How DNA reveals Vikings never left Scotland - BBC REEL
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2022
- Vikings conquered many of Scotland's islands, as well as the mainland, in the 8th and 9th Centuries. They came, they conquered, they left, or so the story seemed to go.
Now historians are re-assessing the legacy the Vikings left on islands like Islay, a small island of about 3,000 inhabitants off the west cost of Scotland.
Linguistic and DNA evidence now suggests that the Vikings never really left at all, as BBC Reel's Melissa Hogenboom reports.
Reporter and producer: Melissa Hogenboom
Edit & Camera: Adam Proctor
#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews
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As a Norwegian having spent a year in Scotland, never before have I felt more at home. The nature, the culture and people are very similar to what I'm used to back home.
Hei jonas . i bra ja? Min farr komma fra Alesund. Jeg bodd I Glasgow.🤔
of course you will find similarities you are within the civilized shared mentality of conduct as in culture
You should have come to Skye, even our flag is Scandinavian in design.
There are a lot of Scots words the same as Norwegian, Danish and Swedish.
@@TheJpf79 that’s right, but to generalise Gaels as being “Scots” is broadly incorrect.
The Vikings came to Normandy and stayed there, too. I also read that in Norse languages, the word "Viking" isn't a noun that describes a person, it is a verb that describes an activity: raiding up a river valley. Norsemen went Viking.
Wrong. The overwhelmingly paternal haplogroup amongst the icelandic males is R1a1a Z-93 lineage that goes upto 80%. Rest are Irish males who possess R1b lineages.
So Vikings were a patrilineal race indeed . The academia lies because they don't want the real history out.
@@FilesdocumentsAndreposit-kr3vb The Y-DNA from my maternal grandfather's line is I-P109, which is apparently associated with the Vikings/Scandinavians. That came from a Puritan ancestor who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from East Anglia.
@@PlannedObsolescence naah. The I haplogroup being Viking is pure propaganda.
Only R1a1a are the real Vikings.
Rest the western world is basically a Judeo-Christian framework and any indication in official historical narratives pointing at a different narrative , is completely taken down with the power of the pre existing system.
And no I haplogroup never was and never will be Viking no matter how official mainstream historians say about it.
For genetics , i did study a genetics study on icelanders which clearly stated that icelandic males belonged to R1a1a with upto 75% to 80% frequency.
Unfortunately, i am unable to find it.
And they became the Norman's and conkered both England and Ireland
Vikings even "jumped ship" in Galicia, north-western Spain, and became sheep farmers. Or so I've heard.
That makes loads of sense. Testing our family DNA shows that there is 7% Norwegian DNA in the mix, where we always believed it was pure Irish and Scottish. It was a surprise and yet kind of not quite. They conquered, stayed, intermarried, and spread out over the country, eventually.
It could be 0 per cent. Low estimates are inaccurate
They didn’t conquer Scotland?
My family came from the eastern coast of England and when my DNA was tested I am 6% Scandinavian.
@@melindadouglas1673 Scandinavian is between like 3/4 countries lol not very accurate🤣
@@xConoooR1 DNA doesn’t know which country! 😂 It’s not that detailed. It also said 30% Germanic. That’s a large land mass too.
My wife and I are both Danish born and bred, lived for 13 years in England and then 17 years in South West Ireland. All the time we have seen our ancestry reflected in the local populations. It's in the eyes for a start, then there are other physical features and then of course the language. In fact, when we first came to Ireland we used to play a game between ourselves called Spot the Viking, looking at magazine covers etc. In County Cork, the singsong accent made us think there were Norwegian tourists everywhere. A Norwegian friend of ours even felt insulted, thinking that the local people she conversed with were making fun of HER English accent.
Not surprising as there are many Irish surnames with viking origin, e.g. Broderick, Sigerson, McAuliffe
@@jimmyolsenschannel6263 😆
Not many Viking looking people in Galway
@@MiloManning05 Loads in Mayo
The vikings didn't have that big of a effect on the overall population of Ireland
When the Norse moved to uninhabited lands like the Faeros and Iceland, they were mainly men who stopped to pick up Celtic slaves to do the work for them, and the women to also bear their children. DNA work in both these places show that the present inhabitants descend mainly from Norse men and Celtic women. In conquering a place like Islay, that already had a resident population, I suspect many would have been killed (especially adult men) but most enslaved, with much of the following generation being fathered by the Norse lords. One way that Gaelic could have been so well preserved is that as the language of the women, it would have been the first language of the children, both those fathered by Norse and those fathered by Celts. After a few generations everyone would speak Gaelic, their mother tongue, and only the few who were children of Norse wives would really get to speak Norse comfortably, and since they probably had Gaelic-speaking nursemaids, and were surrounded by Gaelic-speaking serfs and servants, were comfortable in Gaelic as well.
In Iceland and the Faeroes, with no large native Celtic speaking majority, the Norse would have demanded that their slaves spoke Norse to them, so it would have eventually predominated.
Note that in some other areas, in particular some of the West Indies, this process led to people that had a "women's language", that of the conquered (Arawak), and a "men's language", that of the conquerors (Carib). Men could speak both, but only spoke men's language to other men, while women and young children spoke only the women's language. Men enforced this on women, so the languages never merged, nor did one supercede the other, as it did in Islay and elsewhere.
Great video, and I learned how to pronounce Islay!
Same things that the Arabic and Turkish people did in North Africa, Asia Minor, Persia, Afghanistan, and in many parts of the Indian Subcontinent
What is the evidence for all of this? Seems to be a a lot of conjecture. People in the past were never friendly? Why didn't the Norwegians take women from Norway? If you're in Bergen and going to Iceland, why head to Scotland to get a woman? Plenty of cute girls in Norway.
@@jeffbrunswick5511 Evidence is historical records, as well as DNA evidence. The Wikipedia page for the Faroe Islands includes the DNA statistics showing that the majority of the population descends from Norse men and Celtic women.
Viking groups often were led by men who had been banished for violent crimes. Most Norse women would not want to follow them into exile if they had a choice. In pre-Christian Norse culture, polygamy was common for men wealthy enough to afford it. They might have had a primary, Norse, wife and Celtic concubines or secondary wives. Also, slaves have no right to refuse their owners. It's well attested that Vikings were not at all averse to rape, but most genetic exchange probably happened in a domestic setting.
Whether invaders assimilate peacefully with the resident population depends a lot on their parent cultures. In recent empires, French colonizers often formed valid marriages and developed a mixed culture of people with mixed ancestry, while with English and Spanish colonizers genetic exchange mostly went one way.
@@b.a.erlebacher1139 Yeah, looks like they were horrible people after all. I don't know why I am surprised, I often think I am incredibly nice compared to most people. Most people have a desire to enslave others for some reason. You see it in the wide spread desire for pets, which is the slavery of animals.
@@jeffbrunswick5511 A lot of it is cultural. Vikings got rich by raiding, and got land (=wealth) by conquests and settling new land. This made them admirable to their peers. Most cultures have admired people who kill others, as long as it's "those other guys" and not "us". Nobody likes murderers, but even now soldiers are praised for their courage and heroism, even if they're dropping bombs on civilians from on high.
