Who Does He Think He Is?

He's Sir Matthew Pinset (four times olympic gold medallist), that's who! I've decided to do a second post of the day, because this is what I was going to write about in the first place, but got side-tracked by political news. Well, last night was the final episode in this series of "Who Do You Think You Are?" Unfortunate, as besides "Top Gear", it's one of the few things that the BBC can be congratulated for. I've got to admit, where British TV used to be pretty good, we're rapidly losing out to US telly. For instance I've recently caught a few US shows in passing such as "Entourage" with Matt Dillon in it, and "Californication" starring David Duchovny. Both seem excellent!

Back to Sir Matthew Pinsent and his family tree. I was quite jealous, because he found (a researcher found actually) what genealogists allegedly call a "Gateway Ancestor". The individual in question was General Sir George Anson, who we were told acquitted himself rather well in the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. Turns out that Sir George was descended from the Howards, one of the leading noble families in England during the Middle Ages. They also provided a wife for Henry VIII to have beheaded.

A visit to some peerage place later, and it becomes clear that the Howard line was descended from Edward I, who was descended from William the Conqueror. He was then shown a tree going back to Jesus, Adam & Eve and finally God. You see now that's the kind of thing I want for my own family tree, I just need one of those Gateway Ancestors, and I'll be sorted. I know I'm descended from nobility, I just can't join the dots, so to speak. For instance, on my mother's side of the family I have Beaton's (or Bethune's) from Skye. It's commonly known that they were descended from an Earl of Fife, but no written genealogy. My wife's family claim a link to the Dukes of Gordon, and circumstantial evidence indicates a likelihood of this, but conclusive proof is elusive. Nevermind, someday I'll make a breakthrough too!

Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave!

I'm currently half-way through reading David Miles "The Tribes of Britain", and it's fascinating reading. I guess that it's particulalry tailored for me in the sense that I'm a keen genealogist as well as deeply intersted in history. Probably should have done a history degree, still might!

The book examines the inhabitation of the British Isles from pre-history right up until the modern day. What is truly fascinating, is just how wrong our ingrained perceptions of our own history are. For instance, the Roman invasion of Britain. It would not be uncommon for many British citizens living today, to suppose that they had some Roman ancestry, seeing how the Romans invaded Britain and ruled it for almost 400 years. Well that assumption would be mistaken, for the majority of the Roman army weren't Roman in the sense we would regard them to be. The majority of the army were legions from Northern France, Belgium, Spain and North Africa even. There were very few Italians in there.

Secondly, the Romans formed garrisons across the country, with some men undoubtedly taking local women for wives, but it's doubtful that men who were already married would have brought their families across with them. In all likelihood, recruits from British tribes would soon begin to form local garrisons, avoiding bringing more troops across from the continent where they were engaged in fierce fighting with the Germanic tribes.

The Norman invasion follows a similar pattern. While many individuals possess names of Norman origin, it is unlikely that they are descended from any of the knights who accompanied William the Conqueror to Britain. Those knights were aloof Frenchmen, the majority of whom married the daughters of their fellow knights, and kept it that way for centuries. They merely replaced the Anglo-Saxon Chieftains who ruled previously. Their input to the gene pool was minimal.

Even the Viking incursions into the British Isles, which occured sporadically over 2 centuries, but intensified towards the end left little impact genetically, even in the Scottish Isles, the DNA demonstrates only 25% of Scandinavian genes.

The fact is, that the majority of the British people are mainly descended from the original inhabitants of the British Isles, who were not even Celts as you would suppose, I'm talking about the original Neolithic and Iron Age inhabitants, who only adopted the Celtic customs and dress. Yes, even the English when tested demonstrated 80% DNA belonging to the original Brtish tribes. That other 20% has in all likelihood been brought in by foreign traders who settled in this land since the Norman invasion, particularly those from Flanders and Brabantia, who brought their much needed skills over here.

So, where does that leave us genetically? Does it really matter? Perhaps our most recent peaceful influxes from overseas will have a much greater impact than anything that's gone before. It's getting to the point, here at least in NE Scotland, where the local people may soon be a minority. You might think I'm joking, I'm not, and at the risk of sounding xenophobic, I don't think this country can handle the number of immigrants coming in if it's sustained at present levels. It will reach a tipping point! And when it does, I'll blog it!