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Archiver > POWYS > 1998-12 > 0912626441


From: Allison Marsh< >
Subject: Re: Blue Eyes
Date: Wed, 02 Dec 1998 19:20:41 GMT


Oh my goodness. I am definately a right hotch potch of countries!

I have very dark brown hair, slushy blue/grey eyes, with a white
'Mallon' streak of hair.

Allison

On Wed, 02 Dec 1998 13:05:38 -0500, Richard John Meredith
<> wrote:

>Hello all........
>
>An interesting discussion. Unfortunately as a race, we, the Welsh as a nation,
>have been mixed with so many other races, that there is little evidence to
>support a large generalization of type.
>It is true to say however, that the Brythonic Celts - Welsh and Bretons were dark
>of complexion and hair and eye colour whilst the Goidic celts, Irish and Scots
>were taller and lighter. The Bretons of France are probably the closest thing
>there is to what the original British (Welsh) people looked like. A Breton
>speaking Frenchman and a Welsh speaking Welshman can just about discern the
>other's language.
>To further confuse the issue, we have to remember that the Romans interbred with
>many of the original Brythonic peoples and that around 70% of the invading Roman
>army was made up of Spanish conscripts and some mid and east Europeans all of whom
>share a darker caucasian. We also have a lot of Saxon and Norman influences as
>well - especially in Mid Wales.
>
>The peoples of the north of Wales were mingled with French, Irish, Scots, and a
>few Flemish (who settled in one small area in the 13th century) and many other sea
>going nations. It is perhaps generally true that the northerners are lighter and
>maybe a little taller than the majority of the the south but that trait can also
>be found in Italy and other European countries.
>
>A streak of white hair is a genetic characteristic found in some families
>throughout the world and is passed down down (I believe) through the male line of
>descent although I am no geneticist.
>
>Red hair tends to be a characteristic of possible viking descent and many Irish,
>Scots and Welsh families carry this colouring. At one time, it was comparatively
>rare in much of Wales, and as an example of this we can look at the memoirs of the
>Llanafan historian, D.L. Wooding who stated that the first red haired person in
>the Llanafan Fawr district was an Irish servant girl who came to the district in
>the mid 1600's. Wooding theorises that all of the red haired people in the
>district at the time of his writing (late 1800's) were her descendants. How
>provable that may be is another matter, but it does make a nice tale.
>
>Best wishes,
>
>Richard Meredith
>

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