Recent Ethnic Origin

[derinos]

derinos

"Vikings" come up frequently here and the term may be overused.
I was pleased to see La Roccia's comment distinguishing Viking from Norse.
The people of the West of Scandinavia like to be called Norge or Norse. "Vikings" refer historically to violent groups of Norsemen of 900 to 1000 AD who burst out a-pirating (and a-conquering) in Drakkar, or Dragon-ships. Many more Norse explorers, welcomed as colonists and traders over a much longer historical period, came in Knorrer or carrying-ships. They included discoverers of America (Biarni Hjerolfsson, Leif Ericsson, Thorfinn Karlsefni ).
I prefer "Norse". My family name and "I" Y-haplotype comes from a trading post set up in Wales in that period, which is still named "Sweyn's Ey" , has a stave church, and historically records no Viking raids. The local speech is often mistaken for a Norwegian accent.

[Irubak]

Dear All,

Thanks for your interesting remarks and replies!

Thinking about my ancestry Haplo I (M170) which wasnot confirmed in any other tested Georgian, I came to the following conclusions:

1. Possible far ancestry: some group of haplo I stayed in the Caucasus on the way from the middle East while the rest left for Balkans and Europe.

2. Possible more recent ancestry: a) 3000 Swedish vikings serving in Georgian army in XI century. b) some member of a Russian (Viking) prince Juri's escort, who married Georgian queen Tamar in XII century. As you know Russian nobility is of viking descent and even the name Rus is of viking origin (Ruslagen in Sweden). One princely family in Georgia officialy claims to be of Viking descent: princes Rusishvili (sons of Rus) http://www.geogen.ge/EngTavadi/EngR.htm

Actually, the same source indicates that my family (being the minor branch of the princely house Cholokashvili) comes from Genoa, Italy. Although, in our family we don't keep any memory of that.

3. Skin and eye color can indeed be a result of the play of genes, but blue eyes and blond hair, which 3 generations of my paternal ancestors had, cannot be a coincidence, can it?

[Eki]

3. Skin and eye color can indeed be a result of the play of genes, but blue eyes and blond hair, which 3 generations of my paternal ancestors had, cannot be a coincidence, can it?

I don't think so. Today I heard from people I found through DNA tests that I might decend from a brother of William the Conquerer of Normandy. Every thing is possible.

[Lost-Sheep]

I heard from people I found through DNA tests that I might decend from a brother of William the Conquerer of Normandy

William the Conquerer probably fathered dozens of children to spread around all of that Y-DNA...the same way he was fathered!!! LOL!