Most people are pretty peaceful and cooperative as individuals and small groups, but there seems to be an inborn tendency to group into "us" and "them", demonize "them" as evil or subhuman, so it's okay or even virtuous to do whatever you like to "them". This is a tendency we should resist, but it's a strong one and a powerful tool for demagogues and fascists.
My father's entirely Scottish ancestry, so we thought, turned out to be more Norwegian after a DNA test. His family came from Shetland before coming to mainland Scotland. It has been fascinating unraveling the family history.
😂😂😂 shetland
@@jonathanrocha779Shetland is an island to the north of SCOTLAND.
DNA is sort of pointless. Culture is what matters
@@BaardFigur DNA is what you are. It is what your parents were, and what your ancestors were. It is not pointless. It tells a story of your history. If someone had ancestors of multiple cultures, or ancestors who assimilated to another culture. Your culture does not tell you that. Your DNA does.
For example, you could say that you are an Englishman. If you are an Englishman however, more than likely you are a mixture of Britons, and the Anglo-Saxons, and the Normans. Normans being also related to Norsemen. This tells a much deeper tale. Also, you can see DNA just as much as you can culture, sometimes even more. Whether someone who has been in Scotland for generations, and is 100% Scottish (Celtic), or has a mixture of Norwegian from the Norse should be irrelevant. Obviously, it makes you re-think your identity in relation to the past, but it should not reshape your identity in relation to the present or future. For the reason that the familial link to the land has been tied for generations, hundreds of years and the culture of the Gaelic speaking Scots (Celts) was adopted. Without trained eyes one cannot tell the difference between them, and a hundred percent Celtic Scot.
@@BaardFigur nope
About 40 years ago I was on a Norwegian seismic boat surveying some of the island seas. We had local fishermen on board to liaise with local boats around us. I remember our Norwegian crew and the locals found they had lots of common words, especially slang terms, which supports the depiction of their history in the program.
Boats are not from anywhere in particular
you can see that kind of thing all over europe and the world, especially if you are neighbors.
@@asahel980 i see that religion is all over the world and is brainwashing people into a religious cult that some call government, that is all part of the Holy Roman Empire. USA was created and run by the British Crown of Romans
@@je-freenorman7787 Boat = båt in Swedish look up how "å" pronounce.
@@paulkertby8186 swedish is not a language. Its a dialect. they held Norse culture
I have a German mum from Hamburg and an English father from St Helens in Lancashire so expected to be roughly 50% English-German but instead I'm 83% Scandinavian. My nearest DNA relative apart from my father's kin is a cousin in the US who was from my Oma's sister. She's mostly Scandinavian too. I think the vikings were more settlers than hit and run.
The one provided by Ancestry.
@@jimfrodsham7938 That is interesting since I took the same and I think it has good quality. I think your high percentage is from more recent admixture. If you are able to construct a family tree you might find your Scandinavian ancestor.
@@SwedishWanderer My wife's done quite a comprehensive tree on the English side, and back to about 1820 on the German side but the trail runs cold in Jutland before that ancestor. Prior to ending up in Hamburg both sides of my German family came from OstPreussen and Konigsburg.
@@jimfrodsham7938 Hamburg is close to Denmark so it might be that Germans of that region actually are Scandinavians, this would explain 50% of your Scandinavian DNA. How to explain the other 33% Scandinavian I am not sure! Ancestry has a feature where you can see which region of Scandinavia you are from, it might not show up for everybody. What does it say for you?
@@SwedishWanderer Mostly Denmark and a chunk of Norway up to Bergen. I knew Hamburg was close but it's only my Opa's generation that moved there around 1895 or so and my Oma from Konigsburg about 1900
This is fascinating! I had my DNA done through MyHeritage and the results were a total surprise to me. My Canadian maritime grandfather was of Scottish heritage. My great great grandparents came over from the inner Hebrides of Scotland. My DNA surprise result was that I have nearly 30% Norse DNA to go along with my Scottish DNA. This makes my family/clan history so much more thought provoking and interesting to me.
3 sides of family have old dane and the look S name on one side Sister dna said no indian lol My dad and gran on other side would turn in their grave native pict brit did show up
Would not believe in dna tests as they got my sisters so wrong some agenda
It was a surprise when your surname is McLean ?
@@scotoftheanarchic.7903 I honestly had no idea! No one in my family ever discussed it. All that my brothers and sisters knew was that our ancestry came out of the Hebrides in Scotland. Now I see my ancestry in a whole new light.
My grandfather (French Canadian from Quebec) worked on a freighter and his mothers maiden name was Ferguson.
Some our our family has went through ancestry DNA testing reflecting northern european.
Pity they do not seem to have investigated the male and female genetic lines separately. In Orkney, it was shown there was almost 100% replacement of the male line when the Vikings arrived, but far less on the female line (not even a majority). So very few Norwegian women immigrated, and pretty much no aboriginal men were allowed to breed, (whether they were killed, expelled, or enslaved). The fate of first generation aboriginal women may also not have been as kind as "wives" suggests.
I use the term aboriginal because it is unclear if the Orkney population of the day were Celtic or pre-Celtic people. Genetically they could have been descendents of the Skara Brae folk.
They'd more than likely to have been Celtic the Vikings didn't come until the 9th century and dalrailte was established long before that
So you're saying the Vikings weren't feminists?
All of the Scottish part of my DNA turned out to be Scandinavian. I like to think of a romantic interlude on the beach between my ancestors, but I rather suspect the coupling was short and brutal.
@@medotorg2720 how did you find the roots? I’ve been searching, but can’t get past the 1600s :(
Honestly the men would have to have been killed to "not breed". All work was done by hand, and the climate is not so friendly to human survival for a large chunk of the year.
Most people are born in summer, 9 months after indoor winter activities.
This is an amazing film. Confirms a few things in my mind about Scottish / Norwegian history. I believe that our cultural history goes back much further and more peacefully than history would lead us to believe.
Not so sure about peacefully, certainly not at the beginning.
Women are very clueless when it comes to history.
yeah but your jewish so hsve middle eastern dna
The scots are our kin to some extend. Much love from Denmark 🙂
right back at ya😊 much love form Scotland
Good luck at the world cup 🇩🇰
Much love from the US. It’s fascinating how our heritages are connected. I have 18% Sweden and Denmark, 18% Scotland, and 2% Norway.
Skol 👍
Only the Scots on the islands ..and most people from the north of England
I'm English (or so I thought).
I done one of those DNA tests.
My "Nana" was Scottish, Sarah Ann Stewart. But my test came back Nordic, Scandinavian.
I'm blue eyed and one of my kids.
I've been learning German for six years and recently decided to learn Norwegian.
I don't know if it's because I've learned a language before but Norwegian is easy and comfortable to learn. Also great fun.
I've also had the pleasure to work with Scandinavian people and they are so polite and easy to get along with.
I'm proud of my ancestry results.
And heritage.
