Ancestors
A Puzzle of Flesh;
Those Who Made Us Who We Are
http://sacredgeometryinternational.com/sangreal-the-holy-grail-recovering-the-cosmic-science-of-antiquity-part-one
THE ROYAL WE
Who do you take your self to be? Our self perception includes:
1 - the nature of the observer;
2 - the nature of reality.
There is a beyond of the boundaries of the self you know. That suspicion may have resulted from some feeling or intuition, precognitive information, revelatory knowledge that sprang into your experience, seemingly from out of nowhere. For example, there are multidimensional dramas, that play out in your nightly dreams, in which your known and unknown selves meet. So, you may remember upon awakening, a certain unrecognized person, man or woman, or see a portrait of someone on a wall. They are your footprints in the sand.
The self you know perceives physical reality through the body. You focus your attention on the physical world, which is a 3-dimensional reflection of its own kind of consciousness: a consciousness deflected and sifted through a molecular lens, through the molecular structure of eye, ear, etc.
This conscious self that you know is only one ASPECT of our greater reality. It is the part that has sprung into earth knowing. Since this aspect of your personality is focused in 3-dimensional life, we can call this your focus personality. However, it contains within it, traces of its own source, a source self, from which it constantly emerges.
The source self is what we can call the fountainhead of our present physical being, but, it exists outside that frame of reference. Our source self is tuned into earthly existence, corporal experience. Our known consciousness is filtered through the perceptive mechanisms that are themselves, a part of what they perceive. We are the instruments through which we know the earth. We are particles of energy flowing from the source self into physical materialization. Each source self forms many such particles, or aspect selves that impinge on 3-dimensional reality, striking our space-time continuum.
Psychologically, these other aspects appear within your known self as personality traits, characteristics, and talents that are uniquely yours. The individual is the focus personality, formed by the intersection of the unknown self with space and time. We can follow any of our traits or emotions back to this source self, or at least to a recognition of its existence. You can use our source self to expand our conscious knowledge and experience.
The source self is free of space and time. It can be thought of as a personified energy Gestalt -energy that knows itself -that creates then perceives itself through experience, as it constantly sends "waves" of itself into 3-dimensional activity. These energy waves, striking our system, form the individual, with its focus, your focus.
It is that energy, which is not sensed, but makes sense, interacting with those physical objects, which makes sense of physical reality. The energy waves bounce back and forth, to and from the source self, so that there is constant interaction. It does so through the molecular structure of the cells, and because our cells are highly concentrated in the brain, it seems to us the brain is a transmitter and receiver. However, all cells communicate.
The inflow and influx happens all the time. We can consciously accelerate, direct it, and deliberately actualize more of the unknown self, and its aspects, not only opening up our own consciousness, but also expanding the possibilities inherent in our creature consciousness.
It is only by recognizing our multidimensional origin that we begin to understand our life in time and space. Only in this way can we begin to understand our own psychic experiences, for example; ESP, precognition, etc. Religion and science have no adequate answers for these experiences.
It is through the focus of consciousness that latent fields of energy are fertilized, bringing them into perceived reality. There is a certain maximum focus where the source energy hits the 3-dimensional field, spreading out into a pool of now, which is our living area. This "now" happens at a certain "point" from which our experience spreads out in all directions.
As creatures, we are only aware of the here to there, that appears as time. But, at either end, toward birth or death, the focus is somewhat blurred because our present causes our future, and our past as well. Our experience always spreads out from the now point of intersection, forming our perception of past and future.
1 - the nature of the observer;
2 - the nature of reality.
There is a beyond of the boundaries of the self you know. That suspicion may have resulted from some feeling or intuition, precognitive information, revelatory knowledge that sprang into your experience, seemingly from out of nowhere. For example, there are multidimensional dramas, that play out in your nightly dreams, in which your known and unknown selves meet. So, you may remember upon awakening, a certain unrecognized person, man or woman, or see a portrait of someone on a wall. They are your footprints in the sand.
The self you know perceives physical reality through the body. You focus your attention on the physical world, which is a 3-dimensional reflection of its own kind of consciousness: a consciousness deflected and sifted through a molecular lens, through the molecular structure of eye, ear, etc.
This conscious self that you know is only one ASPECT of our greater reality. It is the part that has sprung into earth knowing. Since this aspect of your personality is focused in 3-dimensional life, we can call this your focus personality. However, it contains within it, traces of its own source, a source self, from which it constantly emerges.
The source self is what we can call the fountainhead of our present physical being, but, it exists outside that frame of reference. Our source self is tuned into earthly existence, corporal experience. Our known consciousness is filtered through the perceptive mechanisms that are themselves, a part of what they perceive. We are the instruments through which we know the earth. We are particles of energy flowing from the source self into physical materialization. Each source self forms many such particles, or aspect selves that impinge on 3-dimensional reality, striking our space-time continuum.
Psychologically, these other aspects appear within your known self as personality traits, characteristics, and talents that are uniquely yours. The individual is the focus personality, formed by the intersection of the unknown self with space and time. We can follow any of our traits or emotions back to this source self, or at least to a recognition of its existence. You can use our source self to expand our conscious knowledge and experience.
The source self is free of space and time. It can be thought of as a personified energy Gestalt -energy that knows itself -that creates then perceives itself through experience, as it constantly sends "waves" of itself into 3-dimensional activity. These energy waves, striking our system, form the individual, with its focus, your focus.
It is that energy, which is not sensed, but makes sense, interacting with those physical objects, which makes sense of physical reality. The energy waves bounce back and forth, to and from the source self, so that there is constant interaction. It does so through the molecular structure of the cells, and because our cells are highly concentrated in the brain, it seems to us the brain is a transmitter and receiver. However, all cells communicate.
The inflow and influx happens all the time. We can consciously accelerate, direct it, and deliberately actualize more of the unknown self, and its aspects, not only opening up our own consciousness, but also expanding the possibilities inherent in our creature consciousness.
It is only by recognizing our multidimensional origin that we begin to understand our life in time and space. Only in this way can we begin to understand our own psychic experiences, for example; ESP, precognition, etc. Religion and science have no adequate answers for these experiences.
It is through the focus of consciousness that latent fields of energy are fertilized, bringing them into perceived reality. There is a certain maximum focus where the source energy hits the 3-dimensional field, spreading out into a pool of now, which is our living area. This "now" happens at a certain "point" from which our experience spreads out in all directions.
As creatures, we are only aware of the here to there, that appears as time. But, at either end, toward birth or death, the focus is somewhat blurred because our present causes our future, and our past as well. Our experience always spreads out from the now point of intersection, forming our perception of past and future.
Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs by Frederick William Burton, 1864.
"And don't be amazed if there is bodiless form."
The Corpus Hermeticum
Internet genealogies suffer a well-known defect -- many of them accept as true many lines that are known by scholars to be false. Geni is no exception. In Geni’s early days, many users uploaded GEDCOM files with spurious and fantastic genealogies. As users we’ve done a lot of cleanup, merging duplicates and cutting bad connections, but there is a lot of work still to do. Usually, the term “Descents from Antiquity” refers to modern efforts to find plausible lines of descent. However, it can also include traditional descents that have varying degrees of reliability. It is generally unhelpful to simply say something like, “No one can prove a descent from Julius Caesar.” What is most helpful is to identify the specific generations where the evidence fails, search for reliable sources, then start a discussion.
Adam & Eve, Ernst Fuchs
Medieval forgeries
A common belief in antiquity and in the middle ages was that tribes took their name from a common ancestor. For example, the Historia Brittonum (Nennius, 9th century) names Alanus as the first man to live in Europe. He had a son Hiscion, and Hiscion’s four sons Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Brutus were the ancestors respectively of the French, Romans, Germans, and British. The name of this Alanus was probably a corrupted form of Mannus, the Old Germanic god who was the ancestor of mankind. Some scholars believe that Mannus was another name for Bor, the father of the god Odin in Norse tradition. In English, German and the Scandinavian languages we get our word man from Mannus.
When the Europeans converted to Christianity, they had a problem. Their royal families were only a few generations removed from the old gods. And, worse. Exposed to Roman arts and sciences, they discovered the idea of “historical time”. The world was older than they had ever thought about. Their royal pedigrees weren’t long enough to go back to the creation of the world.
From the Romans they learned that modern science had proved that everyone on earth was descended from Adam and Eve. (It said so in the Christian scriptures, which were absolutely true -- according the scholars.)
The answer was simple and obvious. The old gods had to have been humans, famous men and great warriors who came to worshipped as gods. And, if they were human, they must have been descended from Adam and Eve like everyone else. The trick was to figure out how.
One of the earliest surviving attempts to create this kind of genealogy is the Historia Brittonum by the Welsh monk Nennius (9th century), who recorded the following genealogy:
(1) Noah, his son (2) Japheth, his son (3) Joham, his son (4) Jobath, his son (5) Bath, his son (6) Hisrau, his son (7) Esraa, his son (8) Ra, his son (9) Aber, his son (10) Ooth, his son (11) Ethec, his son (12) Aurthack, his son (13) Ecthactur, his son (14) Ecthactur, his son (15) Mair, his son (16) Semion, his son (17) Boibus, his son (18) Thoi, his son (19) Ogomuin, his son (20) Fethuir, and his son (21) Alanus.
Nennius also tied Alanus to Rome by making him a husband of Rhea Silvia, whose twin sons Romulus and Remus are said to have founded Rome in 753 BCE. The connection is scarcely credible historically, but served neatly to graft the eponymous ancestors of the northern Europeans onto classical tradition by making them brothers of Romulus, the eponymous ancestor of the Romans.
These medieval genealogies connecting ancient kings to Adam are pure invention. They are interesting now because they show the history of history.
England The Anglo-Saxons, forerunners of the modern English, were ruled by kings who claimed to be descended from the god Woden (Odin in the Norse versions). In later Scandinavian versions, Woden was the son of Bor, son of Búri. Some scholars believe that in the Germanic version, which included the Anglo-Saxons, Woden was the son of Mannus, the ancestor of mankind, who was son of Tuisto.
English monks kept Woden, but dumped Bor and Búri. They “discovered” that Woden was descended from Noah, but the process took several tries.
In one place, the 9th century Anglo-Saxon chronicle gives the following line. There are too few generations here, but this fragment might preserve the earliest non-divine version of Woden’s ancestry.
(1) Noah, his son (2) ---, his son (3) Finn, who was born in the ark, his son (4) Freothelaf, his son (5) Frithuwald, his son (6) Woden.
About the same time, Nennius in his Historia Brittonum gives a slightly different version. Here we get two more generations beyond Finn, which might also represent an authentic tradition.
(1) Geat, “who, as they say, was the son of a god”, his son (2) Godwulf, his son (3) Finn, his son (4) Frithuwulf, his son (5) Frithowald, and his son (6) Woden.
Nennius gives us more theology than genealogy. He says that Geat “as they say, was the son of a god, not of the omnipotent God and our Lord Jesus Christ (who before the beginning of the world, was with the Father and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal and of the same substance, and who, in compassion to human nature, disdained not to assume the form of a servant), but the offspring of one of their idols, and whom, blinded by some demon, they worshipped according to the custom of the heathen.”
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of documents rather than a single document. In another place (855), it gives a fuller line.
(1) Noe [Noah], his son (2) Sceaf, his son (3) Bedwig Sceafing, his son (4) Hwala Bedwiging, his son (5) Haþra Hwalaing, his son (6) Itermon Haðraing, his son (7) Heremod Itermoning, his son (8) Sceldwea Heremoding, his son (9) Beaw Sceldwaing, his son (10) Taetwa Beawing, his son (11) Geat Taetwaing, his son (12) God wulf Geating, his son (13) Fin Godwulfing, his son (14) Frealaf Finning, and his son (15) Woden Frealafing. (Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel, Plummer and Earle (eds.), 66, 67 and note 6).
A note says, “id est filius Noe se waes geboren on þaere earce Noes.” That is, “he [Sceaf] is the son of Noah, he was born in Noah’s ark.” This detail ties the old pagan tradition to the new Christian tradition. Sceaf was a Norse god who arrived by boat as a baby to rule the Danes. Now, he is neatly made the son of the Christian ark builder.
Later monks, perhaps competing for prestige with the Franks, decided to dump Noah and take Woden’s ancestry back to Troy, then connect the Trojans to the Jewish scriptures. This version runs as follows. Note that the names of the new generations, between (10) and (16) have been drawn chiefly from nicknames of the old god Thor. Some of the other names might have been invented in a similar way.
(1) Judah, ancestor of the tribe of Judah, his son (2) Zara, his son (3) Darda, his son (4) Erichthonious, his son (5) Tros, his son (6) Ilus, his son (7) Laomedon, his son (8) Tithonius, his son (9) Memnon, his son (10) Thor, his son (11) Einridi, his son (12) Vingethor, his son (13) Vingener, his son (14) Móda, his son (15) Magi [Noe], his son (16) Sceaf [Seskef], his son (17) Bedwig [Bedvig], his son (18) Hwala, his son (19) Hrathra [Annarr], his son (20) Itermon [Ítermann], his son (21) Heremod [Heremód], his son (22) Heremod [Heremód], his son (23) Beaw [Bjárr], his son (24) Tætwa, his son (25) Geat [Ját], his son (26) Godwulf [Gudólfr], his son (27) Finn, his son (28) Frithuwulf, his son (29) Frealaf [Fridleifr], his son Frealaf [Fridleifr], his son (30) Freawine, his son (31) Frithuwald, and his son (32) Woden.
Attempts to reconcile these genealogies by equating the human Frithuwald with the divine Bor, and the human Frealaf with divine Búri have been problematic, because they end by giving Woden a set of mythical relatives that include the Ice Giants.
France
The Franks, a confederation of Germanic tribes that formed the core of modern France, claimed descent from Francus (or Francio). According to one version of the story, Francus and his people were defeated by the Roman general Drusus in 11 BCE. Francus was killed, and they were relocated to the region between the Rhine and the Danube.
Frankish monks linked Francus to the kings of Troy. The Chronicle of Fredegar (7th century) mentions the legend. It was elaborated in the Liber historiae Francorum (probably 727). Successive generations continued adding new details.
In other words, the Franks claimed to be the distant cousins of the Romans (who claimed descent from Aeneas, another Trojan). It was a nice piece of political propaganda because it fit nicely with two things the Franks wanted to emphasize: (1) as cousins of the Romans they were equal to the Romans, and (2) as cousins and equals, they were the legitimate successors of the Roman empire.
The Grandes Chroniques de France (13th - 15th centuries), a vast compilation of historic material, refers to the Trojan origins of the French dynasty.
Johannes Trithemius' De origine gentis Francorum compendium (1514) describes the Franks as originally Trojans (called "Sicambers" or "Sicambrians") after the fall of Troy who came into Gaul after being forced out of the area around the mouth of the Danube by the Goths in 439 BCE (1:33). He also details the reigns of each of these kings—including Francus (43:76) from whom the Franks are named—and their battles with the Gauls, Goths, Saxons, etc.
(Source: Wikipedia, Francus)
Ireland
John O'Hart (1824-1902), an Irish genealogist used ancient sources, such as the Lebor Gabála Érenn and the Annals of the Four Masters, to compile a genealogical history of Ireland, Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation (1876). According to his work, the Irish kings are descended from Adam as follows:
Milesius had four sons, Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Amergin, who were involved, along with their uncle Ithe, in the invasion of ancient Ireland. Milesius himself had died during the planning. Amergin died without issue during the invasion. It is from the four other invaders -- Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Ithe -- that the Irish descend. Conn of the Hundred Battles was a descendant of Heremon, and Brian Boru was descended from both Heber and Conn.
(Source: Wikipedia, John O’Hart)
Note: We need to clarify the extent to which O’Hart’s genealogies follow ancient sources, and whether any of it was his own invention.
Ostrogoths
The historian Jordanes wrote De origine actibusque Getarum ((The Origin and Deeds of the Getae/Goths, c531), commonly called the Getica. In it, he gives the history of the Goths.
Jordanes traces the Ostrogothic royal family, the Amelungs (Amali), to Hulmul, son of Gapt (Getica, 14). This Gapt is thought to be the same person as the Norse god Gaut or Geat. His son Hulmul was probably the same person as Humli, the ancestor of the Danes in Norse tradition. In a vairant version, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (13th century) says, "Of old, they say, Humli over Huns did rule, Gizur the Gauts, the Goths Angantyr, Valdar the Danes, the Romans Kjar, Alrek the Valiant the English people."
The genealogy seems to be artificial. Athalaric (?-534), king of the Ostrogoths in Jordanes time, is presented as the 17th Amal king of the Goths since Gapt, just as there had been 17 Roman kings between Aeneas and Romulus. Thus, the Amal dynasty presented itself as a second gens Iulia, ruling both Romans and Goths. In fact, the Amal dynasty is documented no earlier than Theodoric's father or grandfather, an ally of Attila the Hun. The Goths themselves are documented no earlier than 291.
The legend that Aeneas escaped the Fall of Troy (about 1200 BCE) and journeyed to Italy goes back to at least the 5th century BCE. By 400 BCE, Aeneas was being venerated in Italy as the god Iuppiter Indiges, the tribal ancestor of Latins and Etruscans.
In some Roman traditions, Iulus, the semi-divine ancestor of gens Iulia, was identical with Aeneas’ son Ascanius (Vergil). In other traditions, Iulus was the son of Aeneas by his Trojan wife, Creusa, while Ascanius was the son of Aeneas' Latin wife Lavinia, daughter of Latinus (Livy). And, in still another tradition, Iulus was son of Ascanius, and disputed the throne with Silvius after Ascanius' death (Dionysius of Halicarnasus).
When medieval monks were inventing new genealogies Aeneas was a popular figure. In the Norse saga, the Deluding of Gylfe, he is called Anea. Medieval Welsh genealogies called him Annyn Tro. In one Welsh source he is called a son of Brydain (eponymous of Britain) and a grandson of Aedd Mawr (Edward the Great) who lived about 1300 BCE. These chronologies are too confused to be credible.
Anna, kinswoman of the Virgin Mary The early Welsh royal families claimed to be relatives of the family of Jesus.
According to Harleian MS. 3958, Beli Mawr was husband to Anna (who may be a confabulation of Dôn), a "near kinswoman [consobrina] of the Virgin Mary." A medieval tradition identifies her as a sister (or daughter) of Joseph of Arimathea, but the tradition is not old enough to be authentic. There is no reason to think she was an historical figure.
Dôn seems to have been a Christianized version of the Celtic goddess Anû, the mother goddess of the Celts. In Gaul she was called Belisama. In Ireland she was Danu, the matriarch of the Túatha Dé Danann, who took their name from her. The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh legends, calls her Dôn, sister of Mâth mab Mathonwy, King of Gwynedd.
"Chronologically speaking, if Anna married a Briton after her father arrived in this country, then we must assume that she was nearer to Jesus' age than her cousin, Mary (ie. born c. 0). Beli is recorded in the Mabinogion and Welsh Genealogies as having been the father of Caswallon (or Cassivellaunus), the leader of the Celtic tribes who repelled Cæsar's invasions of 55 & 54 bc. He could, therefore, not possibly have married Anna of Arimathea. Moreover, the local ruler whom Joseph received his land gift from, is said to have been Arfyrag (or Arviragus), Beli & Anna's supposed great great grandson." (David Nash Ford, " St. Joseph of Arimathea: Ancestor of Kings?" in Early British Kingdoms (visited Nov. 21, 2011).
King Arthur
If King Arthur was a real person, as many scholars believe, then he was a war leader in 6th century Britain. Some part of his life might have been authentically recorded by English monks such as Gildas (c500-570), Bede (672/3-736), Nennius (9th century), and Geoffrey of Monmouth (c1100-c1155). However, these accounts are confused and contradictory. Arthur might have been related in some way to the Roman aristocrat Ambrosius Aurelianus, although the relationship is first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was writing 600 years later.
