Jones <arthurobin2002 at ...> 
wrote:
>
> from: Arthur A. Jones arthur.jones at ...
>    
>   OSCAR HERRERA melida:
>    
>   "...I doubt that barbaric tribes had their royal families..."
>    
>   First, let's dismiss the word "barbaric" from our 
considerations, please.
>    
>   If you mean pre-Christian Gothic peoples, the evidence is ample 
(see Peter Heather, "The Goths", Thomas C. Burns, "The Ostrogoths", 
our own Ingemar Nordgren, "Well Spring of theGoths", Herwig 
Wolfram, "History of the Goths", and others including 
Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of theRoman Empire", Jordanes "Getica", 
etc.
>    
>   The main aristocratic warrior family that emerged as the leading 
Greuthung royal clan, later to be designated Ostrogoth, was the Amal 
or Amaling family. They produced Valamer, as well as Thiudareiks the 
Great.
>    
>   Visigoths followed the equally cherished and respected Balthi 
family (hasn't this basic ground been covered on this gothic-l list 
recently?), which, inter alia, produced Alareiks (Alaric), whose 
descendants established the Visigothic Kingdom in Spain. Those 
peoples had a clear idea of their provenance back to the first or 
second century b.c., at the very least.
>    
>   Now: As to modern-day DNA, it will not be very difficult to 
trace large numbers of modern residents of Great Britain and former 
colonies back to descendants of the several Balthic (Visigothic) 
princesses who were married off to Anglo-Saxon nobles, Frankish 
lords and Northman/Norman princes before the 1066 ad invasion of 
William the Conqueror. There is, in fact, pretty reliable written 
record of all those marriages and family trees leading back to the 
Balthi family and to Visigothic Spain.
>    
>   But the majority of their descendants are no longer royalty: 
First, because of laws of primogeniture, second and subsequent sons 
and daughter didn't inherit main titles or much of anything else, 
thus many struck out for the armies, early colonial companies, or 
other means of making a living. Hence, many emigrated to North 
America, the "disgruntled" children of landed aristocrats and 
royalty at all levels: marquis and marquesses, earls, barons, dukes, 
counts, etc.
>    
>   It will be fascinating to see whether unique DNA markers shared 
by Balths, Amalings, and others, whether in Gotland, Northern 
Poland, around the Black Sea, through the Balkans, Northern Italy, 
Southern France and Northern Spain can reveal pockets of 
Gothic "bloodlines".
>    
>   Sorry, all: I didn't mean to become preachy or pedantic. 
>    
>   Afletith mis filuwaurdeis.
>    
>   Arthur
>    
>   arthur.jones at ...
>    
> 
> 
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>








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