You have not only taken blue eyes, green in the genealogy, but the Cdr5 delta 32 mutation, in variant 64, is recessive like blue eyes, but not linked.I have hazel eyes, my Green father, my black mother, my black grandparents, first cousins among them, my green paternal grandfather, my hazelnut grandmother, but I have the Cdr5 modified by dad and mom, and I'm Italian, 🤭Iol, bye
Depends what test you took . Some tests are better than others . Some companies have struggled to separate northern European countries from one another . Explore your family tree as much as you can , then shop around for a suitable test . 23 and me are pretty accurate for most people , and if you suspect you are of mainly British heritage then LivingDNA are excellent .
@@giulia3970 italian? yuck
Really interesting.
I am surprised the Islanders were surprised to find their Viking roots. Anyone who has visited York knows the Vikings did settle and established roots in Great Britain. It would strange if the only place the Vikings put down roots is in the north of England.
Moron
Whilst we call them all Vikings, they were actually separate groups of people (viking was actually the activity). The Vikings that settled in York and other places in England were Danes, whereas in Scotland it was the Norse (hence them speaking old norse and their descendants having Norwegian genetic markers).
I guess the islanders assumed that the norse invaders had either moved onto the mainland or assimilated with the local gaelic population, rather than largely replaced them.
@@hannahk1306 I thought the Danes settled in the Lowlands of Scotland as well, and the Scots were composed of Gaelic people (mostly Highlands) and Danes.
@@brontewcat I'm not sure how far north the Danes went (I thought it was Northumbria, because the Picts kept them out of what we now call Scotland). Then in England, there was the Dane Law separating the Danish and Saxon territories.
The norsemen sailed around the north of Scotland to land in northwest Scotland and Ireland. There were also some Frisians and Swedes, but I don't think they came in particularly large numbers.
@@hannahk1306 I was getting confused. I knew that the Lowland Scots (more Germanic) are different from the Highland Scots (more Gaelic). I thought the Lowland Scots were descended from Scandinavians (whether they were Danes or Norse). Just doing a little research (even if it is only Wikipedia), I can see they descended from the Angles.
That is why I made the comment- because I thought the Lowlanders were descended from Viking peoples.
Scotland looks like Newfoundland & Nova Scotia , Canada. Beautiful Island in our beautiful Atlantic.
I loved how surprised she was! It only illustrates how much we assume about our own families and involve our own pride in something that is completely beyond our control. Last time I checked, there wasn't a race of people on earth that weren't proud of their tough, brave, smart ancestors.
I traced part of my own family back to 13th century Cheshire England; there were SO many lines died out in anonymity by then. I was struck by the fact it was easy to trace the rich ones, but the FAR more populous poor people were anonymous.
What I took away at the end of that journey was how little effect those people really had on ME. Just 5 generations back, you're looking at 32 ancestors - of just that generation! You go back 500 years - and well, the connections are really meaningless. Early on I remember being pretty chuffed I was descended from Alfred the Great & Charlemagne, and slowly realizing that yeah, well, so were hundreds of thousands - probably millions of others. And that's if there was never a cuckold for 1500 years, which I highly doubt.
We all have greatness in us, and whores & slaves & cowards & murderers. And lovely people who struggled mightily to feed their children & live in peace. We can no more blame them for our own failures than they can claim credit for our achievements.
Yep, Alf and Charley- me too! It is amazing at first until you sit quietly and think about it, and the numbers involved, just as you say. It still makes me smile though.
History rembers only names not blood, but blood does not lie.
How on earth did you trace your ancestry back so far
This is a rather nihilistic view of your ancestors and I spit upon your dishonor you bring to them all.
Exactly. So important.
I’m from Iceland (female) and I have 70% Norwegian DNA, rest is a mixture of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh DNA. Always felt drawn to these countries and even though the reason I have this ancestry is not a happy story I’m proud to be connected to them.
Its funny you talk about story... I thought I would be pretty boring DNA wise as my family are English to my Great-Grandparents... Anyway when I did my test I found I am nearly as much Norse as English... which wasn't a huge shock as the majority of my family came from the North of England.. However I found out I am 6% Greek and I would LOVE to know the story behind that!
There is a strong link between Scotland and Iceland, my mate was Icelandic and he considered himself Scottish. I think we have very similar cultures, Iceland also looks a lot like Scotland geographically.
Most woman from Iceland has mtdna from their mothers is from Scotland n Ireland which is the men taking those woman from those places as slaves n made them wives, it made sense since it’s on the way to Iceland so might as well grab a few woman for “company “
no ones ancestry is a happy story especially when you go back a couple million years
you know I have always been drawn to the african continent... I wonder what it means
@@bobbobertbobberton1073 you should he didnt just watch braveheart a few too many times??
American here, funny on the surface we we had a huge scottish bloodline. However, when a relative did our genealogy it revealed allot more Norwegian then we excepted. Also, Swedish.
I'm an Aussie with a Scottish born Dad and a Norwegian born mother - as much as I love Australia, I've always felt out of place here. My loyalty to both cultures has resulted in a covering of Norse and Celtic inspired tattoos and a basic grasp of both languages.
I relate to your comment, ancestry is amazing, parents as I born Canadian, fathers father was from Wales, mothers from Denmark. Love Canada yet feel a sense of being from somewhere else.
@@jeffroberts1649 thats a great mix. The Danes are certainly a switched on and organised people, we are all well aware of the influence on Britain + having lived in Wales for a short time many years go, I was super impressed with their commitment to their own language, culture history. A proud and very ancient part of the UK. 👊
@@jeffroberts1649 also, please tell me that you are aware of a group called 'Heilung' ? if not, check them out, it may be of interest.
@@OzLeedsCrew thanks for the replies, Heilung I am not familiar, A NEW RABBIT HOLE, LOVE IT! Let the investigations begin!
MUST inquire, I'm responding via cell phone, writing is kinda small, but IS THAT A RAVEN?!
I WANT ONE!
Wales has a population of just over 3 million I usually have to draw a map because noone believes it exists. Technically someone in my distant family did a DNA search, apparently a certain relative may have been somewhat permiscuos as there is Scottish, Irish and English besides Welsh. No judgment, wasn't me.
Really well done, thank you.
I Just realised two things here, which i cannot fathom i have not seen before: The norwegian "nes" or "næss" is a protrution into the ocean/water and hence the same word as in "Loch ness" with the same meaning. - And "loch" is a bit alike the norwegian word "lukke". "Lukke" means "to close". And "loch" is actually "sea that is closed in" aka Water/sea etc. So "Loch Ness" actually means "Water/sea with a/plural ness/Næss in it". "Loch Ness" is actually a norse name!!!
Godt sett!
Yes, the connected ae and double s’s give it away as a Norse word for sure!😊
Lock, lake, loch etc are all related words that come from a common word thousands of years ago. As for Ness, that's a false friend, Ness is the name of an Irish water goddess. The river Ness is named for her as is Loch Ness and by extension Inverness. In the Ulster Cycle, one of the major mythologies of Ireland, the king of Ulster is Conchobar mac Nessa. Matronymics appear occasionally in the Irish mythologies.
This was beautifully filmed!
Informative and very sensible. Thanks for that little video which would seem to be a small portion of the findings of a larger study. I'm from an island that became very important in the 16th century, Newfoundland.