There is no doubt about Ambrosius’ existence. He was mentioned in a near contemporary document by the monk Gildas, who says he won an important battle against the invading Anglo-Saxons. Some scholars believe it is possible to sketch a brief genealogy for Ambrosius, perhaps from the Roman usurper Constantine III or from a distant cousin of the Emperor Theodosius I (or both).
In modern times there has been an explosion of genealogies drawn from Grail romances that turn fictional characters from the 11th and 12th centuries into historical people. The seminal works for these genealogies are Holy Blood, Holy Gail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (1982) and Bloodline of the Holy Grail, by Laurence Gardner (1996). They are best characterized as “alternative history”.
Beli Mawr
The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Beli Mawr.
Beli Mawr was in fact a Welsh version the Celtic sun god. Among the Brythonic Celts he was Belenus (the Shining One), a fertility god who looked after sheep and cattle. In Ireland, he was Bilé, the god of death. His festival was Beltaine (Fire of Bel), held May 1st. On that day, purifying fires were lit.
According to the Mabinogion his name was Beli son of Mynogan. Wikipedia says, "However, it should be noted that in medieval Welsh tradition, Beli Mawr is often given the patronymic fab Manogan / Mynogan ("son of Manogan"). This appears to derive from a textual garbling of the name of a real historical figure, Adminius, son of Cunobelinus; after being transmitted through the Roman authors Suetonius and Orosius, this name became Bellinus filius Minocanni in the medieval Latin text from Wales, Historia Brittonum. Thus, although Beli became a separate personage in medieval pseudohistory from Cunobelinus (Welsh Cynfelyn, Shakespeare's Cymbeline), he was generally presented as a king reigning in the period immediately before the Roman invasion; his "son" Caswallawn is the historical Cassivellaunus."
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, his name was Heli, he succeeded his father Digueillus, and he reigned 40 years.
The Mabinogion names his three sons as Lludd, Casswallawn and Nynnyaw, or four sons Lludd, Casswallawn, Llevelys and Eveyd. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, he had three sons, Lud, Cassivelaunus and Nennius.
Brân the Blessed
The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Brân the Blessed and his father Llŷr Llediath.
Brân was legendary king of the Silures, probably originating as a Christianized form of the Celtic god Brân. He is one of the principal characters of the 1st Branch of the Mabinogion, which begins "Bran the Blessed (Bendigeidfran), the son of Llyr and Penarddun, daughter of Beli son of Mynogan, was ruler of Britain. Bran was the brother of Manawyddan and Branwen (Bronwen), and the half-brother of Nissyen and Evnissyen." He is said to have been succeeded by his uncle Caswallawn.
In Christian legend Brân is said to have been baptized in Rome in 36 CE. "Bran was said to have been taken as a captive to Rome where he joined the household of St. Paul. Returning to Britain, with SS. Aristobulus and Joseph of Arimathea some years later, he became among the first to introduce Christianity to the Island, hence his epithet of "the Blessed". This whole story is a late 17th century fabrication based on misinformation." (David Nash Ford, "Bran Fendigaid alias Bendigeitvran: Celtic God of Regeneration" in Early British Kingdoms(http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/bran.html, visited Nov. 21, 2011)
The story of Brân's conversion to Christianity is probably a confusion with the historical Cunobelin (Arfyrag's father) who was thought to have been taken captive to Rome where he became converted to Christianity. (David Nash Ford, "St. Joseph of Arimathea: Ancestor of Kings?" in Early British Kingdoms (http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/articles/josanc.html, visited Nov. 21, 2011). Brân and Cunobelin both had sons named Caradoc, and the different Caradocs became confused. There is, no doubt an added confusion of Caradocs here, as far too few generations are given.
In Arthurian romance Brân became Bron(s), the Fisher King. He is said to have married Enygeus, a sister of Joseph of Arimathea and of Anna the Prophetess (perhaps the same person as Anna, the near kinswoman of the Virgin Mary. She had 12 sons, including Alain de Borron. This story mangles the earlier version, in which Brân was a grandson of Anna, the sister (or daughter) of Joseph of Arimathea.
In the Arthurian romance 'Bonedd yr Arwyr, Brân is made both a paternal and maternal ancestor of King Arthur.
Brutus
The early Welsh kings claimed descent from Brutus, the legendary 1st King of Britain, which is said to have been named for him.
Welsh genealogists called him Brwt. He is said to have founded Troia Nova ("New Troy"), which became corrupted to Trinovantum, and now is London. He is not mentioned in any classical source and is not considered to be historical.
Brutus was first mentioned in the 9th century, by Nennius, who says he was a son of Hiscion, grandson of Alanus (Mannus), and a descendant of Noah. One variant makes him a grandson or great grandson of the Trojan hero Aeneas, great grandson of the legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius, and traces his genealogy to Japheth, son of Noah. Another variant makes him the son of Silvius and grandson of Ascanius, the father of Aeneas, and traces his genealogy to Ham, son of Noah. [Historia Brittonum.]
Geoffrey of Monmouth says Brutus was son of Silvius and grandson of Ascanius. He was exiled from Italy. He went to Greece, and liberated the Trojans enslaved there. Then, he crossed to the island of Albion, which he re-named for himself, and became the first king. After his death, each of his sons received one-third of Britain, Locrinus (England), Albanactus (Scotland) and Kamber (Wales).
Many scholars believe the Hiscion son of Alanus named by Nennius as Brutus' father was identical to the Istro son of Mannus, who appears in Germanic tradition as the eponymous ancestor of the Istvaeones, one of the three divisions of Germanic proto-tribes.
Charlemagne
Millions of people in the world today are descendants of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, and they can prove it. Charlemagne’s family were upstarts, however. There are no proven links between Charlemagne and his predecessors in the Merovingian dynasty. In fact, Charlemagne has only 10 proven ancestors. Using Ahnentafel numbering, his ancestry looks like this:
In Charlemagne’s time, genealogists working under the patronage of the royal family claimed that Charlemagne had several connections to the Merovingian dynasty. These claims enhanced the royal family’s prestige and made it look like Charlemagne’s family had a genuine claim to the throne. Modern scholars doubt these connections. Even though the evidence is reasonably contemporary, the political motivations make it suspect.
Some modern scholars, working with original documents, believe they have found evidence to show that Charlemagne’s ancestry can be traced, probably, to an old Roman senatorial family. The reconstruction is plausible, because the Franks who Charlemagne ruled had conquered the old Roman province of Gaul in 486, and the Franks are known to have intermarried with the surviving Gallo-Roman aristocracy.
(Based on the work of David H. Kelley and Christian Settipani. See, for example, Don Stone, soc.genealogy.medieval, March 11, 1998)
Using this reconstruction as a starting point, many other scholars have attempted to extend Charlemagne’s ancestry further, with varying degrees of success.
Charles Constantine
Charles Constantine (c903-c962), comte de Vienne and de Bellay, was a son of Louis III the Blind (c883-928), Holy Roman Emperor. His mother was either the Burgundian princess Adelais or the Byzantine princess Anna Myakes.
The debate over Charles Constantine’s ancestry is very heated. Anna Myakes was a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI. There were negotiations to betroth her to Louis III but it isn't clear whether the marriage ever took place. If the marriage did take place, and if Charles Constantine was a son of that marriage, his ancestry would include Byzantine emperors Leo VI and Leo's father, either Basil I or Michael III.
A key part of the debate is whether Charles really had the nickname Constantine. The name was uncommon in the west, so it supports the theory, accepted by Septimani, that his mother was the Byzantine princess Anna. However, the name might refer only to his imperial ancestry. Flodoard (894-966) called him Charles Constantine, but the evidence that he used the name in his lifetime is too weak to be reliable. A diploma of his father and his own charters call him only Charles.
Érimón mac Míl Espáine
According to ancient Irish sources Érimón mac Míl Espáine brought his people, the Milesians, to Ireland about 500 BCE, and conquered it from an older race, the Tuatha Dé Danann. (See the Lebor Gabála Érenn, and others.) The story might (very arguably) have some foundation, but cannot be proven or disproven. (See above, under Ireland)
Francus
French monks claimed that a Trojan prince, Francus, was the eponymous ancestor of the Frankish kings. Francus is first mentioned in Nennius' Historia Brittonum (8th century) as the son of Hiscion, and eponymous ancestor of the Franks. His Trojan ancestry came later.
In the Renaissance, Francus was generally considered to be another name for the Trojan hero Astyanax (son of Hector), who was saved from the destruction of Troy.
Jean Lemaire de Belges's Illustrations de Gaule et Singularités de Troie (1510–12) has Astyanax survive the fall of Troy and arrive in Western Europe. He changes his name to Francus and becomes king of Celtic Gaul (while, at the same time, Bavo, cousin of Priam, comes to the city of Trier) and founds the dynasty leading to Pepin and Charlemagne.[9] He is said to have founded and named the city of Paris in honor of his uncle Paris.
Gilles Corrozet's La Fleur des antiquitez... de Paris (1532) describes the French king Francis I as the 64th descendant of Hector of Troy.
In Pierre de Ronsard's epic poem La Franciade (1572), the god Jupiter saves Astyanax (renamed Francus). The young hero arrives in Crete and falls in love with the princess Hyanthe with whom he is destined to found the royal dynasty of France.
(Source: Wikipedia, Francus)
Genuissa, wife of Arvirargus
Venissa (Genissa, Genvissa, Genuissa) is a fictional person who serves to link the Welsh kings to ancient Rome.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century Historia Regum Britanniae, she was a daughter of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whom he gave in marriage to the British king Arvirargus once he had submitted to Rome.
According to Geoffrey's account she was very beautiful, and so enchanted Arvirargus that he preferred her company to anyone else's. He founded Gloucester, supposedly named after Claudius, in her honour. When Arvirargus fell out with Rome and Vespasian was sent to enforce a reconciliation, Venissa acted as mediator between them.
Venissa cannot be considered historical. She is not mentioned in authentic Roman history; her supposed husband Arvirargus is known only from a cryptic reference in Satire IV, a 2nd century satirical poem by Juvenal; and it is in any case inconceivable that a daughter, even an illegitimate daughter, of a Roman emperor could be given in marriage to a barbarian without attracting comment. Nonetheless, she and her husband, identified with the historical Caratacus, appear in many uncritical genealogies originating in the Tudor period.
(Source: Wikipedia, Venissa)
Joseph of Arimathea
The Christian scriptures say that Joseph of Arimathea was an influential member of the Sanhedrin who petitioned Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body, but give no details about his life or family. According to the Talmud, he was the younger brother of the father of the Virgin Mary. That is, he was Mary's uncle and Jesus' great-uncle.
Some modern writers venture that he might be identified with Josephus (Jewish: Yosef ben Matityahu, Roman: Titus Flavius Josephus), a Jewish historian and an apologist for the Roman empire. However, scholars dismiss the idea. Josephus was born in 37 CE, making him a generation younger than Jesus, so it would not be possible he was Jesus' great uncle.
The first mention of Joseph of Arimathea in connection with Britain is the Life of Mary Magdalene by Rabanus Maurus (766-856), Archbishop of Mainz. Joseph first appears as the legendary Keeper of the Holy Grail in Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (early 13th century), which says he settled in Britain after the Crucifixion of Jesus, bringing the Holy Grail with him. The story spawned a rich literature on the same theme. Later tradition says he was a wealthy merchant who owned tin mines in Cornwall. Some popular fiction has him bringing Jesus with him to Britain to be trained by Druids there.
Lleuver Mawr (to be added)
Llyr Lediaith The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Llŷr Llediath.and his son Brân the Blessed.
The story is not reliable. Llyr was a Celtic sea god, cognate of the Irish god Lir, but perhaps also a historical King of the Silures. As an historical figure, he is said to have been educated in Rome by Augustus Caesar. His home was at Dunraven castle, situated on a hill called Twyn Rhyvan (the Hill of Rome) in Glamorgan.
He was used by Shakespeare as a prototype for King Lear.
Makhir of Narbonne Makhir of Narbonne (8th century) was the leader of the Jewish community of Narbonne, and the ancestor of an important family there. Prof. Arthur Zuckerman suggested that he was the same person as Natronai ben Habibi, an exilarch who was deposed and exiled from Baghdad (A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France, 1972). He also suggested that Makhir was the same person as Maghario, Count of Narbonne.
Zuckerman went further. In the poem Willehalm by Wolfram von Eschenbach (c1170-c1220), the hero Guillem de Gellone is the son of Aymeri de Narbonne by his wife Alda / Aldana, daughter of Charles Martel. Guillem de Gellone's real-life counterpart was Guillaume I, comte de Toulouse, son of Theodoric, a count in Septimania. Zuckerman suggested that the poem changed the names, but memorialized actual relationships. So, Guillaume's father Theodoric must have been the same person as Aymeri. Then, Zuckerman identified Theodoric / Aymeri with Makhi / Natronai / Maghario.
Scholars have dismissed Zuckerman's methodology as flawed. Nevertheless, Guillaume de Toulouse might have been Jewish. He led the Frankish forces when they captured Barcelona in 801. The campaign was memorialized in a poem In honorem Hludovici imperatoris ("In honour of Emperor Louis") (826), by Ermoldus Nigellus. The poem uses Jewish dating and portrays Guillaume de Toulouse as an observant Jew.
Muhammad
Modern genealogists have attempted to find a line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the rulers of Muslim Spain.
There is a possible line, through Zaida, the wife or concubine of Alfonso VI of Castile, but it is disputed.
The first problem with the line is that it comes through Ayesha, the wife of Yazîd I, the 2nd Umayyad Caliph (680-683). The Caliph’s descendants claimed that Ayesha was a daughter of Mohammad, a link that would substantially enhance their legitimacy. However, Muslim scholars say she was Muhammad's step-daughter, not his daughter. The title Sharif is accorded only to descendants of Muhammad’s daughter Fatima.
The second problem is that it is not entirely clear that Zaïda was really descended from Ayesha. Zaïda was a daughter-in-law (and probably also niece) of al-Mutamid, ruler of the taifa of Seville. He was a descendant of Ayesha, and if she was his niece, she shared that descent. Zaïda’s first husband was (her cousin?) Fath al-Ma'mum, the ruler of Córdoba and son of the Emir of Seville. He was killed in 1091 while trying to escape a seige of Córdoba. Zaïda made her way as a refugee to the court of Alfonso VI. He was already mature (age 51), married to a queen who was ill, and was lacking a male heir. Zaïda became his concubine, converted to Christianity, and took the Christian name Isabel. She bore Alfonso his only surviving son Sancho. It is not clear whether Alfonso subsequently married her. Her tombstone, erected long after her death, says, "Aqui descansa la reina Isabel, mujer del rey Alfonso, hija de Aben-Abeth, rey de Sevilla; que antes se llamaba Zayda," which translates as "here lies Queen Elizabeth, wife of King Alfonso, daughter of Aben-abeth, king of Seville; previously called Zaïda."
The third problem is that there are no known descents from Zaïda. Her only proven son Sancho died in childhood. It’s possible, however, that Zaïda might have been the same person as Alfonso’s wife Elisabeth. Elisabeth had two daughters who became the ancestors of many European royal families. Elisabeth’s burial plaque, erected long after her death, says she was a daughter of Louis [VI], but that would be chronologically impossible. She might have been a sister of Louis VI, or the plaque might be an attempt to disguise her non-Christian identity.
Pagano Ebriaci
Pagano Ebriaci (?-c1091), of Pisa, ancestor of the Christian Ebriaci family, might have been a convert from Judaism, a son of Joseph of Fustat. The relationship is conjectural, and seems to have originated in the suggestion that the surname Ebriaci means "the Hebrew". Another theory is that the name Ebriaci might derive from a Latin word meaning drunk.
If Pagano Ebriaci was a son of Joseph of Fustat, then he was a grandson of Hezekiah IV, 38th Exilarch and a descendant of King David.
Pagano Ebriaci was an ancestor of Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, through Manfredo III, marchese di Saluzzo.
Scota
She is a legendary figure from whom the Scots took their name. She is said to have been the daughter of an unnamed Eyptian pharaoh. The context of her story shows that the Irish thought of her as a daughter of the pharaoh of the Exodus and a contemporary of Moses.
There are two different versions of her place in the genealogy. She was the wife either of Gaodhal Glas or of his descendant Míl Espáine.
An 11th century rescenison of the Historia Brittonum mentions Scota. She also appears in the Book of Leinster, a 12th century redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn, where she married Geytholos (Gaodhal Glas). The earliest Scottish sources claim Geytholos was "a certain king of the countries of Greece, Neolus, or Heolaus, by name", while the Leinster redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn calls him a Scythian.
In variant manuscripts of the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Scota's husband was Míl Espáine.
Faced with the discrepancy, modern genealogists have created two Scotas.
There are many guesses about her father, Scota the wife of Gaodhal Glas being (perhaps) daughter of Pharaoh Cingeris, and Scota the wife of Míl Espáine being (perhaps) daughter of Pharaoh Nactabaeus. Both pharaohs are named only in medieval Irish sources, not in Egyptian sources.
Some genealogists make one or both women the daughter of whichever pharaoh they believe was the pharaoh of the Exodus.
Tamar Tephi
Tamar Tephi and Teia Tephei are said to have been daughters of Zedekiah, King of Judah, but they are fictitious. Their descents from the kings of Judah is a 19th century fraud, from a misreading of old Irish sources.
According to the colorful story, Tamar Tephi and her sister Teia avoided the fate of their brothers, who were killed by the King of Babylon at Riblah. The prophet Jeremiah spirited them off to Ireland via Egypt and Spain, along with the Stone of the Covenant, which became known as Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny). (We are left wondering why Jeremiah was not equally helpful to the rest of the royal family.)
(Source: Wikipedia, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_kings_of_Britain#Tea_Tephi, List of legendary kings of Britain])
Resources
A common belief in antiquity and in the middle ages was that tribes took their name from a common ancestor. For example, the Historia Brittonum (Nennius, 9th century) names Alanus as the first man to live in Europe. He had a son Hiscion, and Hiscion’s four sons Francus, Romanus, Alamanus, and Brutus were the ancestors respectively of the French, Romans, Germans, and British. The name of this Alanus was probably a corrupted form of Mannus, the Old Germanic god who was the ancestor of mankind. Some scholars believe that Mannus was another name for Bor, the father of the god Odin in Norse tradition. In English, German and the Scandinavian languages we get our word man from Mannus.
When the Europeans converted to Christianity, they had a problem. Their royal families were only a few generations removed from the old gods. And, worse. Exposed to Roman arts and sciences, they discovered the idea of “historical time”. The world was older than they had ever thought about. Their royal pedigrees weren’t long enough to go back to the creation of the world.
From the Romans they learned that modern science had proved that everyone on earth was descended from Adam and Eve. (It said so in the Christian scriptures, which were absolutely true -- according the scholars.)
The answer was simple and obvious. The old gods had to have been humans, famous men and great warriors who came to worshipped as gods. And, if they were human, they must have been descended from Adam and Eve like everyone else. The trick was to figure out how.
One of the earliest surviving attempts to create this kind of genealogy is the Historia Brittonum by the Welsh monk Nennius (9th century), who recorded the following genealogy:
(1) Noah, his son (2) Japheth, his son (3) Joham, his son (4) Jobath, his son (5) Bath, his son (6) Hisrau, his son (7) Esraa, his son (8) Ra, his son (9) Aber, his son (10) Ooth, his son (11) Ethec, his son (12) Aurthack, his son (13) Ecthactur, his son (14) Ecthactur, his son (15) Mair, his son (16) Semion, his son (17) Boibus, his son (18) Thoi, his son (19) Ogomuin, his son (20) Fethuir, and his son (21) Alanus.
