Am I a viking? The modern Viking myth

[Grumpy Cat]

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[Magister Eckhart]

Actually this makes sense. The Vikings, after all, do not represent an ethnic group but rather an emigrant portion of the broader Scandinavian ethnic group. The fact that breeding over a 1000-year period would drive Viking genes eastward is not surprising; the question, however, is how much contemporary Scandinavians have in common with the non-Viking Scandinavians of 1000 or 2000 years ago. I would venture "much". Scandinavia, it should be remembered, was not dominating by marauding warriors hopping in long-ships and going out every Friday to drink, copulate, and kill, the way they are portrayed (and some of them would like to be portrayed). On the contrary, they were farmers and merchants mostly, many of whom never left the shores of their home country.

Taking DNA samples from ship-burials seems absurd to me, too, because it represents a maritime portion of Scandinavian culture that is not generally representative of ancient Scandinavians. In addition, to have a burial such as that meant that one had to have significant wealth and social standing-- comparing ancient nobles with contemporary commoners, why would anyone expect to find any genetic similarities?

Ultimately, therefore, this article proves that, indeed, contemporary Scandinavians are not descent from ancient Scandinavian emigrants, nor are most Scandinavians descent from people who had a lot of money and power a millennium go. Acting surprised at this would rather be like acting surprised to find out that, in fact, most English people today are not descendants of Virginia plantation owners of the 1600s; it says nothing about Scandinavians.

[Adalwolf]

Didn't the Faroese people settle there to get away from the Vikings in the first place? Besides the place was occupied by Irish monks before any of this I am sure.

[Magister Eckhart]

Didn't the Faroese people settle there to get away from the Vikings in the first place? Besides the place was occupied by Irish monks before any of this I am sure.

This would not surprise me, since it is true of just about every small island in the North Sea, including Iceland.

[Osweo]

nor are most Scandinavians descent from people who had a lot of money and power a millennium go.

Considering the rise and fall of the fortunes of families over a thousand years, the huge leap in population in the last few centuries, and the breeding success of rich and powerful men, it's probably more likely that every Scandinavian is now a descendant to some degree of nearly all the big men of that time!

Acting surprised at this would rather be like acting surprised to find out that, in fact, most English people today are not descendants of Virginia plantation owners of the 1600s; it says nothing about Scandinavians.

Unlike the American example, a lot of Norsemen went home. There are several runestones commemorating such men, who were proud of their adventures and glad to spend the rewards on a comfy retirement in their own homeland. And think of the meaning of names like Jorsalafari, or saga figures who'd returned from fighting for the Emperor in Serkland like Hardrada himself.

[Grumpy Cat]

The population of the Faroe Islands is largely descended from Viking settlers who arrived in the 9th century. The islands have been connected politically to Denmark since the 14th century. A high degree of self government was granted the Faroese in 1948, who have autonomy over most internal affairs while Denmark is responsible for justice, defense, and foreign affairs. The Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/fo.html

[Jägerstaffel]

Why does anyone care?

[Adalwolf]

Well considering the fact I am 25% Swedish, no, I am not jealous. Besides I am more proud of my 50% German heritage, anyway.

@ TheWagnerian: There is some interesting information at this link.

http://www.heinesen.fo/faroeislandsreview/history.htm

[Bloodeagle]

So the study points to the rare mitochondrial dna these vikings possessed but does not touch on their y-dna haplogroups.
So at best we get half of the picture.

What happened to the mothers and sisters of these Viking men? Why is their mtdna so rare in modern Scandinavians?

[Osweo]

Some people care about how others care about things that they don't...