Thank you so much for all these details !
Love that part of the world. The perception is a large piece of water separating Ireland from Scotland, the Scots Irish and the Norse both treated it as a highway. When in amongst it, sailing between Islay, Kintyre and Ireland, you can see all three very easily and you understand they are all very well connected ... we know how well the Norse and Celts built boats, as far south from Scandinavia as Normandy (Norseman's Land), they used the same sturdy boat designs. We live on a planet three quarters covered in water, we keep looking at it inside out.
Exactly - most lands were deeply forested in ancient times, and that meant that getting somewhere was actually easier by boat than navigating thru the tribal lands of your neighbors who might be unfriendly - hence it's no surprise that people's from the ancient Meditteranian lands also traveled the west coasts of Brittany & the islands of Britain, trading & sometimes conquering. The castle at Tintagel was a site that contained objects from the Mediterranean cultures showing that trade was normal even as far back as the Romans, who were also there !
Those ancients did get around, albeit a little slower than we can, but they spent weeks getting to where they wanted to go instead of hours ! No surprise that humans are so genetically mixed nowadays - which makes for healthy humans !
In 2015 I spent 3 months in Ireland. My father's family was Scots, my mother's English, yet I felt very at home there, especially in the south around Cork, one of the areas settled my Vikings.
I now understand why.
Very well done and thoughtful.
It’s a wonderful, personalised and detailed example, but I don’t think this is news. It’s long been known that a hybrid culture, the “Norse-Gaels” developed in the Hebrides (outer and inner) and western mainland of Scotland which reached its zenith under the last “Lord of the Isles” - Somerled - in the 12th c. - and I believe that Islay was Somerled’s main base. Somerled’s sons divided his territories and their descendants were the founders of some of the major clans of the west and north, including Clan Ranald (McDonald) and McLeod.
Their origin legends claimed Somerled as a Gaelic hero who fought the Vikings - but he was himself of part Norse, part Gael descent and married to Ragnhild the daughter the Norse King of Man. The clans nowadays acknowledge their links to Norse ancestry and DNA tests of men in Scotland of the relevant clan names have shown evidence of those origins.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somerled
Incidentally, one of Prince Charles’ titles in Scotland is “Lord of the Isles” - and features on its ancient coat of arms two galleys - the “birlinn” warship of the medieval Gaels, modelled on the Viking longship.
The paternal lineage of vikings and Norse is R1a1a.
And so many Scottish clans possess that lineage.
It seems Scottish and specially highlanders were founded by the Vikings . Patrilineal descent.
And also the Celtic - brythonic - Gaelic lineages are all R1b lineages.
@@FilesdocumentsAndreposit-kr3vb I have R1a Y-DNA but I'm mainly Celtic overall with DNA matches across Scotland and Ireland. This was expected as I'm descended from Somerled. The Vikings settled down and married into Gaelic clans
Good comment. Was thinking the same thing. Many gael-galls came to Ireland as gallowglasses (gall oglaigh) foreign mercenaries who fought for local Irish chiefs particularly in the North. Many settled and stayed. Some Irish surnames reflect their origins.
@@nodruj8681 i am taking about paternal lineage
There is Viking influence for sure. The Scottish history of the Lord of the Isles- Somerled, has always acknowledged it. I don’t completely buy into the notion that Islay is predominantly Norse DNA though. My ancestors were from Islay and when I look at ethnicity of my shared DNA matches on ancestry they are mostly highland Scots. Maybe 5% or less Scandinavian. If she is 80%+ Norse, that might be from one localized pocket of DNA. I would like to see more empirical evidence of the generalized claim that Norse is the dominant ancestry in Islay beyond the suppositions of her son’s DNA test.
Very true, I agree with you. I think there are pockets of Norse-Gaels and pockets of fully Scottish people on the islands. From my own research, the outer Hebrides, as depicted in this video were dominated by Vikings but not the whole of Scotland and the Highlands themselves. The highlands were and are predominant Gael and Gaelic culture. Jura island where my ancestors came from was known for Viking culture. Jura is right next to Islay so both were conquered by Vikings.
I completely agree Sandra, as an Aussie with strong roots in Argyll.
My shared DNA matches who still inhabit those parts have AncestryDNA results of:
70% - 93% of SCOTLAND.
7% - 30% IRELAND.
And if there's any leftover, it tends to be listed as either NORWAY, and/or SWEDEN & DENMARK.
On an earlier version/update, there was a small dollop of BASQUE.
But that's about it. They are the only components showing up in any of their results that I have seen.
Their results are overwhelmingly Scottish and Irish (i.e. Gael). Traces of Scandinavian, 0% - 8%.
The locals of Orkney and Shetland would receive higher Scandinavian scores, though.
For some locals, that'd be as high 20% - 30% probably?
It's demographically impossible for this kind lady Mairead, to be majority Norse.
Sure, there was genuinely a little bit of it, but turning it into the largest component of one's identity and heritage is seriously spinning quite a yarn.
Either she was definitely exaggerating for narrative effect, OR it was like a MyHeritage test that gives an inferior estimate, compared with AncestryDNA, Living DNA, 23andMe and whatever. The results have been updated with much fresher and more complete data now.
Very good point.
There is no way Islay is dominated by Norse DNA . Studies don't show that at all . Not even Orkney is dominated by Norse DNA . Without knowing this boys family tree , or the company he tested with and when , then this information provided by his mother is close to useless .
The other part that really made me skeptical of this entire production was claiming that these Scottish named villages were Norse names, and then said that one of them was "corn farm."
Corn is a new world plant. It wouldn't have existed in Europe at the time, unless something else was called corn.
I haven’t had my DNA tested but my MacLean ancestors on my father’s side came from Isley. His grandmother came from North West Ireland and so on. Now I’m thinking I should get tested to see what it reveals. This has been an interesting video.
Please share the test result with us
Paternal haplogroup is most important to sort things out.
I have McCleans and they lived in Northern Ireland in the mid-1700s. I’d love to know if they ever came from the Hebrides. I have DNA matches to Canadians who can trace their McClean family to Mull and Tiree.
Pronounce it as ILA , in Scotland , quiet S and Y .as in Eye- la. Also McEachern, of horseman, rider, keeper of, said, of Clan Ranald of McDonald of the Isles . In some Clan Literatures claims.
I'm Macdonald and McKean. Also from Islay and the ardnamurchan area
Excellent video, makes perfect sense, thankyou for uploading 🇫🇮🇳🇴
I find it odd that the World finds it odd that the Vikings conquered so much turf, then settled and left their mark there. The British Isles are right next to Denmark and Norway is just a stones throw.
My ancestry from the last 500 years is well documented. I have German, English, Scottish, Dutch, French, Spanish and Italian. But my DNA says I am 40% Scandinavian. Those Vikings got around!
Fighting and F*cking? You betcha!
Would modern DNA analysis be accurate enough to differentiate amongst Germanic tribes. I wonder whether Dutch, German, Norwegian, or Anglos and Saxsons would be so different.