Nennius also tied Alanus to Rome by making him a husband of Rhea Silvia, whose twin sons Romulus and Remus are said to have founded Rome in 753 BCE. The connection is scarcely credible historically, but served neatly to graft the eponymous ancestors of the northern Europeans onto classical tradition by making them brothers of Romulus, the eponymous ancestor of the Romans.
These medieval genealogies connecting ancient kings to Adam are pure invention. They are interesting now because they show the history of history.
England The Anglo-Saxons, forerunners of the modern English, were ruled by kings who claimed to be descended from the god Woden (Odin in the Norse versions). In later Scandinavian versions, Woden was the son of Bor, son of Búri. Some scholars believe that in the Germanic version, which included the Anglo-Saxons, Woden was the son of Mannus, the ancestor of mankind, who was son of Tuisto.
English monks kept Woden, but dumped Bor and Búri. They “discovered” that Woden was descended from Noah, but the process took several tries.
In one place, the 9th century Anglo-Saxon chronicle gives the following line. There are too few generations here, but this fragment might preserve the earliest non-divine version of Woden’s ancestry.
(1) Noah, his son (2) ---, his son (3) Finn, who was born in the ark, his son (4) Freothelaf, his son (5) Frithuwald, his son (6) Woden.
About the same time, Nennius in his Historia Brittonum gives a slightly different version. Here we get two more generations beyond Finn, which might also represent an authentic tradition.
(1) Geat, “who, as they say, was the son of a god”, his son (2) Godwulf, his son (3) Finn, his son (4) Frithuwulf, his son (5) Frithowald, and his son (6) Woden.
Nennius gives us more theology than genealogy. He says that Geat “as they say, was the son of a god, not of the omnipotent God and our Lord Jesus Christ (who before the beginning of the world, was with the Father and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal and of the same substance, and who, in compassion to human nature, disdained not to assume the form of a servant), but the offspring of one of their idols, and whom, blinded by some demon, they worshipped according to the custom of the heathen.”
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of documents rather than a single document. In another place (855), it gives a fuller line.
(1) Noe [Noah], his son (2) Sceaf, his son (3) Bedwig Sceafing, his son (4) Hwala Bedwiging, his son (5) Haþra Hwalaing, his son (6) Itermon Haðraing, his son (7) Heremod Itermoning, his son (8) Sceldwea Heremoding, his son (9) Beaw Sceldwaing, his son (10) Taetwa Beawing, his son (11) Geat Taetwaing, his son (12) God wulf Geating, his son (13) Fin Godwulfing, his son (14) Frealaf Finning, and his son (15) Woden Frealafing. (Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel, Plummer and Earle (eds.), 66, 67 and note 6).
A note says, “id est filius Noe se waes geboren on þaere earce Noes.” That is, “he [Sceaf] is the son of Noah, he was born in Noah’s ark.” This detail ties the old pagan tradition to the new Christian tradition. Sceaf was a Norse god who arrived by boat as a baby to rule the Danes. Now, he is neatly made the son of the Christian ark builder.
Later monks, perhaps competing for prestige with the Franks, decided to dump Noah and take Woden’s ancestry back to Troy, then connect the Trojans to the Jewish scriptures. This version runs as follows. Note that the names of the new generations, between (10) and (16) have been drawn chiefly from nicknames of the old god Thor. Some of the other names might have been invented in a similar way.
(1) Judah, ancestor of the tribe of Judah, his son (2) Zara, his son (3) Darda, his son (4) Erichthonious, his son (5) Tros, his son (6) Ilus, his son (7) Laomedon, his son (8) Tithonius, his son (9) Memnon, his son (10) Thor, his son (11) Einridi, his son (12) Vingethor, his son (13) Vingener, his son (14) Móda, his son (15) Magi [Noe], his son (16) Sceaf [Seskef], his son (17) Bedwig [Bedvig], his son (18) Hwala, his son (19) Hrathra [Annarr], his son (20) Itermon [Ítermann], his son (21) Heremod [Heremód], his son (22) Heremod [Heremód], his son (23) Beaw [Bjárr], his son (24) Tætwa, his son (25) Geat [Ját], his son (26) Godwulf [Gudólfr], his son (27) Finn, his son (28) Frithuwulf, his son (29) Frealaf [Fridleifr], his son Frealaf [Fridleifr], his son (30) Freawine, his son (31) Frithuwald, and his son (32) Woden.
Attempts to reconcile these genealogies by equating the human Frithuwald with the divine Bor, and the human Frealaf with divine Búri have been problematic, because they end by giving Woden a set of mythical relatives that include the Ice Giants.
France
The Franks, a confederation of Germanic tribes that formed the core of modern France, claimed descent from Francus (or Francio). According to one version of the story, Francus and his people were defeated by the Roman general Drusus in 11 BCE. Francus was killed, and they were relocated to the region between the Rhine and the Danube.
Frankish monks linked Francus to the kings of Troy. The Chronicle of Fredegar (7th century) mentions the legend. It was elaborated in the Liber historiae Francorum (probably 727). Successive generations continued adding new details.
In other words, the Franks claimed to be the distant cousins of the Romans (who claimed descent from Aeneas, another Trojan). It was a nice piece of political propaganda because it fit nicely with two things the Franks wanted to emphasize: (1) as cousins of the Romans they were equal to the Romans, and (2) as cousins and equals, they were the legitimate successors of the Roman empire.
The Grandes Chroniques de France (13th - 15th centuries), a vast compilation of historic material, refers to the Trojan origins of the French dynasty.
Johannes Trithemius' De origine gentis Francorum compendium (1514) describes the Franks as originally Trojans (called "Sicambers" or "Sicambrians") after the fall of Troy who came into Gaul after being forced out of the area around the mouth of the Danube by the Goths in 439 BCE (1:33). He also details the reigns of each of these kings—including Francus (43:76) from whom the Franks are named—and their battles with the Gauls, Goths, Saxons, etc.
(Source: Wikipedia, Francus)
Ireland
John O'Hart (1824-1902), an Irish genealogist used ancient sources, such as the Lebor Gabála Érenn and the Annals of the Four Masters, to compile a genealogical history of Ireland, Irish pedigrees; or, The origin and stem of the Irish nation (1876). According to his work, the Irish kings are descended from Adam as follows:
- Adam
- Seth
- Enos
- Cainan
- Mahalaleel
- Jared
- Enoch
- Methuselah
- Lamech
- Noah
- Japhet
- Magog. Magog's four sons Boath, Faithechta, Jobbath, and Emoth are said to have been ancestors of the Irish kings.
- Baoth ("to whom Scythia came as his lot")
- Phoeniusa Farsaidh (Fenius Farsa), King of Scythia
- Neuil
- Gaodhal (Gathelus), married Scota
- Asruth
- Sruth (who fled Egypt to Creta)
- Heber Scut (returned to Scythia)
- Beouman, King of Scythia
- Ogaman, King of Scythia
- Tait, King of Scythia
- Agnon (who fled Scythia by sea with the majority of his people)
- Lamhfionn (who led his people to Gothia or Getulia, where Carthage was afterwards built)
- Heber Glunfionn, King of Gothia
- Agnan Fionn, King of Gothia
- Febric Glas, King of Gothia
- Nenuall, King of Gothia
- Nuadhad, King of Gothia
- Alladh, King of Gothia
- Arcadh, King of Gothia
- Deag, King of Gothia
- Brath, King of Gothia (who left Gothia with a large band of his people and settled in Galicia, Spain)
- Breoghan, King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal
- Bile, King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal
- Galamh (also known as Milesius of Spain), King of Galicia, Andalusia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal, married Scota
Milesius had four sons, Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Amergin, who were involved, along with their uncle Ithe, in the invasion of ancient Ireland. Milesius himself had died during the planning. Amergin died without issue during the invasion. It is from the four other invaders -- Heber, Ir, Heremon, and Ithe -- that the Irish descend. Conn of the Hundred Battles was a descendant of Heremon, and Brian Boru was descended from both Heber and Conn.
(Source: Wikipedia, John O’Hart)
Note: We need to clarify the extent to which O’Hart’s genealogies follow ancient sources, and whether any of it was his own invention.
Ostrogoths
The historian Jordanes wrote De origine actibusque Getarum ((The Origin and Deeds of the Getae/Goths, c531), commonly called the Getica. In it, he gives the history of the Goths.
Jordanes traces the Ostrogothic royal family, the Amelungs (Amali), to Hulmul, son of Gapt (Getica, 14). This Gapt is thought to be the same person as the Norse god Gaut or Geat. His son Hulmul was probably the same person as Humli, the ancestor of the Danes in Norse tradition. In a vairant version, Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks (13th century) says, "Of old, they say, Humli over Huns did rule, Gizur the Gauts, the Goths Angantyr, Valdar the Danes, the Romans Kjar, Alrek the Valiant the English people."
The genealogy seems to be artificial. Athalaric (?-534), king of the Ostrogoths in Jordanes time, is presented as the 17th Amal king of the Goths since Gapt, just as there had been 17 Roman kings between Aeneas and Romulus. Thus, the Amal dynasty presented itself as a second gens Iulia, ruling both Romans and Goths. In fact, the Amal dynasty is documented no earlier than Theodoric's father or grandfather, an ally of Attila the Hun. The Goths themselves are documented no earlier than 291.
- Gapt
- Hulmul
- Augis
- Amal (from whom the name of the Amali comes)
- Hisarnis
- Ostrogotha
- Hunuil
- Athal
- Achiulf
- Oduulf
- Achiulf
- Ansila
- Ediulf
- Vultuulf
- Hermanaric
- Vultuulf
- Valaravans
- Vinitharius
- Vandalarius
- Thiudimer
- Valamir
- Vidimer
- Thiudimer
- Theodoric the Great (454-526), King of the Ostrogoths
The legend that Aeneas escaped the Fall of Troy (about 1200 BCE) and journeyed to Italy goes back to at least the 5th century BCE. By 400 BCE, Aeneas was being venerated in Italy as the god Iuppiter Indiges, the tribal ancestor of Latins and Etruscans.
In some Roman traditions, Iulus, the semi-divine ancestor of gens Iulia, was identical with Aeneas’ son Ascanius (Vergil). In other traditions, Iulus was the son of Aeneas by his Trojan wife, Creusa, while Ascanius was the son of Aeneas' Latin wife Lavinia, daughter of Latinus (Livy). And, in still another tradition, Iulus was son of Ascanius, and disputed the throne with Silvius after Ascanius' death (Dionysius of Halicarnasus).
When medieval monks were inventing new genealogies Aeneas was a popular figure. In the Norse saga, the Deluding of Gylfe, he is called Anea. Medieval Welsh genealogies called him Annyn Tro. In one Welsh source he is called a son of Brydain (eponymous of Britain) and a grandson of Aedd Mawr (Edward the Great) who lived about 1300 BCE. These chronologies are too confused to be credible.
Anna, kinswoman of the Virgin Mary The early Welsh royal families claimed to be relatives of the family of Jesus.
According to Harleian MS. 3958, Beli Mawr was husband to Anna (who may be a confabulation of Dôn), a "near kinswoman [consobrina] of the Virgin Mary." A medieval tradition identifies her as a sister (or daughter) of Joseph of Arimathea, but the tradition is not old enough to be authentic. There is no reason to think she was an historical figure.
Dôn seems to have been a Christianized version of the Celtic goddess Anû, the mother goddess of the Celts. In Gaul she was called Belisama. In Ireland she was Danu, the matriarch of the Túatha Dé Danann, who took their name from her. The Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh legends, calls her Dôn, sister of Mâth mab Mathonwy, King of Gwynedd.
"Chronologically speaking, if Anna married a Briton after her father arrived in this country, then we must assume that she was nearer to Jesus' age than her cousin, Mary (ie. born c. 0). Beli is recorded in the Mabinogion and Welsh Genealogies as having been the father of Caswallon (or Cassivellaunus), the leader of the Celtic tribes who repelled Cæsar's invasions of 55 & 54 bc. He could, therefore, not possibly have married Anna of Arimathea. Moreover, the local ruler whom Joseph received his land gift from, is said to have been Arfyrag (or Arviragus), Beli & Anna's supposed great great grandson." (David Nash Ford, " St. Joseph of Arimathea: Ancestor of Kings?" in Early British Kingdoms (visited Nov. 21, 2011).
King Arthur
If King Arthur was a real person, as many scholars believe, then he was a war leader in 6th century Britain. Some part of his life might have been authentically recorded by English monks such as Gildas (c500-570), Bede (672/3-736), Nennius (9th century), and Geoffrey of Monmouth (c1100-c1155). However, these accounts are confused and contradictory. Arthur might have been related in some way to the Roman aristocrat Ambrosius Aurelianus, although the relationship is first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who was writing 600 years later.
There is no doubt about Ambrosius’ existence. He was mentioned in a near contemporary document by the monk Gildas, who says he won an important battle against the invading Anglo-Saxons. Some scholars believe it is possible to sketch a brief genealogy for Ambrosius, perhaps from the Roman usurper Constantine III or from a distant cousin of the Emperor Theodosius I (or both).
In modern times there has been an explosion of genealogies drawn from Grail romances that turn fictional characters from the 11th and 12th centuries into historical people. The seminal works for these genealogies are Holy Blood, Holy Gail, by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln (1982) and Bloodline of the Holy Grail, by Laurence Gardner (1996). They are best characterized as “alternative history”.
Beli Mawr
The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Beli Mawr.
Beli Mawr was in fact a Welsh version the Celtic sun god. Among the Brythonic Celts he was Belenus (the Shining One), a fertility god who looked after sheep and cattle. In Ireland, he was Bilé, the god of death. His festival was Beltaine (Fire of Bel), held May 1st. On that day, purifying fires were lit.
According to the Mabinogion his name was Beli son of Mynogan. Wikipedia says, "However, it should be noted that in medieval Welsh tradition, Beli Mawr is often given the patronymic fab Manogan / Mynogan ("son of Manogan"). This appears to derive from a textual garbling of the name of a real historical figure, Adminius, son of Cunobelinus; after being transmitted through the Roman authors Suetonius and Orosius, this name became Bellinus filius Minocanni in the medieval Latin text from Wales, Historia Brittonum. Thus, although Beli became a separate personage in medieval pseudohistory from Cunobelinus (Welsh Cynfelyn, Shakespeare's Cymbeline), he was generally presented as a king reigning in the period immediately before the Roman invasion; his "son" Caswallawn is the historical Cassivellaunus."
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, his name was Heli, he succeeded his father Digueillus, and he reigned 40 years.
The Mabinogion names his three sons as Lludd, Casswallawn and Nynnyaw, or four sons Lludd, Casswallawn, Llevelys and Eveyd. According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, he had three sons, Lud, Cassivelaunus and Nennius.
Brân the Blessed
The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Brân the Blessed and his father Llŷr Llediath.
Brân was legendary king of the Silures, probably originating as a Christianized form of the Celtic god Brân. He is one of the principal characters of the 1st Branch of the Mabinogion, which begins "Bran the Blessed (Bendigeidfran), the son of Llyr and Penarddun, daughter of Beli son of Mynogan, was ruler of Britain. Bran was the brother of Manawyddan and Branwen (Bronwen), and the half-brother of Nissyen and Evnissyen." He is said to have been succeeded by his uncle Caswallawn.
In Christian legend Brân is said to have been baptized in Rome in 36 CE. "Bran was said to have been taken as a captive to Rome where he joined the household of St. Paul. Returning to Britain, with SS. Aristobulus and Joseph of Arimathea some years later, he became among the first to introduce Christianity to the Island, hence his epithet of "the Blessed". This whole story is a late 17th century fabrication based on misinformation." (David Nash Ford, "Bran Fendigaid alias Bendigeitvran: Celtic God of Regeneration" in Early British Kingdoms(http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/bran.html, visited Nov. 21, 2011)
The story of Brân's conversion to Christianity is probably a confusion with the historical Cunobelin (Arfyrag's father) who was thought to have been taken captive to Rome where he became converted to Christianity. (David Nash Ford, "St. Joseph of Arimathea: Ancestor of Kings?" in Early British Kingdoms (http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/articles/josanc.html, visited Nov. 21, 2011). Brân and Cunobelin both had sons named Caradoc, and the different Caradocs became confused. There is, no doubt an added confusion of Caradocs here, as far too few generations are given.
In Arthurian romance Brân became Bron(s), the Fisher King. He is said to have married Enygeus, a sister of Joseph of Arimathea and of Anna the Prophetess (perhaps the same person as Anna, the near kinswoman of the Virgin Mary. She had 12 sons, including Alain de Borron. This story mangles the earlier version, in which Brân was a grandson of Anna, the sister (or daughter) of Joseph of Arimathea.
In the Arthurian romance 'Bonedd yr Arwyr, Brân is made both a paternal and maternal ancestor of King Arthur.
Brutus
The early Welsh kings claimed descent from Brutus, the legendary 1st King of Britain, which is said to have been named for him.
Welsh genealogists called him Brwt. He is said to have founded Troia Nova ("New Troy"), which became corrupted to Trinovantum, and now is London. He is not mentioned in any classical source and is not considered to be historical.
Brutus was first mentioned in the 9th century, by Nennius, who says he was a son of Hiscion, grandson of Alanus (Mannus), and a descendant of Noah. One variant makes him a grandson or great grandson of the Trojan hero Aeneas, great grandson of the legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius, and traces his genealogy to Japheth, son of Noah. Another variant makes him the son of Silvius and grandson of Ascanius, the father of Aeneas, and traces his genealogy to Ham, son of Noah. [Historia Brittonum.]
Geoffrey of Monmouth says Brutus was son of Silvius and grandson of Ascanius. He was exiled from Italy. He went to Greece, and liberated the Trojans enslaved there. Then, he crossed to the island of Albion, which he re-named for himself, and became the first king. After his death, each of his sons received one-third of Britain, Locrinus (England), Albanactus (Scotland) and Kamber (Wales).
Many scholars believe the Hiscion son of Alanus named by Nennius as Brutus' father was identical to the Istro son of Mannus, who appears in Germanic tradition as the eponymous ancestor of the Istvaeones, one of the three divisions of Germanic proto-tribes.
Charlemagne
Millions of people in the world today are descendants of the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, and they can prove it. Charlemagne’s family were upstarts, however. There are no proven links between Charlemagne and his predecessors in the Merovingian dynasty. In fact, Charlemagne has only 10 proven ancestors. Using Ahnentafel numbering, his ancestry looks like this:
- Charlemagne
- Pepin the Short, father
- Bertrade of Laon, mother
- Charles Martel, father’s father
- Rotrude, father’s mother
- Caribert of Laon, mother’s father
- ---
- Pepin of Herstal, father’s father’s father
- Alpaida, father’s father’s mother
- ---
- ---
- ---
- Bertrada of Prüm, mother’s father’s mother
- ---
- ---
- Ansegisel, father’s father’s father’s father
- Begga, father’s father’s father’s mother
In Charlemagne’s time, genealogists working under the patronage of the royal family claimed that Charlemagne had several connections to the Merovingian dynasty. These claims enhanced the royal family’s prestige and made it look like Charlemagne’s family had a genuine claim to the throne. Modern scholars doubt these connections. Even though the evidence is reasonably contemporary, the political motivations make it suspect.
Some modern scholars, working with original documents, believe they have found evidence to show that Charlemagne’s ancestry can be traced, probably, to an old Roman senatorial family. The reconstruction is plausible, because the Franks who Charlemagne ruled had conquered the old Roman province of Gaul in 486, and the Franks are known to have intermarried with the surviving Gallo-Roman aristocracy.
