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From: Ellen <>
Subject: [PACE-L] DNA: UCL researchers doubt that Normans were genetically Viking
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 12:22:41 +0100


At
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/bloodofthevikings/chat_041201.shtml
there is a transcript of a live chat with two of the researchers who
carried out the "Blood of the Vikings" genetic survey. There is a brief
exchange about the Normans:

<begin quote>
Rob Drury - Did the Normans have Viking blood, they had been in Normandy
for some time but must still have had close links with their homeland.
Professor David Goldstein - We didn't look carefully at Normandy, so can't
really say. However, the work we did in the Channel Islands indicates that
the Normans that would have come over to Britain were not genetically Viking.
Gareth Williams - This fits well with the place name evidence as well.
There is place name evidence for a very limited Scandinavian settlement in
Normandy, but it doesn't appear to have been substantial. Historical
sources suggest that the Normans had lost the Scandinavian characteristics
within a few generations, and certainly before the Norman conquest.
<end quote>

So apparently there is nothing to be learned about possible Norman Paces,
or patterns of Norman settlement, from the "Blood of the Vikings" study.

Regards,
Ellen




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