@@yo2trader539 They are very close, but the Scandinavians have DNA from a group that came from the north and mixed with them. Although my sir name is German, it appears they were Vikings that colonized along the Elbe river in the 9th century. The tradition was they were boat makers who resettled and adopted cattle farming. That sounds like Vikings and my DNA suggest it also.
Same here!
@@rnedlo9909 The Scandinavians are largely descendants of the hunter-gatherer population that inhabited Europe before the migrations from the east (creating Indo-Europeans). Recent research may indicate that the Germanic peoples of the north of the continent actually emigrated from Scandinavia later on, to mingle with later immigrants to the European continent.
The Norwegian historian and DNA researcher Sturla Ellingvåg told about these findings in a Norwegian podcast. He has a YT channel called 'Viking Stories'. I have not seen the episode, but he has one called "The secret of the Germanic Tribes". I will guess he's getting into the topic in that episode.
The mistake in the thinking is that Vikings were always just killing everybody. If there were just fishers and farmers in the island they weren't much of a threat to the vikings. On the contrary they would have gotten fish etc. from the locals. And anyways they weren't always "conquering" or pillaging, they were merchants above all and also settlers trying to find land to farm.
Going to the highland games every year made me learn a lot about my Scottish side. Specifically that my clan, McKay, were native to the most northern top of the Highlands by the coast, and regularly traded with, faught with, and married vikings of swedish, danish, and Norwegian decent. Also discover the Germanic side of my family had been intermarrying with my Scottish side for generations before my parents met. Most notably that my father's side several generations back was taken in by the McKays and were a sept of them. Upon further looking into it I found the Barwicks, my dad's side, actually had their own tartan for a while, although it's been lost to History. And even the coat of arms for the family traces into highland origins. It's so interesting to learn how these cultures interacted, and blended together. Manu Forti.
I an scots and did a dna test and found im viking too. My step mum and sister are Norwegian as my dad moved to Norway and married a Norwegian woman and now i am Norwegian too. Very proud!
Glad to have you
Fascinating. I wonder whether it may similarly be the case that there are still Danes in Lincolnshire? After all, it was part of the Danelaw, and so many of our towns and villages have names derived from Old Norse, and many roads (e.g. in Lincoln and also in the village where I live) have names that end in "gate" (meaning "street").
It becomes even more interesting when you look at the spread of Scandinavian DNA over time. You have things like ubiquitous presence of latent Scandi DNA through Scottish and Irish populations, the Norse Gaels... and then Covenanters bringing it twice over with them to Ireland. You've Norwegian fishing companies setting up presence in Donegal, etc in the 19th century. And then, Scots-Irish and Scandinavian Diaspora settling together in America in the same regions. Faroe Islands, Iceland... there is Norwegian and Scottish always together. They're forever together, it seems.
As we say in Norway: "Like barn leker best". Translates to: "Children who are alike play best together"/Birds of a feather flock together :)
@@Sigve88dogbay 💙❤️
That we are! 😊
I also had Norwegian DNA when I was tested. We originated in the isles, with more Gaelic. I had no idea Norway was in my background. Fascinating.
I agree with so many posts that point out that it's hardly a revelation that the Scandinavian invaders stayed put (for the most part). I've never heard anyone who thought otherwise, although the historians and scientists on this video appear to have thought so. The title of the video is misleading, well in fact just plain wrong! It deals with one tiny island not Scotland itself. By the way, the 'Vikings' never left England, Ireland or Wales either.
anything the BBC puts out is all lies
Well said.
Good is'nt it that means that every one in britian is a northern European & the Scots Irish & Welsh have the same dna as the English.
My mother is a Graham descendent from Islay... specifically from Kilchoman and Conisby (one of the farms with a Norse origin to the name). This video was an exciting find!
I have 6 different countries in my background, mostly Germanic. My family kept good records. However I have often wondered how much if which I have but being a true Scots/Irish lass, (from my Grandmothers) I hesitate to spend my brass to pay to find out! This was very a very good presentation. Thank you.
Countries are fake. They're corporations.
If you're taking about Germanic heritage, and Celtic heritage, then good for you!
Fictional borders of countries can never obliterate our past, that transcends modern boundaries.
I hope you do the DNA test one day. It is enlightening.
My head is spinning l love how people got about so much of the world more than we probably know. I would love for people to check Bruce Fume on scottish history he is fascinating and great to listen to .watching from Scotland peace and love to all
Yes! Bruce Fummey is the best! Everyone check out his channel, Scotland History Tours!
Ireland had Viking influence too. "Finnigan" is an Irish family name meaning "son of the fair- haired stranger".
The viking influence on Ireland was comparable to Scotland
That is NOT true - why did you make it up? It is the name of several Irish clans.
I'm so happy they didn't force some apology for their bloody viking roots and history.
The UK mainland would have also had strong viking history in the same way, but which, is increasingly becoming less noticeable due to the various migrations of different cultures through history and today, with over a hundred languages all influencing the traditional language, and the translation and original meanings of words being lost, except with the older population of the UK.
Original place names are being changed to sound more appealing to new home owners and more inclusive to the modern society we live in, also to reflect the various cultures of modern Britain.
I'm very happy this place in Scotland hasn't been affected by wide spread rubbing out of the past, this part of Scotland seems to have common sense and also have pride of their past, and hopefully their future.
My father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all born in Cuba.
(I did genetic testing.)
Before that, his line was in the Azores (Portugal), before that, loads of genetic ties to Great Britain.
Before that, a direct male ancestor, was discovered to have been buried in the 900's, in Ribe, Denmark (and by direct i mean: he's literally a great grand, but like 20 generations back..).
Apparently, they never stopped liking the islands..
Guess it's in their blood.
.
Some, in my family likened my dad to that old Hemingway tale, 'The Old Man and the Sea', interestingly, about an old Cuban fisherman.
Vikings settled everywhere their boats could take them.
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We all have a bit.
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But, it was nice to confirm, such an interesting journey.
.
There have been many a McDonald, or McCullen's, and 'Thompsons' in ancestry chat rooms who have ignored, and flat out critiqued my being there.
Then along came this study, circa 2017, with 100%, documented genetic proof of direct ties to Viking era burial, in a viking hometown:
... And there i am, with the most Latin sounding surname in the room...
👁️👅👁️
...lol 🤷🏻♂️😆
Iberian Peninsula.
What's your mom's side like?
I love it!
I am nodding vehemently. I had done my ancestry by paper trail and was solidly Scottish as both parents are from Argyle/Ulster/Caledonia/Dal Riata. whatever you want to call it. I was satisfied with this and figured that it would be pretty much preserved and my mother had already done a DNA test which was almost entirely Scottish. Yeah, expected. but, her Grandparents were Irish. So, I took some DNA tests to finally determine if I was Irish or Scottish, and instead found Though mostly Scottish/English I had large traces of Norwegian. Now, I had read in historical records that so many ancestors were Island people, so I answered it quickly as sensible that they were from Shetland or the Orkney's which were at times actually part of Norway. It was just a matter of time until I found a paper trail to support my theory. But, I find this video now and that suggested a whole new theory instead of reworking family trees. It is quite possible the Norwegian DNA is from already discovered Scottish roots from Argyle area. I really like this idea!