- Flavius Afranius Syagrius, of Lyons; a Gallo-Roman senator
- (Syagria), his unknown daughter; married Ferreolus
- Tonantius Ferreolus, a Gallo-Roman senator; married Papianilla, clarissima femina, a relative of the Papianilla who was a daughter of the emperor Avitus, and who married Sidonius Apollinaris
- Tonantius Ferreolus, a Gallo-Roman senator; married Industria
- Ferreolus, a Gallo-Roman senator; married Dode, abbess of St.-Pierre de Rheims
- Ansbert, a senator; married Bilichilde
- Arnoald, Bishop of Metz
- Dode, probably his daughter; married St. Arnulf, Bishop of Metz
- Ansegisel, probably their son; married St. Begga; daughter of Pepin I, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia
- Pepin of Herstal, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married Alpais / Alpaida
- Charles Martel, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married Rotrude
- Pepin the Short, Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia; married Bertrada of Laon
- Charlemagne
(Based on the work of David H. Kelley and Christian Settipani. See, for example, Don Stone, soc.genealogy.medieval, March 11, 1998)
Using this reconstruction as a starting point, many other scholars have attempted to extend Charlemagne’s ancestry further, with varying degrees of success.
Charles Constantine
Charles Constantine (c903-c962), comte de Vienne and de Bellay, was a son of Louis III the Blind (c883-928), Holy Roman Emperor. His mother was either the Burgundian princess Adelais or the Byzantine princess Anna Myakes.
The debate over Charles Constantine’s ancestry is very heated. Anna Myakes was a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Leo VI. There were negotiations to betroth her to Louis III but it isn't clear whether the marriage ever took place. If the marriage did take place, and if Charles Constantine was a son of that marriage, his ancestry would include Byzantine emperors Leo VI and Leo's father, either Basil I or Michael III.
A key part of the debate is whether Charles really had the nickname Constantine. The name was uncommon in the west, so it supports the theory, accepted by Septimani, that his mother was the Byzantine princess Anna. However, the name might refer only to his imperial ancestry. Flodoard (894-966) called him Charles Constantine, but the evidence that he used the name in his lifetime is too weak to be reliable. A diploma of his father and his own charters call him only Charles.
Érimón mac Míl Espáine
According to ancient Irish sources Érimón mac Míl Espáine brought his people, the Milesians, to Ireland about 500 BCE, and conquered it from an older race, the Tuatha Dé Danann. (See the Lebor Gabála Érenn, and others.) The story might (very arguably) have some foundation, but cannot be proven or disproven. (See above, under Ireland)
Francus
French monks claimed that a Trojan prince, Francus, was the eponymous ancestor of the Frankish kings. Francus is first mentioned in Nennius' Historia Brittonum (8th century) as the son of Hiscion, and eponymous ancestor of the Franks. His Trojan ancestry came later.
In the Renaissance, Francus was generally considered to be another name for the Trojan hero Astyanax (son of Hector), who was saved from the destruction of Troy.
Jean Lemaire de Belges's Illustrations de Gaule et Singularités de Troie (1510–12) has Astyanax survive the fall of Troy and arrive in Western Europe. He changes his name to Francus and becomes king of Celtic Gaul (while, at the same time, Bavo, cousin of Priam, comes to the city of Trier) and founds the dynasty leading to Pepin and Charlemagne.[9] He is said to have founded and named the city of Paris in honor of his uncle Paris.
Gilles Corrozet's La Fleur des antiquitez... de Paris (1532) describes the French king Francis I as the 64th descendant of Hector of Troy.
In Pierre de Ronsard's epic poem La Franciade (1572), the god Jupiter saves Astyanax (renamed Francus). The young hero arrives in Crete and falls in love with the princess Hyanthe with whom he is destined to found the royal dynasty of France.
(Source: Wikipedia, Francus)
Genuissa, wife of Arvirargus
Venissa (Genissa, Genvissa, Genuissa) is a fictional person who serves to link the Welsh kings to ancient Rome.
According to Geoffrey of Monmouth's 12th century Historia Regum Britanniae, she was a daughter of the Roman Emperor Claudius, whom he gave in marriage to the British king Arvirargus once he had submitted to Rome.
According to Geoffrey's account she was very beautiful, and so enchanted Arvirargus that he preferred her company to anyone else's. He founded Gloucester, supposedly named after Claudius, in her honour. When Arvirargus fell out with Rome and Vespasian was sent to enforce a reconciliation, Venissa acted as mediator between them.
Venissa cannot be considered historical. She is not mentioned in authentic Roman history; her supposed husband Arvirargus is known only from a cryptic reference in Satire IV, a 2nd century satirical poem by Juvenal; and it is in any case inconceivable that a daughter, even an illegitimate daughter, of a Roman emperor could be given in marriage to a barbarian without attracting comment. Nonetheless, she and her husband, identified with the historical Caratacus, appear in many uncritical genealogies originating in the Tudor period.
(Source: Wikipedia, Venissa)
Joseph of Arimathea
The Christian scriptures say that Joseph of Arimathea was an influential member of the Sanhedrin who petitioned Pontius Pilate for Jesus’ body, but give no details about his life or family. According to the Talmud, he was the younger brother of the father of the Virgin Mary. That is, he was Mary's uncle and Jesus' great-uncle.
Some modern writers venture that he might be identified with Josephus (Jewish: Yosef ben Matityahu, Roman: Titus Flavius Josephus), a Jewish historian and an apologist for the Roman empire. However, scholars dismiss the idea. Josephus was born in 37 CE, making him a generation younger than Jesus, so it would not be possible he was Jesus' great uncle.
The first mention of Joseph of Arimathea in connection with Britain is the Life of Mary Magdalene by Rabanus Maurus (766-856), Archbishop of Mainz. Joseph first appears as the legendary Keeper of the Holy Grail in Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie (early 13th century), which says he settled in Britain after the Crucifixion of Jesus, bringing the Holy Grail with him. The story spawned a rich literature on the same theme. Later tradition says he was a wealthy merchant who owned tin mines in Cornwall. Some popular fiction has him bringing Jesus with him to Britain to be trained by Druids there.
Lleuver Mawr (to be added)
Llyr Lediaith The early Welsh royal families claimed to be descended from Llŷr Llediath.and his son Brân the Blessed.
The story is not reliable. Llyr was a Celtic sea god, cognate of the Irish god Lir, but perhaps also a historical King of the Silures. As an historical figure, he is said to have been educated in Rome by Augustus Caesar. His home was at Dunraven castle, situated on a hill called Twyn Rhyvan (the Hill of Rome) in Glamorgan.
He was used by Shakespeare as a prototype for King Lear.
Makhir of Narbonne Makhir of Narbonne (8th century) was the leader of the Jewish community of Narbonne, and the ancestor of an important family there. Prof. Arthur Zuckerman suggested that he was the same person as Natronai ben Habibi, an exilarch who was deposed and exiled from Baghdad (A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France, 1972). He also suggested that Makhir was the same person as Maghario, Count of Narbonne.
Zuckerman went further. In the poem Willehalm by Wolfram von Eschenbach (c1170-c1220), the hero Guillem de Gellone is the son of Aymeri de Narbonne by his wife Alda / Aldana, daughter of Charles Martel. Guillem de Gellone's real-life counterpart was Guillaume I, comte de Toulouse, son of Theodoric, a count in Septimania. Zuckerman suggested that the poem changed the names, but memorialized actual relationships. So, Guillaume's father Theodoric must have been the same person as Aymeri. Then, Zuckerman identified Theodoric / Aymeri with Makhi / Natronai / Maghario.
Scholars have dismissed Zuckerman's methodology as flawed. Nevertheless, Guillaume de Toulouse might have been Jewish. He led the Frankish forces when they captured Barcelona in 801. The campaign was memorialized in a poem In honorem Hludovici imperatoris ("In honour of Emperor Louis") (826), by Ermoldus Nigellus. The poem uses Jewish dating and portrays Guillaume de Toulouse as an observant Jew.
Muhammad
Modern genealogists have attempted to find a line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the rulers of Muslim Spain.
There is a possible line, through Zaida, the wife or concubine of Alfonso VI of Castile, but it is disputed.
The first problem with the line is that it comes through Ayesha, the wife of Yazîd I, the 2nd Umayyad Caliph (680-683). The Caliph’s descendants claimed that Ayesha was a daughter of Mohammad, a link that would substantially enhance their legitimacy. However, Muslim scholars say she was Muhammad's step-daughter, not his daughter. The title Sharif is accorded only to descendants of Muhammad’s daughter Fatima.
The second problem is that it is not entirely clear that Zaïda was really descended from Ayesha. Zaïda was a daughter-in-law (and probably also niece) of al-Mutamid, ruler of the taifa of Seville. He was a descendant of Ayesha, and if she was his niece, she shared that descent. Zaïda’s first husband was (her cousin?) Fath al-Ma'mum, the ruler of Córdoba and son of the Emir of Seville. He was killed in 1091 while trying to escape a seige of Córdoba. Zaïda made her way as a refugee to the court of Alfonso VI. He was already mature (age 51), married to a queen who was ill, and was lacking a male heir. Zaïda became his concubine, converted to Christianity, and took the Christian name Isabel. She bore Alfonso his only surviving son Sancho. It is not clear whether Alfonso subsequently married her. Her tombstone, erected long after her death, says, "Aqui descansa la reina Isabel, mujer del rey Alfonso, hija de Aben-Abeth, rey de Sevilla; que antes se llamaba Zayda," which translates as "here lies Queen Elizabeth, wife of King Alfonso, daughter of Aben-abeth, king of Seville; previously called Zaïda."
The third problem is that there are no known descents from Zaïda. Her only proven son Sancho died in childhood. It’s possible, however, that Zaïda might have been the same person as Alfonso’s wife Elisabeth. Elisabeth had two daughters who became the ancestors of many European royal families. Elisabeth’s burial plaque, erected long after her death, says she was a daughter of Louis [VI], but that would be chronologically impossible. She might have been a sister of Louis VI, or the plaque might be an attempt to disguise her non-Christian identity.
Pagano Ebriaci
Pagano Ebriaci (?-c1091), of Pisa, ancestor of the Christian Ebriaci family, might have been a convert from Judaism, a son of Joseph of Fustat. The relationship is conjectural, and seems to have originated in the suggestion that the surname Ebriaci means "the Hebrew". Another theory is that the name Ebriaci might derive from a Latin word meaning drunk.
If Pagano Ebriaci was a son of Joseph of Fustat, then he was a grandson of Hezekiah IV, 38th Exilarch and a descendant of King David.
Pagano Ebriaci was an ancestor of Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, through Manfredo III, marchese di Saluzzo.
Scota
She is a legendary figure from whom the Scots took their name. She is said to have been the daughter of an unnamed Eyptian pharaoh. The context of her story shows that the Irish thought of her as a daughter of the pharaoh of the Exodus and a contemporary of Moses.
There are two different versions of her place in the genealogy. She was the wife either of Gaodhal Glas or of his descendant Míl Espáine.
An 11th century rescenison of the Historia Brittonum mentions Scota. She also appears in the Book of Leinster, a 12th century redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn, where she married Geytholos (Gaodhal Glas). The earliest Scottish sources claim Geytholos was "a certain king of the countries of Greece, Neolus, or Heolaus, by name", while the Leinster redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn calls him a Scythian.
In variant manuscripts of the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Scota's husband was Míl Espáine.
Faced with the discrepancy, modern genealogists have created two Scotas.
There are many guesses about her father, Scota the wife of Gaodhal Glas being (perhaps) daughter of Pharaoh Cingeris, and Scota the wife of Míl Espáine being (perhaps) daughter of Pharaoh Nactabaeus. Both pharaohs are named only in medieval Irish sources, not in Egyptian sources.
Some genealogists make one or both women the daughter of whichever pharaoh they believe was the pharaoh of the Exodus.
Tamar Tephi
Tamar Tephi and Teia Tephei are said to have been daughters of Zedekiah, King of Judah, but they are fictitious. Their descents from the kings of Judah is a 19th century fraud, from a misreading of old Irish sources.
According to the colorful story, Tamar Tephi and her sister Teia avoided the fate of their brothers, who were killed by the King of Babylon at Riblah. The prophet Jeremiah spirited them off to Ireland via Egypt and Spain, along with the Stone of the Covenant, which became known as Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny). (We are left wondering why Jeremiah was not equally helpful to the rest of the royal family.)
(Source: Wikipedia, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_kings_of_Britain#Tea_Tephi, List of legendary kings of Britain])
Resources
- Wikipedia, Descent from antiquity
Who are the Normans?
The Normans who invaded and settled in Normandy, the northwest region of modern France, in the 8th-10th century were descendants of Vikings from the northern countries of Europe (Danish, Norwegian, Orkney). The Duchy of Normandy was formed by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911 between King Charles III of the West Franks and Rollo (also known as Hrolf or Robert I of Normandy), leader of the Vikings known as Northmen (or 'Normanni', in Latin).
Norman forces under the leadership of Guillaume I, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William "the Conqueror" became King William of England.
[The Duchy of Normandy was ruled by the Norman Kings of England until 1204, when Philip II of France retook Normandy for France. After the 1259 Treaty of Paris only the Channel Islands remained under England's control.]
Many of the men who fought at the Battle of Hastings alongside King William were rewarded for their loyalty with baronages and large tracts of land in the conquered country. In this way, these families became the nobility of Norman England for the next several centuries. They were listed in the Domesday Book, the great survey of land and material wealth carried out in 1086.
These first few generations of Anglo Norman knights were also among the crusaders of the First Crusade in the late 11th century on their mission to capture Jerusalem. The 11th century was an eventful time of great change in the lifestyles and cultural experiences of members of these families.
Some, but not all of them, were titled nobility in Normandy and retained their holdings there as well; others were poorer men, who rose to power through their military or political service, and women, who gained power through their alliances and marriages into powerful families. Some anglicized their names over time, while others retained the French spellings and geographically-based surnames referring to their ancestral villages in Normandy.
One of the best sources on the family relationships of the various noble families of Normandy can be found at FMG Medival Lands Database: Norman Nobility. This has extensive historical information on the following families:
Chapter 1. EARLY NORMAN FAMILIES of VIKING ORIGIN
A. FAMILY of GUNNORA, mistress of RICHARD I Comte de NORMANDIE
B. FAMILY of THURSTAN HALDUP
Chapter 2. ALENÇON
A. SIRES d'ALENÇON (SEIGNEURS de BELLÊME)
B. FAMILY of SEINFRED Bishop of Le Mans
C. SIRES d'ALENÇON, COMTES d'ALENÇON, MONTGOMMERY-PONTHIEU
D. FAMILY of GIROIE
E. GRANTMESNIL
F. SEIGNEURS de MONTGOMMERY
Chapter 3. VICOMTES d´ARQUES, SEIGNEURS de LONGUEVILLE (GIFFARD)
Chapter 4. SIRES et COMTES d'AUMÂLE
A. SIRES d'AUMÂLE
B. COMTES d'AUMÂLE (BLOIS-CHAMPAGNE)
C. COMTES d'AUMÂLE (FORZ)
D. COMTE d'AUMÂLE (BETHUNE)
Chapter 5. AVRANCHES
A. VICOMTES d'AVRANCHES
B. SEIGNEURS de GRANVILLE
C. SEIGNEURS d´ORVAL
D. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-JEAN
Chapter 6. COMTES de BAYEUX, SEIGNEURS d'IVRY
A. COMTES de BAYEUX
B. VICOMTES du BESSIN (BAYEUX)
C. SEIGNEURS d´AUNAY-sur-ODON (SAY)
D. SIRES de CREULLY
E. SEIGNEURS de CREVECŒUR
F. SEIGNEURS du HOMMET
G. SEIGNEURS d´IVRY (GOËL)
Chapter 7. CAUX
A. SEIGNEURS d´AUFFAY
B. SEIGNEURS de GOURNAY
C. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-VALERY
D. SEIGNEURS de TANCARVILLE
E. WARENNE
Chapter 8. COTENTIN
A. VICOMTES de COTENTIN, SEIGNEURS de SAINT-SAUVEUR
B. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-SAUVEUR (TAISSON)
C. SEIGNEURS de BRICQUEBEC (BERTRAN)
E. SEIGNEURS de LA HAYE
Chapter 9. COMTES et VICOMTES d'EU
A. COMTES d'EU 996-, descendants of GEOFFROY de Brionne
B. COMTES d'EU, descendants of GUILLAUME d'HIEMOIS
C. COMTES d'EU (LUSIGNAN)
D. COMTES d'EU (BRIENNE)
E. COMTES d'EU (CAPET)
F. VICOMTES d'EU
Chapter 10. EVREUX
A. COMTES d'EVREUX, family of DUKES of NORMANDY
B. COMTES d'EVREUX (MONTFORT-l'AMAURY)
C. SIRES d´HARCOURT
D. SEIGNEURS de LAIGLE (L'AIGLE)
E. SEIGNEURS de TOSNY
F. SEIGNEUR de VERNON, SEIGNEUR de REVIERS
Chapter 11. COMTES et VICOMTES de MEULAN
A. COMTES de MEULAN
B. COMTES de MEULAN, SEIGNEURS de BEAUMONT-le-ROGER
C. VICOMTES de MELUN
Chapter 12. COMTES de MORTAIN et de CORBEIL
A. COMTES de MORTAIN
B. COMTES de CORBEIL et de MORTAIN (NORMANDY)
C. COMTES de MORTAIN, VICOMTES de CONTEVILLE
Chapter 13. COMTES du PERCHE, COMTES de MORTAGNE
Chapter 14. ROUEN
A. VICOMTES de ROUEN
B. SEIGNEURS de MONTFORT-sur-RISLE (BASTEMBOURG)
C. SEIGNEURS de MONTFORT-sur-RISLE (GAND)
D. SEIGNEURS de NEUFMARCHE
E. SEIGNEURS de PONT-AUDEMER, SEIGNEUR de VIEILLES
F. SEIGNEURS de TOURVILLE
Chapter 15. OTHER NOBILITY in NORMANDY
A. FLAITEL
B. TIRELL
C. OTHER UNALLOCATED NOBLES in NORMANDY
The Anglo Normans
A good encyclopedia overview of the Anglo-Normans may be found on Wikipedia, from which we include a few excerpts here:
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest. Following the Battle of Hastings, the invading Normans and their descendants formed a distinct population in Britain, as Normans controlled all of England, parts of Wales (the Cambro-Normans) and, after 1169, vast swaths of Ireland (the Hiberno-Normans). Over time their language evolved from the continental Old Norman to the distinct Anglo-Norman language (an Old French dialect)....
The Normans were not a homogeneous group springing exclusively from Viking stock, as has often been commonly and erroneously suggested, but rather one comprising a wide cross-section of north western and central French from Le Mans, Anjou, Brittany, and Poitiers, not to mention the contribution of Flanders. In terms of culture they represented the Gallo-Roman civilization as it had been absorbed and transformed by the Franks....
The Normans imposed a new political structure that is broadly termed "feudal" .... Many of the Anglo-Saxon nobles lost lands and titles; the lesser thegns and others found themselves lower down the social order than previously. ... Some of these Norman magnates used their original French-derived names, with the prefix 'de,' meaning they were lords of the old fiefs in France, and some instead dropped their French names and took their names from new English holdings.
...The England emerging from the Conquest owed a debt to the Romance languages and the culture of ancient Rome, which though long gone, transmitted itself in the emerging feudal world that took its place. That heritage can be discerned in language, incorporating shards of the Roman past, in architecture, in the emerging Romanesque (Norman) architecture, and in a new feudal structure erected as a bulwark against the chaos that overtook the Continent following the collapse of Roman authority and the subsequent Dark Ages. The England that emerged from the Conquest was a decidedly different place, but one that had been opened up to the sweep of outside influences.
