Nordic elements in Sicily: How much of it is Norman, how much is ancient Italic Indo-European?

[alfieb]

Weird how that works, eh? On Dodecad Oracle Mixedmode I came up as half Swedish. Always figured the Norman in Sicily would be Norwegians or Danes, but sure enough I have more Swedes on 23andMe. There must be a part of the story that was lost to history. Maybe the Varangian guards from Byzantium, who were Swedish mercenaries, made their way into the Norman ranks.

[Sikeliot]

Weird how that works, eh? On Dodecad Oracle Mixedmode I came up as half Swedish. Always figured the Norman in Sicily would be Norwegians or Danes, but sure enough I have more Swedes on 23andMe. There must be a part of the story that was lost to history. Maybe the Varangian guards from Byzantium, who were Swedish mercenaries, made their way into the Norman ranks.

If anything what surprises me is that the Normans were not mostly, by that point, northern French. Surely today Norman ancestry is highest in Normandy.

[Stormer99]

Weird how that works, eh? On Dodecad Oracle Mixedmode I came up as half Swedish. Always figured the Norman in Sicily would be Norwegians or Danes, but sure enough I have more Swedes on 23andMe. There must be a part of the story that was lost to history. Maybe the Varangian guards from Byzantium, who were Swedish mercenaries, made their way into the Norman ranks.

Can you show us some of your mixed modes? It would be interesting to see.