Interesting. I pretty much have the same ancestry as yours. I have English, Scottish, Irish, and Sweden/Denmark, with a little bit of Norwegian. My research pretty much shows the same thing, my Scottish is a mix of Norse-Gael, but we also believe our Scottish and Irish are a mix of both. My Irish ancestors were from Northern Ireland and their surname (Fullerton) originated in Scotland. From my research I believe we have an ancestral connection with Dal Riata as well.
@@Mybassgruvin sounds like we are related then! I too have a mix of Swedish/Danish (2nd great grandmother was born in Sweden) But, ultimately decided I was a total American mutt, and am OK with that. I wanted to belong to some ethnicity, but am solidly "Northern European" now (Ancestry updated this weekend). And though, my father is more Irish, and mom is more Scottish, which am I? I decided for myself that I am "Irish, Scottish, Dutch...don't amount to much." So, I'll just be "proud to be an American".
Addendum, I found, not verified yet, Icelandic family members on my father's side who were originally Norwegian, and so far it looks legit according to DNA Haplogroups, so I have a renewed interest in the Orkneys, more specifically learning Norn or Nynorn (look it up!!! It is soooo fascinating).
Sorry, I am a bit too wordy, huh?
You're obviously a yank. Your parents are from Caledonia or Dal Riata? What are you talking about. Your parents are from a specific place surely, not a vague description of one region in scotland/northern ireland/two ancient kingdoms from the past. Why are Americans always incapable of interpreting any data relating to genetics/always come accross absolutely mental when talking about it? If you go back 500 years you'll have ancestry from everywhere in Europe (and beyond) because, like you said, all Americans are incredibly diverse genetically.
Shetland and Orkney where a part of the Country of Norway for 600 years. That is a pretty long time and many waves of common folk settlers.
👍Great video. Thank you BBC.
Hey I'm a McKeachnie! Hello from Canada, long lost relatives !
I don't live in Scotland and I'm a 5th generation NZer and I've 40% scottish dna which makes sense as my grandmothers family came from Dundee and so did my fathers family bring Irish/scottish and english labourers with a lot of Scottish people on board to NZ, our schools are built around scottish institutions, our museum was designed by three architects, one being my scottish great great great uncle Kenneth Aimer, which has now stood tall for 100 years. I cry when I hear bagpipes and I have no idea why, I can't actually control it, it's very bizarre. Sometimes it doesn't matter where you end up these connections stay with you in some way or another.
Hi Elizabeth,, look up gordonstoun school Macpherson, s lament on you tube,,, and get the tissues handy
People who come from cold climates must be hard and strong, fierce. Do not be ashamed of where you came from.
So accurate and affirming. Retired reads would be wonderful: relationships including family, finances, creativity, focus issues, spiritual direction and connections.
This doesn't surprise me. In the Middle Ages the Gallowglass, Galloglaigh in Gaelic meaning foreign warriors, came from the Scottish islands to Ireland. They were Gaelic-Norse warriors hired by the leading clans in Ireland for protection. Many Irish surnames today have a Gallowglass origin. McCabes were Gallowglass protecting the O'Rourke clan. The Sweenys were Gallowglass for the O'Donnell clan and became a prominent clan themselves.
I am a McCabe from Australia .I have Norwegian, Swedish/ Danish in my dna.Yet no known Scandinavian ancestors
.
They didnt kill the locals, what mostly happen is that they killed most of the men to take their lands (making the few men left slaves) and marrying by force the local women. Some women probably were also sold in the slave trade to places like Iceland etc... In fact, places like the Western Scotish Isles, Orkey, Shetland, Feroe Iceland etc have a predominant female celtic DNA from the British Isles, while having predominant Viking male heritage.
Marrying by force? Now there is a pretty euphemism!
I don't buy the massacre theory. I think the coastal villages were very dangerous. Those who lived there needed to be able to defend themselves. Don't forget there were regular raids beginning in the 710's up until the 19th century from North African slave traders, selling the captives in the Ottoman empire.
Not all the men owned lands - maybe the majority. It takes a lot of ordinary men and women to support one noble family/ landowning family when it is a pre industrial society where everything is made by hand, even the shiny things hit and run raiders liked to steal!
@@charleswhite758 Widows and daughters with property would have been married by force. Other women could be raped or sold, yes, but marrying the wealthy ones was more respectable - and many Vikings had become Christians, or their kings had, meaning the Church approved of Church sanctioned unions as a way of transferring property.
History reveal that they kill most of the local people and then force the few that remains into slavery
Terrifically interesting case, love it!
Danish, Norway and Scottish DNA here. My grandparents immigrated here, the USA, in 1888.
My Mom, who was of Irish and English ancestry, had some Norwegian DNA, too. Her closest living kin, after us her descendants, were matched to the Dublin area, which, of course, was founded and settled by Norwegians, along with Limerick and Waterford, as trading posts. Her mother was of mixed, mostly Irish descent, but her father came from directly from The Netherlands, and interestingly, seems to have been of English ancestry. My Mom always thought she was Dutch, but such ancestry was not detected in her DNA profile. Of course, there has always been a lot of interchange between all these countries of the North, and with Northern Germans. My grandfather’s family might have migrated as dissenters to the Netherlands during the Reformation, many did, and have intermarried with fellow English immigrants for some time.
Im definitely of the viking stock my mother grandmother and generations before were all from faroe islands and in 1946 my scottish grandfather who was working on the whaling with the merchant navy Married my granny Hansa petrea Mortensen and headed back to Edinburgh Scotland with his pregnant wife and the story of their lifes starts with 7 children and a happy 59yrs Married. Both have passed and sorely missed .love you Granny and Grandad Williamson.
A year late but wanted to share my observations (as an American) after binge watching a series that takes place on Shetland Islands (If named, comments won't appear) and also bingeing on a series a few years ago whose main characters were Claire and Jamie Fraser....In the first mentioned series, the actor Steven Robertson, portraying "Sandy" ,according to his bio, was born in the Shetland Islands and has a very memorable and charismatic accent which didn't sound totally Scottish.
I researched and found that Shetland dialect is a combination of Old Norse and old Lower Scots. thus the Viking influence.
I thought while listening to him, that the actor Joh Bell's accent, portraying " young Ian Murray" in second series,. sounded very close to Robertson's accent., but from his bio, he was born in Glasgow ...My research shows that the Glasgow area had also been invaded by Norsemen...very curious!
And finally, the presenter of this video has the same fascinating accent and wonder if he is from Islay Isle. ... never to be read, but judt wanted to share...
Australian with a Scottish grandfather, we have Norwegian ancestry too. Have always felt an affinity with all things Scandinavian and the northern parts of Scotland.
Some of my Norwegian Swedish Ancestors were on the Isle of Man for years and ruled there and died there. I always find genealogical study so informative and interesting too.
I'm from new Zealand and have about 60% Polynesian ancestry and 40% scots Irish English french and scandanavian.
It’s funny how much of an influence the vikings and Scandinavia actually has on Scotland. Orkney and Shetland were wedding gifts to the Scottish royals and even the Scots language mainly consists of old Norse and some Middle English.