...Anglo-Normans also led excursions into Wales from England and built multiple fortifications as it was one of William's ambitions to subdue the Welsh, however he was not entirely successful. Afterwards, however, the border area known as the Marches was set up and English influence increased steadily. Anglo-Norman barons also settled in Ireland from the 12th century, initially to support Irish regional kings.... Most of these Normans came from Wales, not England, and thus the epithet 'Cambro-Normans' is used to describe them by leading late medievalists....
List of Major Anglo Norman Families
This is a beginning, mostly from the Wikipedia list.
The Normans who invaded and settled in Normandy, the northwest region of modern France, in the 8th-10th century were descendants of Vikings from the northern countries of Europe (Danish, Norwegian, Orkney). The Duchy of Normandy was formed by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911 between King Charles III of the West Franks and Rollo (also known as Hrolf or Robert I of Normandy), leader of the Vikings known as Northmen (or 'Normanni', in Latin).
Norman forces under the leadership of Guillaume I, Duke of Normandy, invaded England in 1066 and defeated King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. William "the Conqueror" became King William of England.
[The Duchy of Normandy was ruled by the Norman Kings of England until 1204, when Philip II of France retook Normandy for France. After the 1259 Treaty of Paris only the Channel Islands remained under England's control.]
Many of the men who fought at the Battle of Hastings alongside King William were rewarded for their loyalty with baronages and large tracts of land in the conquered country. In this way, these families became the nobility of Norman England for the next several centuries. They were listed in the Domesday Book, the great survey of land and material wealth carried out in 1086.
These first few generations of Anglo Norman knights were also among the crusaders of the First Crusade in the late 11th century on their mission to capture Jerusalem. The 11th century was an eventful time of great change in the lifestyles and cultural experiences of members of these families.
Some, but not all of them, were titled nobility in Normandy and retained their holdings there as well; others were poorer men, who rose to power through their military or political service, and women, who gained power through their alliances and marriages into powerful families. Some anglicized their names over time, while others retained the French spellings and geographically-based surnames referring to their ancestral villages in Normandy.
One of the best sources on the family relationships of the various noble families of Normandy can be found at FMG Medival Lands Database: Norman Nobility. This has extensive historical information on the following families:
Chapter 1. EARLY NORMAN FAMILIES of VIKING ORIGIN
A. FAMILY of GUNNORA, mistress of RICHARD I Comte de NORMANDIE
B. FAMILY of THURSTAN HALDUP
Chapter 2. ALENÇON
A. SIRES d'ALENÇON (SEIGNEURS de BELLÊME)
B. FAMILY of SEINFRED Bishop of Le Mans
C. SIRES d'ALENÇON, COMTES d'ALENÇON, MONTGOMMERY-PONTHIEU
D. FAMILY of GIROIE
E. GRANTMESNIL
F. SEIGNEURS de MONTGOMMERY
Chapter 3. VICOMTES d´ARQUES, SEIGNEURS de LONGUEVILLE (GIFFARD)
Chapter 4. SIRES et COMTES d'AUMÂLE
A. SIRES d'AUMÂLE
B. COMTES d'AUMÂLE (BLOIS-CHAMPAGNE)
C. COMTES d'AUMÂLE (FORZ)
D. COMTE d'AUMÂLE (BETHUNE)
Chapter 5. AVRANCHES
A. VICOMTES d'AVRANCHES
B. SEIGNEURS de GRANVILLE
C. SEIGNEURS d´ORVAL
D. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-JEAN
Chapter 6. COMTES de BAYEUX, SEIGNEURS d'IVRY
A. COMTES de BAYEUX
B. VICOMTES du BESSIN (BAYEUX)
C. SEIGNEURS d´AUNAY-sur-ODON (SAY)
D. SIRES de CREULLY
E. SEIGNEURS de CREVECŒUR
F. SEIGNEURS du HOMMET
G. SEIGNEURS d´IVRY (GOËL)
Chapter 7. CAUX
A. SEIGNEURS d´AUFFAY
B. SEIGNEURS de GOURNAY
C. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-VALERY
D. SEIGNEURS de TANCARVILLE
E. WARENNE
Chapter 8. COTENTIN
A. VICOMTES de COTENTIN, SEIGNEURS de SAINT-SAUVEUR
B. SEIGNEURS de SAINT-SAUVEUR (TAISSON)
C. SEIGNEURS de BRICQUEBEC (BERTRAN)
E. SEIGNEURS de LA HAYE
Chapter 9. COMTES et VICOMTES d'EU
A. COMTES d'EU 996-, descendants of GEOFFROY de Brionne
B. COMTES d'EU, descendants of GUILLAUME d'HIEMOIS
C. COMTES d'EU (LUSIGNAN)
D. COMTES d'EU (BRIENNE)
E. COMTES d'EU (CAPET)
F. VICOMTES d'EU
Chapter 10. EVREUX
A. COMTES d'EVREUX, family of DUKES of NORMANDY
B. COMTES d'EVREUX (MONTFORT-l'AMAURY)
C. SIRES d´HARCOURT
D. SEIGNEURS de LAIGLE (L'AIGLE)
E. SEIGNEURS de TOSNY
F. SEIGNEUR de VERNON, SEIGNEUR de REVIERS
Chapter 11. COMTES et VICOMTES de MEULAN
A. COMTES de MEULAN
B. COMTES de MEULAN, SEIGNEURS de BEAUMONT-le-ROGER
C. VICOMTES de MELUN
Chapter 12. COMTES de MORTAIN et de CORBEIL
A. COMTES de MORTAIN
B. COMTES de CORBEIL et de MORTAIN (NORMANDY)
C. COMTES de MORTAIN, VICOMTES de CONTEVILLE
Chapter 13. COMTES du PERCHE, COMTES de MORTAGNE
Chapter 14. ROUEN
A. VICOMTES de ROUEN
B. SEIGNEURS de MONTFORT-sur-RISLE (BASTEMBOURG)
C. SEIGNEURS de MONTFORT-sur-RISLE (GAND)
D. SEIGNEURS de NEUFMARCHE
E. SEIGNEURS de PONT-AUDEMER, SEIGNEUR de VIEILLES
F. SEIGNEURS de TOURVILLE
Chapter 15. OTHER NOBILITY in NORMANDY
A. FLAITEL
B. TIRELL
C. OTHER UNALLOCATED NOBLES in NORMANDY
The Anglo Normans
A good encyclopedia overview of the Anglo-Normans may be found on Wikipedia, from which we include a few excerpts here:
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William of Normandy in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest. Following the Battle of Hastings, the invading Normans and their descendants formed a distinct population in Britain, as Normans controlled all of England, parts of Wales (the Cambro-Normans) and, after 1169, vast swaths of Ireland (the Hiberno-Normans). Over time their language evolved from the continental Old Norman to the distinct Anglo-Norman language (an Old French dialect)....
The Normans were not a homogeneous group springing exclusively from Viking stock, as has often been commonly and erroneously suggested, but rather one comprising a wide cross-section of north western and central French from Le Mans, Anjou, Brittany, and Poitiers, not to mention the contribution of Flanders. In terms of culture they represented the Gallo-Roman civilization as it had been absorbed and transformed by the Franks....
The Normans imposed a new political structure that is broadly termed "feudal" .... Many of the Anglo-Saxon nobles lost lands and titles; the lesser thegns and others found themselves lower down the social order than previously. ... Some of these Norman magnates used their original French-derived names, with the prefix 'de,' meaning they were lords of the old fiefs in France, and some instead dropped their French names and took their names from new English holdings.
...The England emerging from the Conquest owed a debt to the Romance languages and the culture of ancient Rome, which though long gone, transmitted itself in the emerging feudal world that took its place. That heritage can be discerned in language, incorporating shards of the Roman past, in architecture, in the emerging Romanesque (Norman) architecture, and in a new feudal structure erected as a bulwark against the chaos that overtook the Continent following the collapse of Roman authority and the subsequent Dark Ages. The England that emerged from the Conquest was a decidedly different place, but one that had been opened up to the sweep of outside influences.
...Anglo-Normans also led excursions into Wales from England and built multiple fortifications as it was one of William's ambitions to subdue the Welsh, however he was not entirely successful. Afterwards, however, the border area known as the Marches was set up and English influence increased steadily. Anglo-Norman barons also settled in Ireland from the 12th century, initially to support Irish regional kings.... Most of these Normans came from Wales, not England, and thus the epithet 'Cambro-Normans' is used to describe them by leading late medievalists....
List of Major Anglo Norman Families
This is a beginning, mostly from the Wikipedia list.
- d'Albret
- d'Alencon
- d'Anjou
- d'Acy
- d'Arcy
- d'Amondville/Amond
- d'Artois
- d'Aubigny (or Albini):
- d' Aubrecicourt
- Aubriot
- d'Avranches (le Goz):
- de Bailleul (or Balliol)
- de Bar
- de Baugeley/Baggiley :
- de Baux
- de Bayeux:
- de Beauchamp :
- de Beaumais
- de Beaumanois
- de Beaumont
- de Bellême
- le Bigod :
- de Blois
- de Bohun :
- Boucicaut
- de Bouillon
- de Bordes
- de Born
- de Bourcq
- de Bourbon
- de Braose :
- de Bruce or Brus
- de Buch
- de Carteret
- Calvaley
- de Cheadle/Chedle
- de Clare
- de Clisson
- de Crépon :
- de Conflans
- de Courcy (or Courci)
- de Couci (or Coucy)
- le Coq
- de Curzon
- de Craon
- de Dormans
- Deschamps
- de Dévereux
- Le Despencer:
- Des Essars
- d'Eu
- le Fevre
- de la Grange
- de Longueville
- de Lusignan
- de Mares
- de Melun/Carpenter
- de Marisco/Morris
- de Ferrers or Ferrières
- FitzCorbet
- FitzGibbon
- FitzHamon:
- FitzOsbern (Giffard):
- FitzWilliam/Hall
- FitzAlan
- Fitzurse
- de Giroie
- de Gorges (or Görges)
- le Goz (d'Avranches)
- de Grandmesnil or Grentesmesnil:
- de Grandpre
- du Guesclin
- de Hangest
- d' Harcourt
- de Hauteville:
- de Haughton
- de Ireland
- d'Ivry
- Knollys
- de Lacy (or Lascy)
- de Laval
- de Lavalle
- de Limesy (or Limesi)
- de Longvillers
- de Lucy (or Luci)
- de Levett
- de Longchamp
- de Lorris
- de Male
- de Malestroite
- Malet or de Malet :
- de Mandeville
- la Marche
- de Marren
- de Mares
- de Martin or Dammartin
- de Mauger/Mayor
- de Massy/Massey:
- de Mayeux
- de Mercier
- de Meschin or Meschines:
- de Mezieres
- de Montfort :
- de Montaigu or Montagu(e)
- de Mortimer
- de Montbray
- de Montgomery :
- de Neville
- de Normandy
- d'Orgement
- de Osmondville/Osment
- Paganel (or Paynall)
- de Payen
- de Pecche
- Peverel
- Phoebus
- de Rethel :
- de Reviers
- Ringois
- de la Rivière
- de Robersart
- de Rochefort
- de Rohan
- de Ros, Roos, or Rose:
- de Roussi
- de Roye
- de Rue
- de Savage :
- de Saint-Clair
- de Sancerre
- de Senlis
- de Strange
- de la Pole
- de St Pol
- de Swynnerton
- de Taillebois /Talbot
- de Tosny or Toni or Toeni
- de Tremoille
- de Trie
- de Umfraville
- de Valois
- de Verdun
- de Verney
- de Vienne
- de Vincent
- de Warenne or Warren
- DeWydeville:
- de Zouche:
Books and Articles on Specific Anglo-Norman Families Alnou: Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Les seigneurs d'Anou[-le-Faucon], près d'Argentan: Une famille de barons de la Normandie moyen au XIe siècle." Le Pays bas-normand 80, no. 189 (1988): 29-45.
Beaumont/Meulan: Crouch, David. The Beaumont Twins: The Roots and Branches of Power in the Twelfth Century, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, Fourth Series, 1. Cambridge: CUP, 1986.
Houth, Émile. "Géographie des fiefs des comtes de Meulan." Bulletin philologique et historique (jusqu'à 1610) du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (1966): 561-565.
King, Edmund. "Waleran, Count of Meulan, Earl of Worcester." Tradition and Change: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Chibnall on Her Seventieth Birthday, 165-181. Editors Diane Greenway, Christopher Holdsworth and Jane Sayers. Cambridge: CUP, 1985.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Career of Waleran, Count of Meulan and Earl of Worcester (1104-66)." TRHS 4th Series, no. 17 (1934): 19-48.
Bellême: Boussard, Jacques. "La seigneurie de Bellême aux Xe et XIe siècles." In Mélanges d'histoire du Moyen Age Louis Halphen, edited by Charles-Edmond Perrin, 43-54. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1951.
Louise, Gérard. La Seigneurie de Bellême, Xe-XIIe siècles: Dévolution des pouvoirs territoriaux et construction d'une seigneurie de frontière aux confins de la Normandie et du Maine à la charnière de l'an Mil, Le Pays Bas-Normand, 199-202. Rouen: Le Pays Bas-Normand, 1990.
Musset, Lucien. "Administration et justice dans une grande baronnie normande au XIe siècle: Les terres des Bellême sous Roger II et Robert." APDN, 129-148. Cahier des AN, 17. Caen: AN, 1985.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Family and Influence to the South of Normandy in the Eleventh Century: the Lordship of Bellême." JMH 11 (1985): 215-226.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Robert of Bellême Reconsidered." ANS 13 (1990): 263-286.
Thompson, Kathleen. "William Talvas, Count of Ponthieu, and the Politics of the Anglo-Norman Realm." England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, 169-184. Editors David Bates and Anne Curry. London: Hambledon Press, 1994.
White, Geoffrey H. "The First House of Bellême." TRHS 4th Series, no. 22 (1940): 67-99.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Lords of Bellême and Alençon." Notes and Queries 152 (1927): 399-401, 417-419, 435-438.
Bessin (viscounts): Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Les fiefs d'une famille vicomtale à l'époque ducale: Les vicomtes du Bessin (XIe-XIIe siècles)." Memoire de Maîtrise, Université de Caen, 1973.
Bohun: Le Melletier, Jean. Les seigneurs de Bohon, illustre famille anglo-normande originaire du Cotentin. Coutances: Arnaud-Bellée, 1978.
Broc: Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Une famille de vassaux des vicomtes de Bayeux au XIe siècle: Les Broc." Revue du Département de la Manche 19, no. 73 (1977): 3-45.
Dastin: Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Pour un étude prosopographique des familles nobles d'importance moyenne en Normandie au XIe siècle: L'exemple du lignage des Dastin." Revue de l'Avranchin 41 (1984): 65-101.
Fitz Osbern: Douglas, David C. "The Ancestors of William fitz Osbern." EHR 59 (1944): 62-79.
Girois/Géré: Bauduin, Pierre. "Une famille châtelaine sur les confins normanno-manceaux: Les Géré (Xe-XIIIe siècle)." Archéologie médiévale 22 (1992): 309-356.
Maillefer, Jean-Marie. "Une famille aristocratique aux confines de la Normandie: Les Géré au XIe siècle." APDN, 175-206. Cahier des AN, 17. Caen: AN, 1985.
Grandmesnil: Decaëns, Joseph. "Le patrimoine des Grentemesnil en Normandie, en Angleterre et en Italie aux XIe et XIIe siècles." In Méditerranée 123-40.
Walker, Barbara McDonald. "The Grandmesnils: A Study in Norman Baronial Enterprise." Ph.D. diss., UCSB, 1968.
Lacy: Wightman, Wilfrid Eric. "La famille de Lacy et ses terres normandes." AN 11 (1961): 267-277.
Wightman, Wilfrid Eric. The Lacy Family in England and Normandy, 1066-1194. Oxford: OUP, 1966.
Laigle: Thompson, Kathleen. "The Lords of Laigle: Ambition and Insecurity on the Borders of Normandy." ANS 18 (1995): 177-199.
Montgomery: Chandler, Victoria. "The Last of the Montgomerys: Roger the Poitevin and Arnulf." Historical Research 62 (1989): 1-14.
Mason, J. F. A. "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067-1102)." TRHS 5th Series, no. 13 (1963).
Thompson, Kathleen. "Arnoul de Montgommery." AN 45 (1995): 49-53.
Thompson, Kathleen. "The Norman Aristocracy before 1066: The Example of the Montgomerys." Historical Research 60 (1987): 251-263.
Mortain: Boussard, Jacques. "Le comté de Mortain au XIe siècle." MA 58 (1952): 253-279.
Golding, Brian. "Robert of Mortain." ANS 13 (1990): 119-144.
Musset, Lucien. "Autour les origines de Mortain, de son comté et de ses églises (XIe siècle)." Annuaire des cinq départements de la Normandie 146 (1988): 99-102.
Potts, Cassandra. "The Earliest Norman Counts Revisited: The Lords of Mortain." HSJ 4 (1992): 23-36.
Moulins-la-Marche: Tabuteau, Emily Zack. "The Family of Moulins-la-Marche in the Eleventh Century." Medieval Prosopography 13, no. 1 (1992): 29-66.
Perche: Nelson, Lynn H. "Rotrou of Perche and the Aragonese Reconquest." Traditio 26 (1970): 113-34.
Œillet des Murs, Marc. Histoire des comtes du Perche de la famille des Rotrou, de 943 à 1231. Nogent-le-Rotrou: Imprimerie de A. Gouverneur, 1856.
Siguret, Philippe. "Recherches sur la formation du comté du Perche, deuxième partie." Bulletin principal de la Société historique et archéologique du l'Orne 80 (1962): 3-42.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Family Tradition and the Crusading Impulse: The Rotrou Counts of the Perche." Medieval Prosopography 19 (1998): 1-34.
Thompson, Kathleen. "The Formation of the County of Perche: The Rise and Fall of the House of Gouet." Family Trees and the Roots of Politics: The Prospography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century, 299-314. Editor K. S. B. Keats- Rohan. Woodbridge: Boydell, 1997.
Réviers/Redvers: Hockey, Frederick. "The House of Redvers and its Monastic Foundations." ANS 5 (1982): 146-152.
Rollonids (non-ruling): Depoin, Joseph. "L'origine d'Arlette, mère de Guillaume le Conquérant." Congrès du millénaire de la Normandie (911-1911). Comte rendu des travaux, 1:305-309. Rouen: Léon Gy, 1912.
Houts, Elisabeth M. C. van. "The Origins of Herleva, Mother of William the Conqueror." EHR 101 (1986): 399-404.
Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. "Poppa of Bayeux and Her Family." The American Genealogist 72 (1997): 187-204.
LoPrete, Kimberly A. "The Anglo-Norman Card of Adela of Blois." Albion 22 (1990): 569-89.
Stasser, Thierry. "Mathilde, fille du comte Richard: Essai d'identification." AN 40 (1990): 49-64.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy." The Genealogist 37 (1921): 57-65, 128-132.
Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte: Delisle, Léopold. Histoire du château et des sires de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. Paris: Aug. Durande, 1867.
Saint-Valèry: Fowler, G. Herbert. "De St. Walery." The Genealogist N.S. 30: 1-17.
Tosny: Musset, Lucien. "Aux origines d'une classe dirigeante: Les Tosny, grands barons normands du Xe au XIIIe siècle." Francia 5 (1977): 45-80.
Warenne: Loyd, Lewis C. "The Origin of the Family of Warenne." Yorkshire Archeological Society Journal 31 (1934).
http://www.geni.com/projects/Norman-families-of-Normandy-France-and-England/49
Beaumont/Meulan: Crouch, David. The Beaumont Twins: The Roots and Branches of Power in the Twelfth Century, Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, Fourth Series, 1. Cambridge: CUP, 1986.
Houth, Émile. "Géographie des fiefs des comtes de Meulan." Bulletin philologique et historique (jusqu'à 1610) du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (1966): 561-565.
