Search for Viking Ancestry in England
From the late eighth century to the early eleventh century, Viking explorers, warriors and merchants actively raided and colonized much of northern Europe, including parts of the United Kingdom. The Vikings left their legacy in the English language, landscape and place names. Now, scientists from the University of Leicester in England want to trace the Viking legacy through genetic genealogy testing.
Researchers will be concentrating their genealogy efforts on Cumbria, Lancashire, Cheshire, North Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland. Prof. Steve Harding from the University of Nottingham, and a member of the research team, said “The Viking influence in Yorkshire is very strong. The goal [of the research] is to pinpoint to what extent the Vikings have influenced the ancestry of modern Yorkshire where people still tend to think of themselves as Viking.” For example, one question researchers hope to answer is the relative distribution of the ancestry of Norse Vikings (who are thought to have settled mainly in the western part of the country) versus Danish Vikings (who are thought to have settled mostly in the east).
Much of the research will be conducted by Dr. Turi King, who is best known to genealogists for her studies on English surnames (see Are People with the Same Family Name Related?). Dr. King is looking to recruit male volunteers whose father's father was born in the counties listed above. The study will involve the analysis of Y chromosomes, which are passed down from father to son. The study will also trace the surnames of the volunteers. According to Dr. King “As well as analyzing the Y chromosomes, we are also interested in the surnames because they are passed down the generations in the same way. Surnames help us make deeper links into the past, and tease out the signal of past Viking presence.”
Anyone interested in participating in the studies can email Dr. King at surnames@le.ac.uk. Volunteers will receive a description of their Y-chromosome type at the conclusion of the study. Samples will be taken through a cheek swab and can be mailed to the researchers.
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