I am a Mathieson living in Inverness.
We are an old Highland Clan with Viking roots. There are many Mathesons in Norway and locals there have called us Vikings when we visited Norway 🇳🇴
All scottish clans're beatiful, with a wonderful history behind
Not a very common name in Norway. The spelling would be "Mathiassen". You find the name also in Denmark.
@ls-l1518 There's still a Clan Matheson branch in Norway. They came as mercenaries in 1612 and were later enobled
@@127cmore There is no nobility in Norway. Except for the Royals. In the 1600 ies, Norway was occupied by Denmark. They had, and have, nobility. But today, there is no Norwegian who can call themselves nobility, or use a title. I can't imagne anyone called Mathiesen or Mathiessen being nobility in Norway. It's not an upperclass name in Norway. When we freed ourselves from Denmark, we wanted to have a different society. Without nobility. We created our Grunnlov in 1814. Our laws. And that's what we celebrate on the 17th of May. We wanted a more equal society.
@ls-l1518 I didn't actually say it was now but I am talking about the early 1600s.
This is well known in Clan Matheson records.
The mercenaries were captured and eventually freed in what is present day Norway. They were eventually rewarded with titles
The Vikings got settled and mixed with the Scott’s because they became christians and stopped raiding and killing. The Gaelics were very devout christians. They sent missionaries to the germanic tribes in Switzerland and Germany in the year 600 and were very successful.
yeah thanks, we've known that for hundreds of years. They settled in Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, and everywhere in between
Testing my maternal DNA. I'm 54% Scandinavian, mostly Swedish. British nobility ancestor, King Richard III. Some Russian, and German nobility family the Von's, French, and Iberian.
The Vikings were one of the most mobile populations in human history, as they sailed to almost all parts of Europe as far south as North Africa and as far east as Iran.
My advanced mtDNA report dates back between 20,000 and 38,000 years ago. Present in farmers from the Early Neolithic, Near East, and among European farmers spread during the Bronze Age led to migration patterns into Germanic countries and Central Asia. Today mtDNA is particularly common in Northwest Europe.
The Norse Viking were travellers and settlers and farmers.Their influence also extended down the east coast of England .
Their influence in Scotland and especially the Orkneys Hebrides and North East Scotland can be seen and read in places names to this day.
Its likely there was assimilation with local populations with Celtic , possibly Pict culture.
.Shetland and Orkney were part of the Norse Kingdoms
Yeh no surprise. I was born in London. Mum is from Thurso up the top there, Thor-so. Did our dna recently, Highland scot and Scandinavian. They'd been trading and travelling up there way before Lindisfarne.
We didn't need DNA to tell us that they never left.
What a gem to find on youtube. Thanks.
I discovered a year ago via DNA that I am part viking and flemish. However I still consider myself 50% Scot!! Grandfather was from Uig (Isle of Skye). I am now in Aust.
Interesting. I have 50% English/Northwestern Europe, 25% Scottish, 14% Sweden/Denmark, 8% Irish, and 2% Norwegian. I know my Scottish ancestors came from Jura, right next to Islay to the North/East, which was also a Viking conquered island. I am sure the Vikings attacked Jura at the same time, if not shortly after since Jura is really close to Islay. On another ancestral website it shows my ancestral DNA as Norse-Gael ancestry. On the same site it has my DNA connection to Icelandic Gaelic-Vikings, but the strongest connection is to Danish Vikings. I thought that was interesting too.
My Scottish ancestral surname is "McDougald" in America, but traditionally "Mac DubhGhaill" from Scotland. This video makes a lot of sense from what I found out about my Scottish ancestry. MacDougall is a Norse-Gael Scottish surname (Mac DubhGhaill) amongst many other Norse-Gael surnames i.e., Mac Ìomhair, Mac Amhlaibh, Mac Ìomhair, Mac Raghnall. I have heard (Mac DubhGhaill) is interpreted as "dark stranger" referring to the Norse who came to the island. I know "Mac" means (son of) "dubh" is the color black, but I haven't been able to find "Ghaill" unless it's old Gaelic that isn't used anymore, not sure. I am guessing it must have something to do with an outsider, stranger, etc. I also know the MacDougalls along with MacDonald's have an ancestral connection to Somerled, King of the Isles who repelled the Viking invaders out of the Hebrides.
The 'dubh ' element means dark or black , while 'gaill' means foreigner or stranger . The first use of the term is in 853 I think , when the local Irish sources named a group of Vikings the 'Dubhgaill' who were under the leadership of the House of Ivarr and who took Dublin from another group of Vikings , the Finnghaill , the 'fair strangers'. It used to be thought that these terms referred to hair colour differences , and also that the Dubh were Danes and the Finn were Norwegian , but these theories seem anachronistic and inaccurate and rather reflect their status in the eyes of the Irish annalists as new and old Norse. Eventually Dubhgall became a first name in the Irish Sea region , and was used by the House of Ivarr , and eventually Somerled who did indeed name his eldest son Dubhgall.
@@bernicia-sc2iw Very interesting, this makes a lot of sense. Thank you for this insight.
I have been learning Scottish Gaelic over the past two years and I found "Innse Gall" refers to the "Western Isles" I also heard it as a reference to the "Foriegn Isles" refering to the forigners who invaded, being the Vikings. "Gall" in the name "Dubh Gaill" came from this word, "Dark Strangers". Very intersting information.
Great video. I am from the Appalachian Highlands, USA (where the states of Tennessee, North Carolina & Virginia meet), my DNA break down: England/Northwestern Europe 40%, Scotland 40%, Wales 9%, Ireland 6% & Sweden/Denmark 5%.
A lot of English from the borders ,Scots, lowland and highland spent a few generations in Ulster and left for the new world.These people are my ancestors and I also have 6% Norwegian or Scandinavian blood from God knows where.Areas of England were in the Danelaw and many have Danish ancestors in those areas.Has to be extremely difficult to achieve exact percentages,my DNA on ancestry has changed 5 times.
I'm from rural Australia.
I got:-
*54% Scotland
*25% Welsh
*13% England Northwestern Europe
*5% Ireland
*3% Norway
I'm very much a human vanilla milkshake!🤠👍
The Norse-Gaels of both the inner & outer Hebrides were the fiercest & scariest warriors of their post Viking era (1150-1450), the Western European equivalent of Japanese Samurais. Basically they possessed the skill & dexterity of an experienced Samurai yet the size, strength & toughness of their Norse Viking antecedents, with the ferocity of both. Terrifying!
I would have thought that post Viking era would have been a bit longer till 1450 as the MacNeils of Barra clan led by Ruari the Turbulent during the later 1500s were known as the last of the Vikings
@@KingEdwardtheTurbulentNeill26 Possibly. Yes. Yet that famed seafaring Clan spoke Gaelic & lived according to Gaelic customs, while genetically they were undoubtedly a mix of Norse & ancient Irish Gaelic-Pictish. Badass warriors to their core.
im a georgeson.. from shetland my great grandfather and from past is from aith in shetland.. georgeson still stay in that area to this day
This was very beautiful
This is very interesting. My family origin is from Ayrshire, which is right near Islay but on the mainland. When i got my DNA results i found that I was equally Scottish and Norse. When you look at the Donald clan origins it makes sense given the Isles were ruled by Viking King of the isles.