King, Edmund. "Waleran, Count of Meulan, Earl of Worcester." Tradition and Change: Essays in Honour of Marjorie Chibnall on Her Seventieth Birthday, 165-181. Editors Diane Greenway, Christopher Holdsworth and Jane Sayers. Cambridge: CUP, 1985.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Career of Waleran, Count of Meulan and Earl of Worcester (1104-66)." TRHS 4th Series, no. 17 (1934): 19-48.
Bellême: Boussard, Jacques. "La seigneurie de Bellême aux Xe et XIe siècles." In Mélanges d'histoire du Moyen Age Louis Halphen, edited by Charles-Edmond Perrin, 43-54. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1951.
Louise, Gérard. La Seigneurie de Bellême, Xe-XIIe siècles: Dévolution des pouvoirs territoriaux et construction d'une seigneurie de frontière aux confins de la Normandie et du Maine à la charnière de l'an Mil, Le Pays Bas-Normand, 199-202. Rouen: Le Pays Bas-Normand, 1990.
Musset, Lucien. "Administration et justice dans une grande baronnie normande au XIe siècle: Les terres des Bellême sous Roger II et Robert." APDN, 129-148. Cahier des AN, 17. Caen: AN, 1985.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Family and Influence to the South of Normandy in the Eleventh Century: the Lordship of Bellême." JMH 11 (1985): 215-226.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Robert of Bellême Reconsidered." ANS 13 (1990): 263-286.
Thompson, Kathleen. "William Talvas, Count of Ponthieu, and the Politics of the Anglo-Norman Realm." England and Normandy in the Middle Ages, 169-184. Editors David Bates and Anne Curry. London: Hambledon Press, 1994.
White, Geoffrey H. "The First House of Bellême." TRHS 4th Series, no. 22 (1940): 67-99.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Lords of Bellême and Alençon." Notes and Queries 152 (1927): 399-401, 417-419, 435-438.
Bessin (viscounts): Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Les fiefs d'une famille vicomtale à l'époque ducale: Les vicomtes du Bessin (XIe-XIIe siècles)." Memoire de Maîtrise, Université de Caen, 1973.
Bohun: Le Melletier, Jean. Les seigneurs de Bohon, illustre famille anglo-normande originaire du Cotentin. Coutances: Arnaud-Bellée, 1978.
Broc: Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Une famille de vassaux des vicomtes de Bayeux au XIe siècle: Les Broc." Revue du Département de la Manche 19, no. 73 (1977): 3-45.
Dastin: Bouvris, Jean-Michel. "Pour un étude prosopographique des familles nobles d'importance moyenne en Normandie au XIe siècle: L'exemple du lignage des Dastin." Revue de l'Avranchin 41 (1984): 65-101.
Fitz Osbern: Douglas, David C. "The Ancestors of William fitz Osbern." EHR 59 (1944): 62-79.
Girois/Géré: Bauduin, Pierre. "Une famille châtelaine sur les confins normanno-manceaux: Les Géré (Xe-XIIIe siècle)." Archéologie médiévale 22 (1992): 309-356.
Maillefer, Jean-Marie. "Une famille aristocratique aux confines de la Normandie: Les Géré au XIe siècle." APDN, 175-206. Cahier des AN, 17. Caen: AN, 1985.
Grandmesnil: Decaëns, Joseph. "Le patrimoine des Grentemesnil en Normandie, en Angleterre et en Italie aux XIe et XIIe siècles." In Méditerranée 123-40.
Walker, Barbara McDonald. "The Grandmesnils: A Study in Norman Baronial Enterprise." Ph.D. diss., UCSB, 1968.
Lacy: Wightman, Wilfrid Eric. "La famille de Lacy et ses terres normandes." AN 11 (1961): 267-277.
Wightman, Wilfrid Eric. The Lacy Family in England and Normandy, 1066-1194. Oxford: OUP, 1966.
Laigle: Thompson, Kathleen. "The Lords of Laigle: Ambition and Insecurity on the Borders of Normandy." ANS 18 (1995): 177-199.
Montgomery: Chandler, Victoria. "The Last of the Montgomerys: Roger the Poitevin and Arnulf." Historical Research 62 (1989): 1-14.
Mason, J. F. A. "Roger de Montgomery and His Sons (1067-1102)." TRHS 5th Series, no. 13 (1963).
Thompson, Kathleen. "Arnoul de Montgommery." AN 45 (1995): 49-53.
Thompson, Kathleen. "The Norman Aristocracy before 1066: The Example of the Montgomerys." Historical Research 60 (1987): 251-263.
Mortain: Boussard, Jacques. "Le comté de Mortain au XIe siècle." MA 58 (1952): 253-279.
Golding, Brian. "Robert of Mortain." ANS 13 (1990): 119-144.
Musset, Lucien. "Autour les origines de Mortain, de son comté et de ses églises (XIe siècle)." Annuaire des cinq départements de la Normandie 146 (1988): 99-102.
Potts, Cassandra. "The Earliest Norman Counts Revisited: The Lords of Mortain." HSJ 4 (1992): 23-36.
Moulins-la-Marche: Tabuteau, Emily Zack. "The Family of Moulins-la-Marche in the Eleventh Century." Medieval Prosopography 13, no. 1 (1992): 29-66.
Perche: Nelson, Lynn H. "Rotrou of Perche and the Aragonese Reconquest." Traditio 26 (1970): 113-34.
Œillet des Murs, Marc. Histoire des comtes du Perche de la famille des Rotrou, de 943 à 1231. Nogent-le-Rotrou: Imprimerie de A. Gouverneur, 1856.
Siguret, Philippe. "Recherches sur la formation du comté du Perche, deuxième partie." Bulletin principal de la Société historique et archéologique du l'Orne 80 (1962): 3-42.
Thompson, Kathleen. "Family Tradition and the Crusading Impulse: The Rotrou Counts of the Perche." Medieval Prosopography 19 (1998): 1-34.
Thompson, Kathleen. "The Formation of the County of Perche: The Rise and Fall of the House of Gouet." Family Trees and the Roots of Politics: The Prospography of Britain and France from the Tenth to the Twelfth Century, 299-314. Editor K. S. B. Keats- Rohan. Woodbridge: Boydell, 1997.
Réviers/Redvers: Hockey, Frederick. "The House of Redvers and its Monastic Foundations." ANS 5 (1982): 146-152.
Rollonids (non-ruling): Depoin, Joseph. "L'origine d'Arlette, mère de Guillaume le Conquérant." Congrès du millénaire de la Normandie (911-1911). Comte rendu des travaux, 1:305-309. Rouen: Léon Gy, 1912.
Houts, Elisabeth M. C. van. "The Origins of Herleva, Mother of William the Conqueror." EHR 101 (1986): 399-404.
Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. "Poppa of Bayeux and Her Family." The American Genealogist 72 (1997): 187-204.
LoPrete, Kimberly A. "The Anglo-Norman Card of Adela of Blois." Albion 22 (1990): 569-89.
Stasser, Thierry. "Mathilde, fille du comte Richard: Essai d'identification." AN 40 (1990): 49-64.
White, Geoffrey H. "The Sisters and Nieces of Gunnor, Duchess of Normandy." The Genealogist 37 (1921): 57-65, 128-132.
Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte: Delisle, Léopold. Histoire du château et des sires de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. Paris: Aug. Durande, 1867.
Saint-Valèry: Fowler, G. Herbert. "De St. Walery." The Genealogist N.S. 30: 1-17.
Tosny: Musset, Lucien. "Aux origines d'une classe dirigeante: Les Tosny, grands barons normands du Xe au XIIIe siècle." Francia 5 (1977): 45-80.
Warenne: Loyd, Lewis C. "The Origin of the Family of Warenne." Yorkshire Archeological Society Journal 31 (1934).
http://www.geni.com/projects/Norman-families-of-Normandy-France-and-England/49
Welsh Powys, Lothain, Gwenydd, Gwent, Afflogion, Rheged, Catraeth, Ceredigion, Dogfeiling, Dunoding, Edeyrnion, Man (instead of Anglesey), Rhos, Brycheiniog, Maes Gwyddno, Dyned, Alt Clut (instead of Strathclyde, if names are in Welsh), Pictland (as Pictish is extinct and is related to Welsh)
Welsh
Toponymics If a surname or patronymic doesn't exist, please use a toponymic.
Welsh
Example: Cadeyrn Fendigaid ap Gwrtheyrn, Brenin Powys
Welsh: Common Epithets
- Brenin means "King," e. g., Brenin Powys
- Distain means "Seneschal" - major-domo or chief butler, e. g., Distain Llewellyn
- Tywysog means "Prince" or "Chief" e. g., Tywysog Gwynedd
- Edling means "heir to the throne e. g., Edling Cymru "Crown Prince of Wales"
- Ard-rí na h'Éireann - High King of Ireland
- Rí na h'Éireann - King of Ireland
- Righ Alba or Righ Caledonii
- Ancient British Tribes - I have not found anything about the language the ancient British tribes spoke, so I have been using the Welsh titles for them. I have been using "Brenin o Silures" to mean "King of the Silures." Likewise: "Brenin o"
- Iceni
- Catuvellauni
- Cornovii
- Corieltauvi
- Dobunni
- Iceni
- Parisii
- Trinovantes
Welsh
- ap means "son of," e. g., Cadeyrn ap Gwrtheyrn
- verch means "daughter of," e. g., Afrella verch Gwrtheyrn
- mac means "son of," e. g., Gwid mac Brude
- ó means "male of a descendant of," e. g., Donnchadh ó Conchobhair
- ni, nee, nighean, inghean means "daughter of" e. g., Máel Muire ni Cináeda
- inghean uí, uí means "daughter of a descendant of," e. g., Dearbhorgaill inghean uí Conchobhair where Conchobhair is a male ancestor of Dearbhorgaill, but not her father
- Ua, Uí means "of the clan,"
Toponymics If a surname or patronymic doesn't exist, please use a toponymic.
Welsh
- o means "of" or "from" a place, e. g., Cynan o Gwynedd
Example: Cadeyrn Fendigaid ap Gwrtheyrn, Brenin Powys
Welsh: Common Epithets
- Fendigaid "the Blessed"
- Mawr "the Great"
- Wledig "the Imperator"
- Hen "the Old"
- Fychan, Vychan, Fachan, Vachan - literally "the Small", but functionally, "the Younger", as in a junior.
- Ddu "the Black"
Ancestral - mymongo
LIVING SPIRITS OF
THE SACRED ANCESTORS
Those Who Came Before; Those Who Give Us Faces
THE SACRED ANCESTORS
Those Who Came Before; Those Who Give Us Faces
When the dead one had ended this prayer, she turned to me again and said:
"Great is the need of the dead. But the God needs no sacrificial prayer. He has neither goodwill nor ill will. He is kind and fearful, though not actually so, but only seems to you thus. But the dead hear your prayers since they are still of human nature and not
free of goodwill and ill will. Do you not understand?
The history of humanity is older and wiser than you. Was there a time when there were no dead? Vain deception! Only recently have men begun to forget the dead and to think that they have now begun the real life, sending them into a frenzy."
~Carl Jung; Red Book; Scrutinies; Page 342.
In the grand scheme of things, the Line is not as important as the House, the House, is not as important as the Family. The Family is all. No matter the House or Line, we are One (truly international) Family.
"Great is the need of the dead. But the God needs no sacrificial prayer. He has neither goodwill nor ill will. He is kind and fearful, though not actually so, but only seems to you thus. But the dead hear your prayers since they are still of human nature and not
free of goodwill and ill will. Do you not understand?
The history of humanity is older and wiser than you. Was there a time when there were no dead? Vain deception! Only recently have men begun to forget the dead and to think that they have now begun the real life, sending them into a frenzy."
~Carl Jung; Red Book; Scrutinies; Page 342.
In the grand scheme of things, the Line is not as important as the House, the House, is not as important as the Family. The Family is all. No matter the House or Line, we are One (truly international) Family.
"There is no consciousness without differentiation of opposites. Principle is the father of the Logos, in endless struggle, breaks away from heat and darkness primordial mother's lap, or unconsciousness. [...] Neither the mother principle, nor the father can exist without its opposite, as both were one at the beginning and will become one at the end. consciousness can exist only through the permanent recognition and respect of the unconscious: all life has to go through many deaths ".
--Carl Gustav Jung - The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
--Carl Gustav Jung - The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious
These ROOT-WORDS are MAR, MARI, & MER meaning SEA & POOL. It comes from the Latin mare which means SEA, the combination of mar and yam, meaning “drop of the sea”. Mary is a title, not a name. ... On the other hand, miryam could be mar (“bitter”) and yam (“sea”), meaning “bitter sea”.
Melusine’s Vere name in Gaelic is spelled Mhaior. This has corrupted down the ages to become spelled in many variant ways, including Muir and most significantly ‘Murray’. The Murrays are members of the ‘Pictish Clan of Mar’ of Caledonia, which in modern terms is ‘The Pictish Clan of Vere.
We all still bear the Pictish/elven/fairy/ Scythian armorial of the ‘three stars argent/or; on either a field or fesse azure’. Domiciled for centuries around The Moray Firth (Murray or Mhaioray or Vere-ay Firth), the Veres - as the Murrays - still own vast swathes of north-eastern Scotland today and bear the name of the Fairy King who first settled there – King Vere – ancestral grandson of Cait, Last King of the Tuadha de Danaan. In Iron Age terms, from 400 bc onwards, the Kingdom of Vere became vast; stretching from Great Eastern Caledonia in the north, to the Western Isles, and beyond the contemporary Scottish Border in the south. It was probably the largest single northern European kingdom of its age and the Dragon King Vere was the first sovereign high king of Scotland in its unified form. -NDV
Melusine’s Vere name in Gaelic is spelled Mhaior. This has corrupted down the ages to become spelled in many variant ways, including Muir and most significantly ‘Murray’. The Murrays are members of the ‘Pictish Clan of Mar’ of Caledonia, which in modern terms is ‘The Pictish Clan of Vere.
We all still bear the Pictish/elven/fairy/ Scythian armorial of the ‘three stars argent/or; on either a field or fesse azure’. Domiciled for centuries around The Moray Firth (Murray or Mhaioray or Vere-ay Firth), the Veres - as the Murrays - still own vast swathes of north-eastern Scotland today and bear the name of the Fairy King who first settled there – King Vere – ancestral grandson of Cait, Last King of the Tuadha de Danaan. In Iron Age terms, from 400 bc onwards, the Kingdom of Vere became vast; stretching from Great Eastern Caledonia in the north, to the Western Isles, and beyond the contemporary Scottish Border in the south. It was probably the largest single northern European kingdom of its age and the Dragon King Vere was the first sovereign high king of Scotland in its unified form. -NDV
Maxwell Purrington - http://academia.edu/3313111/Destruction_as_the_cause_of_coming_into_Being_by_Sabina_Spielrein
King “Merovee”, who was half–man, half-fish
The Merovingian bloodline, also identified as “the Vine of Mary” in the Holy Grail heresy, is descended from King “Merovee”, who was half–man, half-fish and from whom Jesus’ descendents claim relationship. Mermaids are prominent among the medieval watermarks found on paper, related to the heresy of the bloodline, and some are rendered with the “fleur-de-lys” symbol of the Merovingians entwined around their double tails.
The Merovingian bloodline, also identified as “the Vine of Mary” in the Holy Grail heresy, is descended from King “Merovee”, who was half–man, half-fish and from whom Jesus’ descendents claim relationship. Mermaids are prominent among the medieval watermarks found on paper, related to the heresy of the bloodline, and some are rendered with the “fleur-de-lys” symbol of the Merovingians entwined around their double tails.
European and Asian languages traced back to single mother tongue
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/06/european-asian-language-tongue-superfamily
Eurasiatic languages from Portugal to Siberia form 'superfamily' with root in southern Europe 15,000 years ago, scientists claim
The words for bark in at least four of the languages studied were found to have a common root. Photograph: Alamy Languages spoken by billions of people across Europe and Asia are descended from an ancient tongue uttered in southern Europe at the end of the last ice age, according to research.
The claim, by scientists in Britain, points to a common origin for vocabularies as varied as English and Urdu, Japanese and Itelmen, a language spoken along the north-eastern edge of Russia.
The ancestral language, spoken at least 15,000 years ago, gave rise to seven more that formed an ancient Eurasiatic "superfamily", the researchers say. These in turn split into languages now spoken all over Eurasia, from Portugal to Siberia.
"Everybody in Eurasia can trace their linguistic ancestry back to a group, or groups, of people living around 15,000 years ago, probably in southern Europe, as the ice sheets were retreating," said Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at Reading University.
Linguists have long debated the idea of an ancient Eurasiatic superfamily of languages. The idea is controversial because many words evolve too rapidly to preserve their ancestry. Most words have a 50% chance of being replaced by an unrelated term every 2,000-4,000 years.
But some words last much longer. In a previous study, Pagel's team showed that certain words – among them frequently used pronouns, numbers and adverbs – survived for tens of thousands of years before other words replaced them.
For their latest study, Pagel used a computer model to predict words that changed so rarely that they should sound the same in the different Eurasiatic languages. They then checked their list against a database of early words reconstructed by linguists. "Sure enough," said Pagel, "the words we predicted would be similar, were similar."
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the authors list 23 words found in at least four of the proposed Eurasiatic languages. Most of the words are frequently used ones, such as the pronouns for "I" and "we", and the nouns, "man" and "mother". But the survival of other terms was more baffling. The verb "to spit", and the nouns "bark" and "worm" all had lengthy histories.
"Bark was really important to early people," said Pagel. "They used it as insulation, to start fires, and they made fibres from it. But I couldn't say I expected "to spit" to be there. I have no idea why. I have to throw my hands up."
Only a handful of verbs appear on the list, but Pagel points out "to give", which appeared in similar form in five of the Eurasiatic languages. "This is what marks out human society, this hyper-co-operation that we do," he said.
From their findings, the scientists drew up a family tree of the seven languages. All emerged from a common tongue around 15,000 years ago, and split off into separate languages over the next 5,000 years.
"The very fact that we can identify these words that retain traces of their deep ancestry tells us something fundamental about our language faculties. It tells us we have this ability to transmit highly complicated and precise information from mouth to ear over tens of thousands of years," said Pagel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/may/06/european-asian-language-tongue-superfamily
Eurasiatic languages from Portugal to Siberia form 'superfamily' with root in southern Europe 15,000 years ago, scientists claim
The words for bark in at least four of the languages studied were found to have a common root. Photograph: Alamy Languages spoken by billions of people across Europe and Asia are descended from an ancient tongue uttered in southern Europe at the end of the last ice age, according to research.
The claim, by scientists in Britain, points to a common origin for vocabularies as varied as English and Urdu, Japanese and Itelmen, a language spoken along the north-eastern edge of Russia.
The ancestral language, spoken at least 15,000 years ago, gave rise to seven more that formed an ancient Eurasiatic "superfamily", the researchers say. These in turn split into languages now spoken all over Eurasia, from Portugal to Siberia.
"Everybody in Eurasia can trace their linguistic ancestry back to a group, or groups, of people living around 15,000 years ago, probably in southern Europe, as the ice sheets were retreating," said Mark Pagel, an evolutionary biologist at Reading University.
Linguists have long debated the idea of an ancient Eurasiatic superfamily of languages. The idea is controversial because many words evolve too rapidly to preserve their ancestry. Most words have a 50% chance of being replaced by an unrelated term every 2,000-4,000 years.
But some words last much longer. In a previous study, Pagel's team showed that certain words – among them frequently used pronouns, numbers and adverbs – survived for tens of thousands of years before other words replaced them.
For their latest study, Pagel used a computer model to predict words that changed so rarely that they should sound the same in the different Eurasiatic languages. They then checked their list against a database of early words reconstructed by linguists. "Sure enough," said Pagel, "the words we predicted would be similar, were similar."
Writing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the authors list 23 words found in at least four of the proposed Eurasiatic languages. Most of the words are frequently used ones, such as the pronouns for "I" and "we", and the nouns, "man" and "mother". But the survival of other terms was more baffling. The verb "to spit", and the nouns "bark" and "worm" all had lengthy histories.
"Bark was really important to early people," said Pagel. "They used it as insulation, to start fires, and they made fibres from it. But I couldn't say I expected "to spit" to be there. I have no idea why. I have to throw my hands up."
Only a handful of verbs appear on the list, but Pagel points out "to give", which appeared in similar form in five of the Eurasiatic languages. "This is what marks out human society, this hyper-co-operation that we do," he said.
From their findings, the scientists drew up a family tree of the seven languages. All emerged from a common tongue around 15,000 years ago, and split off into separate languages over the next 5,000 years.
"The very fact that we can identify these words that retain traces of their deep ancestry tells us something fundamental about our language faculties. It tells us we have this ability to transmit highly complicated and precise information from mouth to ear over tens of thousands of years," said Pagel.
Analytical Psychology: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1925 By C. G. Jung
Sergei Solomko 1917
What the ancients did for their dead! You seem to believe that you can absolve yourself from the care of the dead, and from the work that they so greatly demand, since what is dead is past. You excuse yourself with your disbelief in the immortality of the soul. Do you think that the dead do not exist because you have' devised the impossibility of immortality? You believe in your idols of words. The dead produce effects, that is sufficient. In the inner world there is no explaining away, as little as you can explain away the sea in the outer world. You must finally understand your purpose in explaining away, namely to seek protection.
~Carl Jung; Red Book.
Anunnaki Descent
Princely Seed; Princely Blood
~Carl Jung; Red Book.
Anunnaki Descent
Princely Seed; Princely Blood
To transcend our small selves we need bigger stories. The deep context of our global heritage is it -- a mythic perspective suited to our age, culture, and sensibilities. Symbols are the currency of consciousness and the highest symbol and value is the Grail.
In genealogy the term direct line refers to a relationship of one person to another in a direct line. A direct-line ancestor is someone from whom you descend in a direct line, parent to child, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. Direct-line research refers to genealogy research focused on one's direct-line ancestors.
By contrast, collateral line is a term used to describe family relationships not in the direct line of descent such as siblings, spouses and children of siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Researching direct-line ancestry is a common focus of genealogists and family history researchers. Proving a direct line of descent is generally required for membership in heritage societies. Collateral line research is also important for revealing clues to direct-line ancestors.
Roberts notes that we are all remarkably close cousins: "Except for some remarkable kinships through the Byzantine marriages of earlier medieval kings, 20th to 25th cousins are probably as distant as traceable European lineages extend. Anthropologists claim everyone on earth is a 40th cousin.
Roberts estimates that 100 million Americans can be applied to one family tree, with relationships to over 500 famous people: "a large quantity of my research concerns the 'New England family' - probably 100 million contemporary Americans descended from 5000 - 8000 Great Migration immigrants of 1620-50. If you have 50 or more sets (husbands and wives) of Great Migration immigrant forebears, you are probably related to almost all of the 100 million, within the range of 8th-12th cousins. The probability of kinship to notables is fully 100 percent, and the number of such 'household name' distant kin probably surpasses 500, possibly 1000."
Consider that you need 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and so on. Assuming an average of about 25 years per generation, you only need to go back to about 1200 AD, quite within historical times, to need more separate ancestors than the entire population of the world. The solution to this paradox is of course that ancestors are duplicated. All of us descend from a massive amount of intermarriage even within the last few hundred years.
Strictly speaking, collateral lines are best described as "blood relatives", rather than ancestors. Ancient hereditary priesthoods and lineage did not necessarily pass from father to son. We should therefore be wary of calling this a genealogy, although it is probably a bloodline. But the consequence is there may be disputed lines and missing generations.
By contrast, collateral line is a term used to describe family relationships not in the direct line of descent such as siblings, spouses and children of siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Researching direct-line ancestry is a common focus of genealogists and family history researchers. Proving a direct line of descent is generally required for membership in heritage societies. Collateral line research is also important for revealing clues to direct-line ancestors.
Roberts notes that we are all remarkably close cousins: "Except for some remarkable kinships through the Byzantine marriages of earlier medieval kings, 20th to 25th cousins are probably as distant as traceable European lineages extend. Anthropologists claim everyone on earth is a 40th cousin.
Roberts estimates that 100 million Americans can be applied to one family tree, with relationships to over 500 famous people: "a large quantity of my research concerns the 'New England family' - probably 100 million contemporary Americans descended from 5000 - 8000 Great Migration immigrants of 1620-50. If you have 50 or more sets (husbands and wives) of Great Migration immigrant forebears, you are probably related to almost all of the 100 million, within the range of 8th-12th cousins. The probability of kinship to notables is fully 100 percent, and the number of such 'household name' distant kin probably surpasses 500, possibly 1000."
Consider that you need 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and so on. Assuming an average of about 25 years per generation, you only need to go back to about 1200 AD, quite within historical times, to need more separate ancestors than the entire population of the world. The solution to this paradox is of course that ancestors are duplicated. All of us descend from a massive amount of intermarriage even within the last few hundred years.
Strictly speaking, collateral lines are best described as "blood relatives", rather than ancestors. Ancient hereditary priesthoods and lineage did not necessarily pass from father to son. We should therefore be wary of calling this a genealogy, although it is probably a bloodline. But the consequence is there may be disputed lines and missing generations.
ANCESTRAL MEMORIES
YOU MAKE IT MATTER
The World Is About You
YOU MAKE IT MATTER
The World Is About You
Search for the missing roots and a fabric of meaning, beginning with a humble image, a fragment, or a wisp of myth. Here you can find nurturing soil for the imagination, and discover the dimensions of significance in which everyday bare surfaces of psyche are embedded.
Ancestors are those people you directly descend from, not extended family members! An ancestor or forebear is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, and so forth). Ancestor is "any person from whom one is descended. In law the person from whom an estate has been inherited." We feel their experience.
Ancestors are those people you directly descend from, not extended family members! An ancestor or forebear is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an ancestor (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent, and so forth). Ancestor is "any person from whom one is descended. In law the person from whom an estate has been inherited." We feel their experience.
COMMON ANCESTORS OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS
http://humphrysfamilytree.com/ca.html
USING GENETICS:
http://humphrysfamilytree.com/ca.genetic.html
By following only the female-female or male-male paths, we ignore the billions of other ancestral paths we could follow, thus pushing the common ancestor much further back into the past. The MRCA in any line will be much more recent than Mitochondrial Eve or Y chromosome Adam. DNA studies have a problem in telling us about the MRCA. As [Chang, 1999] notes, the MRCA will be much more recent than any MRCA that could ever be found in DNA studies, even if one were to study the ancestry of every single gene. The reason being that we are considering people who are simply ancestors, through any route, whether or not any of their genes actually survived the journey. Conclusion - Within historical times, you have ancestors from whom you have no DNA. All Common Ancestors in DNA studies will be much older than the Most Recent Common Ancestor, MRCA. Archaeology is also of limited use in telling us about the MRCA. For instance, even the MRCAs found in DNA studies will exist much more recently than the paleontologists might imagine looking at the fossil evidence - for the simple reason that they are merely "statistical artefacts" of no real importance to the overall story of human evolution. It would be totally wrong, for example, to imagine that the CA lived in an important or influential place or culture.
Genealogy, like my Royal Descents page, has the problem of only focusing on the ancestors for whom records survived, not all your ancestors. However, despite the sketchy records, it still provides strong support for the suggestions above from mathematical models and computer simulations of an MRCA in historical times. The huge number of proven descents of people from common European royal ancestry in historical times, when considered with the vastly greater number of descents that must exist but are not among the rare few that can be proven, suggest strongly that everyone, in the West at least, is descended from an MRCA in historical times.
Research suggests, for example, that everyone in the West is descended from Charlemagne, c. 800 AD. Quite likely the entire world is descended from the Ancient Egyptian royal house, c. 1600 BC. Quite likely almost everyone in the world descends from Confucius, c. 500 BC. These findings do not necessarily have any implications for our DNA. To descend from someone does not mean you necessarily inherit any DNA from them. Probably sixty percent or more of the American people are descended from kings. These findings do not conflict with the idea that most or all of your DNA is inherited from your local area. Even if you do descend from the Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, that does not mean this can be detected in your DNA. In fact, there may be no evidence at all of these findings in humanity's DNA. And yet the findings can still be true. The MRCA of the West is in historical times, quite possibly as recent as 1000 AD. We pick him as an example because he is the proven ancestor of some people alive today (for example, he is a proven ancestor of my children). Hence probably the ancestor of all people alive today. By the same reasoning, as well as from Continental/pre-Norman figures like Charlemagne, quite likely everyone in the West descends from figures like:
All humanity is interrelated many times over (contrary to what an endless procession of racists and tribalists throughout history have claimed). For any two humans in history or today, it is not a question of do they have a common ancestor, it is only a question of when was the most recent one. If we had full genealogical records for all history, then any 2 living people on earth could identify their closest relationship to each other. Or indeed any 2 living organisms on earth, since DNA probably did not evolve twice. One could also pick any famous person, alive or dead, and show your closest relationship to them. For they are all related. See pre-historical estimates for Common ancestors of all humans.
Showing descents from successive English monarchs is probably the most convenient way of tying the West together. You will be aware, of course, that later monarchs are descended many times over from earlier ones. So it allows us show short descents from the most recent monarch (rather than every descent needing a long tail going up to some very remote common ancestor). Some continental descents, though, may have to go all the way up to Charlemagne, from whom all English monarchs since William the Conqueror descend. Anthropologists claim everyone on earth is a 40th cousin" (i.e. any pair of 2 people can find at least 1 common ancestor since about 800 AD).
Royal Descents of famous people - Common ancestors of all humans
Syllabus http://donstonetech.com/Marshall_Kirk_on_Ancient_Genealogy_1995.pdf
http://humphrysfamilytree.com/ca.html
USING GENETICS:
http://humphrysfamilytree.com/ca.genetic.html
By following only the female-female or male-male paths, we ignore the billions of other ancestral paths we could follow, thus pushing the common ancestor much further back into the past. The MRCA in any line will be much more recent than Mitochondrial Eve or Y chromosome Adam. DNA studies have a problem in telling us about the MRCA. As [Chang, 1999] notes, the MRCA will be much more recent than any MRCA that could ever be found in DNA studies, even if one were to study the ancestry of every single gene. The reason being that we are considering people who are simply ancestors, through any route, whether or not any of their genes actually survived the journey. Conclusion - Within historical times, you have ancestors from whom you have no DNA. All Common Ancestors in DNA studies will be much older than the Most Recent Common Ancestor, MRCA. Archaeology is also of limited use in telling us about the MRCA. For instance, even the MRCAs found in DNA studies will exist much more recently than the paleontologists might imagine looking at the fossil evidence - for the simple reason that they are merely "statistical artefacts" of no real importance to the overall story of human evolution. It would be totally wrong, for example, to imagine that the CA lived in an important or influential place or culture.
Genealogy, like my Royal Descents page, has the problem of only focusing on the ancestors for whom records survived, not all your ancestors. However, despite the sketchy records, it still provides strong support for the suggestions above from mathematical models and computer simulations of an MRCA in historical times. The huge number of proven descents of people from common European royal ancestry in historical times, when considered with the vastly greater number of descents that must exist but are not among the rare few that can be proven, suggest strongly that everyone, in the West at least, is descended from an MRCA in historical times.
Research suggests, for example, that everyone in the West is descended from Charlemagne, c. 800 AD. Quite likely the entire world is descended from the Ancient Egyptian royal house, c. 1600 BC. Quite likely almost everyone in the world descends from Confucius, c. 500 BC. These findings do not necessarily have any implications for our DNA. To descend from someone does not mean you necessarily inherit any DNA from them. Probably sixty percent or more of the American people are descended from kings. These findings do not conflict with the idea that most or all of your DNA is inherited from your local area. Even if you do descend from the Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs, that does not mean this can be detected in your DNA. In fact, there may be no evidence at all of these findings in humanity's DNA. And yet the findings can still be true. The MRCA of the West is in historical times, quite possibly as recent as 1000 AD. We pick him as an example because he is the proven ancestor of some people alive today (for example, he is a proven ancestor of my children). Hence probably the ancestor of all people alive today. By the same reasoning, as well as from Continental/pre-Norman figures like Charlemagne, quite likely everyone in the West descends from figures like:
- The English/Saxon/pre-Royal Cerdic, c. 500 AD.
- The Irish/Celtic Niall of the Nine Hostages, c. 450 AD.
All humanity is interrelated many times over (contrary to what an endless procession of racists and tribalists throughout history have claimed). For any two humans in history or today, it is not a question of do they have a common ancestor, it is only a question of when was the most recent one. If we had full genealogical records for all history, then any 2 living people on earth could identify their closest relationship to each other. Or indeed any 2 living organisms on earth, since DNA probably did not evolve twice. One could also pick any famous person, alive or dead, and show your closest relationship to them. For they are all related. See pre-historical estimates for Common ancestors of all humans.
Showing descents from successive English monarchs is probably the most convenient way of tying the West together. You will be aware, of course, that later monarchs are descended many times over from earlier ones. So it allows us show short descents from the most recent monarch (rather than every descent needing a long tail going up to some very remote common ancestor). Some continental descents, though, may have to go all the way up to Charlemagne, from whom all English monarchs since William the Conqueror descend. Anthropologists claim everyone on earth is a 40th cousin" (i.e. any pair of 2 people can find at least 1 common ancestor since about 800 AD).
Royal Descents of famous people - Common ancestors of all humans
Syllabus http://donstonetech.com/Marshall_Kirk_on_Ancient_Genealogy_1995.pdf
In genealogy the term direct line refers to a relationship of one person to another in a direct line. A direct-line ancestor is someone from whom you descend in a direct line, parent to child, grandparent, great-grandparent, etc. Direct-line research refers to genealogy research focused on one's direct-line ancestors. By contrast, collateral line is a term used to describe family relationships not in the direct line of descent such as siblings, spouses and children of siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Researching direct-line ancestry is a common focus of genealogists and family history researchers. Proving a direct line of descent is generally required for membership in heritage societies. Collateral line research is also important for revealing clues to direct-line ancestors.
Blood alone moves the wheels of history.
~Martin Luther
All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood.
~Rainer Maria Rilke
Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?
~Carl Jung
Blood alone moves the wheels of history.
~Martin Luther
All the soarings of my mind begin in my blood.
~Rainer Maria Rilke
Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?
~Carl Jung
Exploring the Physical, Psychic, Symbolic and Spiritual Aspects of Being
Our ancestors are the foundation upon which we build our own lives. We stand upon their shoulders to see not only with our own eyes, but with theirs. We carry their hopes, their dreams and their prayers within our very souls. Our blood relations, or as author Raven Grimmasi calls it, the ‘Red River of Memory’, is within each of us. The Ancient Egyptians had the belief that our akhu or ancestors, once they passed to the Beautiful West, or underwent their 70-day long journey to that place and passed through the Halls of Ma’ati, were closer to the Netjeru or the Gods than we on Earth are. From the place where they passed to, they could more easily intercede on our behalf. Nearly everyone in antiquity did some practice of honoring their ancestors. From having household shrines, to visiting the tombs and having a family picnic outside of it in order to invite the departed to partake with them. There have been found letters to the dead as well. There has always been a necessary human desire to reconnect with those who did build the foundation upon which we stand.
The idea of venerating ancestors has been misconstrued by those outside the practice as “ancestor worship.” Honor and worship are, to my mind, not at all the same thing. Leaving tobacco or food out on a stone or putting up a shrine to our ancestors or akhu is not any more eyebrow raising or difficult than our ancestors having had a telephone table where they would sit with the telephone and chat during the times of the week when the phone rates were the cheapest to talk to family and relatives, about what’s been going on – sometimes for hours at a time. They would simply dial the number and the person would be there on the other end of the line. Passing to the West, as we call it, is a bit like that. Death, in spite of its inevitabilty and sense of never being able to see a person or interact with them again, does not necessarily have to be the case. The person who leaves this world of form is not necessarily gone, but has rather moved to a different address and changed their number. The forwarding contact information for that person, their essence in the regard that we interacted with them is still available and at the very least, still inside of us.
You don’t need to believe in the fact that the dead are not “gone” any more than a plant needs to actually ‘believe in’ photosynthesis in order to turn green. That connection does not leave in spite of death’s finality. Cultures the world over know that ancestors are there to assist and to guide us. Sometimes they can provide answers to us that we might not have considered otherwise.
According to Celtic scholar, Caitlin Matthews, we have ancestors that are closest to us by family and those who are ancestors to all of us, collectively of humanity. If we go back a mere seven generations, then we have over 200 people in just our immediate, or father / mother, grandfather / grandmother line. That does not take into account the aunts, uncles, cousins and others that are alongside. When you think about it, there is an army of people in our ancestral background to whom we can go for insight and guidance. Then there are the ancestors to whom all humanity has a kinship. These are the men and women who have changed the world and have inspired us over history. These persons have continued to live through the generations and veneration that they receive by those who have come after.
It is immaterial whether we can sign on to a site such as ancestry.com or anywhere else, or send off with a DNA sample to prove that somehow we have superior ancestors. Too many get caught up in the trap of what I call Blood Quantum B.S. There will always be those in the world who will ask you to “prove” or cite your lineage, or to produce some sort of documentation outside of the color of your skin or the shape of your features in order to ascertain that you are in the right spiritually, or that you are not trying to culturally misappropriate the ways of another Clan or Tribe or Nation. There is nothing wrong with saying,’Thank you” to the departed who have sometimes become part of the spirit of a specific place regardless of your heritage. Anyone who tells you otherwise, more often than not, is a bigot, most likely insecure in their own heritage and spirituality and should be ignored.
In my own practices, I leave offerings of food and water, and sometimes alcohol and tobacco for the akhu. Sharing a conversation and maybe leaving an offering of something that the particular ancestor liked in particular is perfectly fine. In Mexico on Dia de Los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, family members will share a meal with the departed, setting a place for them, or even venturing out into the cemetery to sing songs, stories or even food with them. The key, according to a close friend of mine, is “to make sure you have a good relationship with your dead people.” The spirits of the dead, whether you believe in ghosts or not, can make the life of those left behind easy or in some extreme cases, can cause headaches for those still amongst the living. Saying, “Hello,” offering water, or just remembering who they were to us and what they gave us is one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves as well as to them. Someday, all of us will be ancestors to the ones who come after us. It’s good to have such traditions in place and to keep those lines of communication open. http://fannyfae.com/2012/06/18/a-is-for-akhu-ancestors/
The idea of venerating ancestors has been misconstrued by those outside the practice as “ancestor worship.” Honor and worship are, to my mind, not at all the same thing. Leaving tobacco or food out on a stone or putting up a shrine to our ancestors or akhu is not any more eyebrow raising or difficult than our ancestors having had a telephone table where they would sit with the telephone and chat during the times of the week when the phone rates were the cheapest to talk to family and relatives, about what’s been going on – sometimes for hours at a time. They would simply dial the number and the person would be there on the other end of the line. Passing to the West, as we call it, is a bit like that. Death, in spite of its inevitabilty and sense of never being able to see a person or interact with them again, does not necessarily have to be the case. The person who leaves this world of form is not necessarily gone, but has rather moved to a different address and changed their number. The forwarding contact information for that person, their essence in the regard that we interacted with them is still available and at the very least, still inside of us.