Has anyone considered the possibility that people could have traveled between Scotland and Denmark, Norway and a lesser extent Sweden for centuries before the Viking era?
At least Britain. The same kind of helmet found at Sutton Hoe, have been found in Sweden, north of Stockholm. Only there. Approximately 540-790 AD. So there was definitely some kind of contact. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendel_Period
I have read that during the bronze age people traveled all over Europe maritime to trade with bronze. I doubt though that many people stayed and mixed, it seems throughout history that most people have kept to themselves, even in Europe.
@@SwedishWanderer Bear in mind that Doggerland disappeared under the North sea a few thousand years ago so the UK mainland was contiguous with northern Europe.
I imagine that it happened quite often, especially in places such as Aberdeenshire, Yorkshire, Orkney and Shetland. Scotland’s north coast was probably also used as a middle point for travelling to Iceland
☺️yes some must have 😲
Given that the island’s population is around 3000, it would have been more revealing to DNA test the whole indigenous population to see exactly what extent Viking influence remains today.
Beautiful place. Interesting observations. 👌
I found out through one of those genetic testing companies that a third of my recent ancestry is from SW Scotland--NE Ireland. And that the rest of my genes are from other areas of the British Isles. I also found out that 91% of my ancestry going further back is from the Swedish/Danish haplogroup (dating back from the Vikings). So, yeah, this video is really interesting stuff now knowing that my ancestors were these people.
I know it's easy just to say but as a Scandinavian I wouldn't doubt she was Norwegian if someone told me
As a native Highlander with, I assume, very little Scandinavian anscestory, her accent sounds almost identical to Orkney, which in itself speaks of Norwegian influence.
I was purely thinking of how she looks. I wouldn't know much about the accents of Scotland 😊.@@colinmacdonald5732
Ho ser veldig Norsk ut ja
That fat, happy seal at the end--LOL, and LOVE!!!
Islay looks like a place full of history. Would love to visit some day. :)
Vikings integrated women and slaves into the community and massacred most, not all in most cases. I highly doubt that they massacred every last soul on islay and the whole community still converted to gael
I agree. There’s a reason why 70% of East Asians from China to Thailand have a small percentage Genghis Khan genetics. His clan pillaged and raped basically all of Asia!
My grandmother was rightly proud of her Scottish roots, so you can imagine my shock when I did a DNA test and found I have almost no Celtic blood.... (although nearly 40% Norse).
@@gbobble Interesting thank you for the response, that makes sense, sadly my mother passed many years ago, but my dad has had a DNA test so I can kind of fill in the blanks from what he hasn't given me, if you follow me.
Which test was that, by the way?
@@emmanuelgoldspleen2905 Oddly I got your question and my DNA matches in my mailbox at the same time..... my test was with MyHeritage
It's not 100% anyway mate ....
Scotland, Wales, England, Ireland. Viking D.N.A is likely to turn up anywhere in the British Isles.
The story I heard was that Vikings in Scotland spoke a mixture of old Norse and Gaelic so even Viking named places could be in Gaelic.
I’m nz Maori with a Scottish ancestor and iv always known that Scottish are descendants of the Scandinavian Vikings. I thought everyone knew
Some are not all. Viking DNA is smaller than 5%.
An average Scot has less than 5% of their ancestry from vikings, the rest is mostly from the Gaels and a little from the Picts. All 3 peoples were tough bastards which is reflected by some Scots.
@@blairrobert3438 yeah, it’s depending on the region. Vikings tended to settle into more rural areas up in the highlands, which is why the majority of those towns are ethnically Norse, but the rest of Scotland isn’t
No, did not know.
to a Danish viewer like me this is super interesting, there are lots of similar place names in my country (cities ending in "-dal" or "-by")
Yorkshire & Linsey the heart of Danelaw has tonnes of evidence in places. So much so only in the North, our Valleys are called Dales and mountains Fells. The Northern English language became more Germanic because of how the Vikings integrated with Angles. I've got DNA from all Nordic nations because of it.
Wow!!!! What an awesome documentary.
I have a mix of the Danish and Estonian mixed with Dutch German mixed with Spanish gitano gypsy.
Very interesting show!
I speak an old Danish dialect that’s through my dna.
Vel tagkc!
Thank you for sharing! Very fascinating! I had my DNA tested through Ancestry and have 18% Scotland 2% Norway.
Yep. I'm Scots-Irish, but I'm also 23% Scandinavian. Somewhere along the long road of my people there was a Viking or two in the wood-pile!
It happens to the best of family's these days
I’m Swedish and apparently my ancestors came to Scotland from Scandinavia in the 9th century or so. But then came back here in the 17th century.
I wonder how much Swedish DNA there is in Scotland. I'm an English/Scottish/Welsh mix (no ancestry within the last 1000 years or so from anywhere outside the British Isles), but for some reason ended up with 19% Swedish/Danish autosomal DNA (both ethnicities seem to cluster together according to ancestryDNA). Really odd.
People from all over Scandinavia did travel everywhere. They where more bounded to good leaders than to nations,they intermarried all over Scandinavia, spoke the same language and shared the same culture. Also,what is now Sweden since many hundred years are not only the old areas of the Swedes and Geats,but also big chunks of what in the viking age belonged to Denmark and Norway. Swedish DNA today is a mix of everything from the old viking age,including the DNA of the captured slaves.
That explains a lot !!!
This is one more example of what I have learned about the Vikings. As the scholar stated, the Vikings were thought to have pillaged and left a lot of places. And as he stated, that is not true. They did in this example as well and many others in Europe stay and assimilate. About the only place that they did not stay was in North America.
Viking and other Norse incursions had over time a huge impact over England. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 that was fought over England had William the Conquerer (the winner) on one side. He was of Norse(Viking) ancestry that lived in Normandy, France where his ancestors had moved into in 911 from Norway.
His opponent as King of England who led his troops at Hastings was Harold Godwinson, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. His mother was Gytha Thorkelsdóttir, who had Danish ancestry and had also assimilated in with the Ango-Saxons in England.
So the two combants at The Battle of Hastings both had Viking ancestry. And those two cultures, Anglo-Saxons and Normans assimilated into what is called the Anglo-Norman history and geneology of England!
Yes, the Vikings assimilated with the original occupants of many countries in Europe.
No mention of the slave trade in this piece! They weren’t all massacred. Many were bought and sold as slaves. You can bet there were probably local Gaelic women who became mothers to Vikings children. This is true for all Viking conquered lands especially Iceland. The DNA shows a majority of Icelandic people descend from enslaved women taken from the the British isles.
Exactly !!! The Vikings were huge slavers ! Why would they massacre the merchandise ? The « historian » seems to have her own ideas about the subject…
As a descendent of primarily northern England and Scottish people I wasn’t surprised when my DNA test came back 35% Scottish, 30% English and 20% Norwegian (plus some Welsh and Irish).
That was really interesting and something that think about
Norman conquest had a major impact all over the British isles .