You don’t need to believe in the fact that the dead are not “gone” any more than a plant needs to actually ‘believe in’ photosynthesis in order to turn green. That connection does not leave in spite of death’s finality. Cultures the world over know that ancestors are there to assist and to guide us. Sometimes they can provide answers to us that we might not have considered otherwise.
According to Celtic scholar, Caitlin Matthews, we have ancestors that are closest to us by family and those who are ancestors to all of us, collectively of humanity. If we go back a mere seven generations, then we have over 200 people in just our immediate, or father / mother, grandfather / grandmother line. That does not take into account the aunts, uncles, cousins and others that are alongside. When you think about it, there is an army of people in our ancestral background to whom we can go for insight and guidance. Then there are the ancestors to whom all humanity has a kinship. These are the men and women who have changed the world and have inspired us over history. These persons have continued to live through the generations and veneration that they receive by those who have come after.
It is immaterial whether we can sign on to a site such as ancestry.com or anywhere else, or send off with a DNA sample to prove that somehow we have superior ancestors. Too many get caught up in the trap of what I call Blood Quantum B.S. There will always be those in the world who will ask you to “prove” or cite your lineage, or to produce some sort of documentation outside of the color of your skin or the shape of your features in order to ascertain that you are in the right spiritually, or that you are not trying to culturally misappropriate the ways of another Clan or Tribe or Nation. There is nothing wrong with saying,’Thank you” to the departed who have sometimes become part of the spirit of a specific place regardless of your heritage. Anyone who tells you otherwise, more often than not, is a bigot, most likely insecure in their own heritage and spirituality and should be ignored.
In my own practices, I leave offerings of food and water, and sometimes alcohol and tobacco for the akhu. Sharing a conversation and maybe leaving an offering of something that the particular ancestor liked in particular is perfectly fine. In Mexico on Dia de Los Muertos or the Day of the Dead, family members will share a meal with the departed, setting a place for them, or even venturing out into the cemetery to sing songs, stories or even food with them. The key, according to a close friend of mine, is “to make sure you have a good relationship with your dead people.” The spirits of the dead, whether you believe in ghosts or not, can make the life of those left behind easy or in some extreme cases, can cause headaches for those still amongst the living. Saying, “Hello,” offering water, or just remembering who they were to us and what they gave us is one of the most important gifts we can give to ourselves as well as to them. Someday, all of us will be ancestors to the ones who come after us. It’s good to have such traditions in place and to keep those lines of communication open. http://fannyfae.com/2012/06/18/a-is-for-akhu-ancestors/
Deep DNA memory theories: Can we remember our ancestors’ lives?
http://epages.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/deep-dna-memory-theories-can-we-remember-our-ancestors%E2%80%99-lives/
By Steve Hammons
Research into the nature of DNA has revealed that this material within each cell of our bodies has important implications for who each one of us is, on many levels. In addition to determining our physical characteristics, our vulnerabilities to certain diseases, and maybe even our personality, is it possible that the DNA helix holds some of the important memories of our ancestors?
Theories that suggest that we can tap into the deep nature of DNA to uncover ancient memories are not new. In the 1960s, some psychological researchers claimed that there may be keys that unlock our DNA, revealing experiences of generations of our relatives who lived long before our present time.
In the 1988 movie ALTERED STATES starring William Hurt, the main character, a research scientist (Hurt) dives deep into his consciousness and genetic roots. In the film, he not only relives ancient experiences of his ancestors, he actually changes on the biological level.
This film was reportedly based on the real-life research of prominent psychologists and medical researchers of the 1960s and ‘70s who used isolation tanks and pharmacological triggers to access deep DNA memories and experiences, which they claimed were real.
These ideas are similar in a way to the concepts of past lives and reincarnation. However, this DNA-related line of thinking focuses on the previous lives within us that are based on genetic memories, encoded on the DNA helix within us.
BLUEPRINT, MEMORY BANK, INNER SPACE
The DNA within all living things is the blueprint for what each organism becomes, subject to the environmental influences that can also have significant effects. For humans, recent discoveries about DNA are rapidly changing our views about the importance of this material. DNA may affect us much more significantly than we imagined. And, it may hold keys to further discoveries.
It has long been known that our physical appearance is determined by the combination of DNA from our mother and father. Now, researchers are confirming that certain diseases and disorders have direct links to our DNA. Our health may be programmed to some degree by our genetic history.
Our IQ and aptitudes, musical skills, athletic ability, even our psychological and emotional traits may be significantly affected by the DNA within us. It has been demonstrated that experiences necessary for survival of a species are learned and that this knowledge is passed on to subsequent generations. In some cases this is mostly likely at least partially through DNA and the unconscious “instinct” that results. Even tiny and simple organisms learn crucial survival skills and pass these on.
For humans, with our relatively complex brain, feelings and memories, what other kinds of experiences might be saved in our DNA over the many thousands of years when our ancestors were born, lived and died? And, can they be accessed by us here and now?
OUR ANCESTORS WITHIN US
Because learning about situations that are necessary for survival of a species are probably saved as a kind of unconscious genetic memory, those fundamental human experiences could be deep down in our DNA somewhere.
Let’s say you have always had a significant fear of bears since you were a child. Even Smokey the Bear and other friendly Hollywood bears could not convince you to regard bears with anything but anxiety and fearful feelings.
Maybe it is possible that deep, deep within your DNA memory banks, your great-great-great-great-grandmother or great-great-great-great-grandfather had a very bad experience with a bear two hundred years ago. Maybe they saw someone be killed by a bear. Maybe they had to climb a tree to save themselves from being eaten by a bear.
Would a life-changing experience like this, resulting in knowledge very useful for survival, possibly be encoded in the DNA and passed on to future generations and you? If there were a way to go deep down into your mind and consciousness, and into your genetic history, maybe through some kind of altered state like a dream or through some kind of trigger, could you recall and experience that event?
Could you relive and re-experience in some way great-great-great-great grandma’s or grandpa’s harrowing and hair-raising close encounter with a hungry bear two hundred years ago? What about some similar “peak experience” or life-changing event of an ancient relative five hundred years ago? What about five thousand years ago? After all, we know that at least some part of that history is inside all of us, right in the DNA in every cell of our body, right now.
WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW
Scientific researchers are gradually uncovering the secrets of our DNA. They have identified the functions of and relationships between some of this material. Many genes remain a mystery and their purpose is unknown.
Sometimes, these mystery genes are called “junk DNA.” According to some researchers, this may be an inaccurate label. Because the purpose and nature of this DNA material is not understood, it certainly does not mean it is useless junk.
As is often the case in scientific discovery, the more we know, the more we realize how little we know. Each question answered can raise many new questions. For some, our human overconfidence and even arrogance can sometimes trick us into believing that we know all of the answers. However, in the field of genetics research, there seems to be so much that is not known, that for an open-minded person, these kinds of theories about deep DNA memories cannot be ruled-out.
To conduct our own personal research and to find out for ourselves, maybe all we need to do is listen to our inner DNA. Listen to the voices, feelings, sights and experiences of our ancestors. Their lives, joys and fears are within us. In that way, they are with us always.
http://epages.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/deep-dna-memory-theories-can-we-remember-our-ancestors%E2%80%99-lives/
By Steve Hammons
Research into the nature of DNA has revealed that this material within each cell of our bodies has important implications for who each one of us is, on many levels. In addition to determining our physical characteristics, our vulnerabilities to certain diseases, and maybe even our personality, is it possible that the DNA helix holds some of the important memories of our ancestors?
Theories that suggest that we can tap into the deep nature of DNA to uncover ancient memories are not new. In the 1960s, some psychological researchers claimed that there may be keys that unlock our DNA, revealing experiences of generations of our relatives who lived long before our present time.
In the 1988 movie ALTERED STATES starring William Hurt, the main character, a research scientist (Hurt) dives deep into his consciousness and genetic roots. In the film, he not only relives ancient experiences of his ancestors, he actually changes on the biological level.
This film was reportedly based on the real-life research of prominent psychologists and medical researchers of the 1960s and ‘70s who used isolation tanks and pharmacological triggers to access deep DNA memories and experiences, which they claimed were real.
These ideas are similar in a way to the concepts of past lives and reincarnation. However, this DNA-related line of thinking focuses on the previous lives within us that are based on genetic memories, encoded on the DNA helix within us.
BLUEPRINT, MEMORY BANK, INNER SPACE
The DNA within all living things is the blueprint for what each organism becomes, subject to the environmental influences that can also have significant effects. For humans, recent discoveries about DNA are rapidly changing our views about the importance of this material. DNA may affect us much more significantly than we imagined. And, it may hold keys to further discoveries.
It has long been known that our physical appearance is determined by the combination of DNA from our mother and father. Now, researchers are confirming that certain diseases and disorders have direct links to our DNA. Our health may be programmed to some degree by our genetic history.
Our IQ and aptitudes, musical skills, athletic ability, even our psychological and emotional traits may be significantly affected by the DNA within us. It has been demonstrated that experiences necessary for survival of a species are learned and that this knowledge is passed on to subsequent generations. In some cases this is mostly likely at least partially through DNA and the unconscious “instinct” that results. Even tiny and simple organisms learn crucial survival skills and pass these on.
For humans, with our relatively complex brain, feelings and memories, what other kinds of experiences might be saved in our DNA over the many thousands of years when our ancestors were born, lived and died? And, can they be accessed by us here and now?
OUR ANCESTORS WITHIN US
Because learning about situations that are necessary for survival of a species are probably saved as a kind of unconscious genetic memory, those fundamental human experiences could be deep down in our DNA somewhere.
Let’s say you have always had a significant fear of bears since you were a child. Even Smokey the Bear and other friendly Hollywood bears could not convince you to regard bears with anything but anxiety and fearful feelings.
Maybe it is possible that deep, deep within your DNA memory banks, your great-great-great-great-grandmother or great-great-great-great-grandfather had a very bad experience with a bear two hundred years ago. Maybe they saw someone be killed by a bear. Maybe they had to climb a tree to save themselves from being eaten by a bear.
Would a life-changing experience like this, resulting in knowledge very useful for survival, possibly be encoded in the DNA and passed on to future generations and you? If there were a way to go deep down into your mind and consciousness, and into your genetic history, maybe through some kind of altered state like a dream or through some kind of trigger, could you recall and experience that event?
Could you relive and re-experience in some way great-great-great-great grandma’s or grandpa’s harrowing and hair-raising close encounter with a hungry bear two hundred years ago? What about some similar “peak experience” or life-changing event of an ancient relative five hundred years ago? What about five thousand years ago? After all, we know that at least some part of that history is inside all of us, right in the DNA in every cell of our body, right now.
WHAT WE KNOW AND DON’T KNOW
Scientific researchers are gradually uncovering the secrets of our DNA. They have identified the functions of and relationships between some of this material. Many genes remain a mystery and their purpose is unknown.
Sometimes, these mystery genes are called “junk DNA.” According to some researchers, this may be an inaccurate label. Because the purpose and nature of this DNA material is not understood, it certainly does not mean it is useless junk.
As is often the case in scientific discovery, the more we know, the more we realize how little we know. Each question answered can raise many new questions. For some, our human overconfidence and even arrogance can sometimes trick us into believing that we know all of the answers. However, in the field of genetics research, there seems to be so much that is not known, that for an open-minded person, these kinds of theories about deep DNA memories cannot be ruled-out.
To conduct our own personal research and to find out for ourselves, maybe all we need to do is listen to our inner DNA. Listen to the voices, feelings, sights and experiences of our ancestors. Their lives, joys and fears are within us. In that way, they are with us always.
The term Desposyni (from the Greek δεσπόσυνοι, plural of δεσπόσυνος, meaning "of or belonging to the master or lord" refers to blood relatives of Jesus. The term was coined by Sextus Julius Africanus, a writer of the early 3rd century. Scholars argue that Jesus' relatives held positions of special honor in the Early Christian Church. Christians of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox traditions, as well as most Anglicans and some followers of Lutheranism, reject the idea that Jesus had blood siblings, as their churches hold the doctrine of the Virgin Mary's Perpetual Virginity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desposyni
The closely related word (despotes) meaning lord, master, or ship owner is commonly used of God, human slave-masters, and of Jesus in the reading Luke 13:25 found in Papyrus 75, in Jude 1:4, and possibly in 2nd Peter 2:1.
In Ebionite belief, the desposyni included his mother Mary, his father Joseph, his unnamed sisters, and his brothers James the Just, Joses, Simon and Jude; in modern mainstream Christian belief, Mary is counted as a blood relative, Joseph only as a foster father and the rest as half brothers or cousins.
If Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, a controversial belief which was held by the Gnostic sects, and which is indirectly corroborated by the apocryphal Gospel of Philip, their child or children would have been the most revered among the desposyni.
According to author Malachi Martin, every early community of Judean followers of Jesus, whether it was Nazarene or Ebionite, was governed by a desposynos as a patriarch, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus' family but no one was ever named after him.
As some asserted their descent from both king David and the high priest Aaron, all male desposyni could have laid claim to both the throne and the office of high priest of Jerusalem.
However, the Roman occupation of Palestine, with the collaboration of the Judean establishment, made any attempt by a desposynos to rise to or seize political and religious power impossible or limited in scope.
Historical Accounts
Hegesippus (c.110-c.180) wrote five books of Commentaries on the Acts of the Church. They are now lost, but a few fragments are quoted by Eusebius in Historia Ecclesiae, 3.20. Among them is the following relation, ascribed to the reign of Domitian (81-96):
"...There still survived of the kindred of the Lord the grandsons of Judas, who according to the flesh was called his brother. These were informed against, as belonging to the family of David, and Evocatus brought them before Domitian Caesar: for that emperor dreaded the advent of Christ, as Herod had done."
So he asked them whether they were of the family of David; and they confessed they were. Next he asked them what property they had, or how much money they possessed. They both replied that they had only 9000 denaria between them, each of them owning half that sum; but even this they said they did not possess in cash, but as the estimated value of some land, consisting of thirty-nine plethra only, out of which they had to pay the dues, and that they supported themselves by their own labour. And then they began to hold out their hands, exhibiting, as proof of their manual labour, the roughness of their skin, and the corns raised on their hands by constant work."
Being then asked concerning Christ and His kingdom, what was its nature, and when and where it was to appear, they returned answer that it was not of this world, nor of the earth, but belonging to the sphere of heaven and angels, and would make its appearance at the end of time, when He shall come in glory, and judge living and dead, and render to every one according to the course of his life."
Thereupon Domitian passed no condemnation upon them, but treated them with contempt, as too mean for notice, and let them go free. At the same time he issued a command, and put a stop to the persecution against the Church."
When they were released they became leaders of the churches, as was natural in the case of those who were at once martyrs and of the kindred of the Lord. And, after the establishment of peace to the Church, their lives were prolonged to the reign of Trajan."
In "The Ecclesiastical History", Eusebius records an account by Julianus Africanus recorded the following concerning the family:
"...For the relatives of our Lord according to the flesh, whether with the desire of boasting or simply wishing to state the fact, in either case truly, have banded down the following account...But as there had been kept in the archives up to that time the genealogies of the Hebrews as well as of those who traced their lineage back to proselytes, such as Achior the Ammonite and Ruth the Moabitess, and to those who were mingled with the Israelites and came out of Egypt with them, Herod, inasmuch as the lineage of the Israelites contributed nothing to his advantage, and since he was goaded with the consciousness of his own ignoble extraction, burned all the genealogical records, thinking that he might appear of noble origin if no one else were able, from the public registers, to trace back his lineage to the patriarchs or proselytes and to those mingled with them, who were called Georae."
"...A few of the careful, however, having obtained private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already mentioned, called Desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour.
Coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, into other parts of the world, they drew the aforesaid genealogy from memory and from the book of daily records as faithfully as possible. [Eusebius, History Section 1, Chapter 7]
The Desposyni and the Pope
The controversial Irish priest Malachi Martin noted in "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Church" that:
"...A meeting between Sylvester (Pope Silvester I) and the Jewish Christian leaders took place in 318....The vital interview was not, as far as we know, recorded, but the issues were very well known, and it is probable the Joses, the oldest of the Christian Jews, spoke on behalf of the desposyni and the rest."
"...That most hallowed name, desposyni, had been respected by all believers in the first century and a half of Christian history. The word literally meant, in Greek, "belonging to the Lord." It was reserved uniquely for Jesus' blood relatives. Every part of the ancient Jewish Christian church had always been governed by a desposynos, and each of them carried one of the names traditional in Jesus' family---Zachary, Joseph, John, James, Joses, Simeon, Matthias, and so on. But no one was ever called Jesus.
Neither Sylvester nor any of the thirty-two popes before him, nor those succeeding him, ever emphasized that there were at least three well-known and authentic lines of legitimate blood descent from Jesus' own family... "
"...The Desposyni demanded that Sylvester, who now had Roman patronage, revoke his confirmation of the authority of the Greek Christian bishops at Jerusalem, in Antioch, in Ephesus, and in Alexandria, and to name desposynos bishops to take their place. They asked that the practice of sending cash to Jerusalem as the mother church be resumed...
These blood relatives of Christ demanded the reintroduction of the Law, which included the Sabbath and the Holy Day system of Feasts and New Moons of the Bible. Sylvester dismissed their claims and said that, from now on, the mother church was in Rome and he insisted they accept the Greek bishops to lead them."
"...This was the last known dialogue with the Sabbath-keeping church in the east led by the disciples who were descended from blood relatives of Jesus the Messiah."
Extended Family
Other known relatives of Jesus include Simeon, the second bishop of Jerusalem, who was the son of Joseph's brother Clopas (mentioned by Eusebius, H.E. 3.11,32), and three Nestorian bishops of Seleucia on the Tigris in the 3rd century according to the 13th-century Syrian historian, Gregory Barhebraeus.
http://www.thenazareneway.com/desposyni.htm
HEALING ANCESTORS: We inherit far more from our ancestors than our hair and eye color and our tendency to develop diabetes or heart disease. Along with gifts like athletic and artistic ability, we may receive certain mental and emotional problems. Since there is no hard line between the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual, from a metaphysical perspective, this makes sense. It’s possible to inherit all sorts of things from our ancestors, from a tendency toward violence, laziness, depression and despair to addictions, phobias, and emotional problems. If you step back and view the generations as a river of life, it’s easy to conceptualize how there is a never ending flow of energy from our ancestors down to us, which will continue on down to our descendants.
We all hold certain beliefs that we are not consciously aware of. In fact, we may think we believe one thing while our behavior tells an entirely different story. These beliefs are programmed into our subconscious minds and stored in our cellular memory. Some of these we picked up from early childhood; some were developed in past lives; some we absorbed as if by osmosis from what we sensed the people around us believed; some we inherited from our ancestors through our DNA. We have also inherited survival beliefs and instincts from our ancestors, so we may instinctively react to experiences in a way that would have been more appropriate in a different time and place. Since nearly everything we do and assume arises from the subconscious, it is very powerful to become conscious of what we really believe and work on cultivating the beliefs we truly desire to hold on this level. This is the power underlying hypnotherapy.
According to many cultures and shamanic traditions, we can not only inherit the unresolved wounds and issues of our ancestors, we can also heal them. This is because time is not actually linear. If we step outside of time to connect with those ancestors and help them to heal, we actually change our own present and future. (Since time is not linear, it is possible for those ancestors to be reincarnated and for us to connect with them anyway.) If we view moments as places, we can perhaps imagine that we have only to travel upstream to where the problem occurred to be able to work on addressing and resolving it, which will change what flows down the line to us.
Sometimes it is obvious that a family pattern is being repeated. For example, if you struggle with alcoholism and you come from a long line of alcoholics, you are clearly dealing with something you’ve inherited. Sometimes, however, we have no idea that we are playing out an unconscious program we’ve inherited. Often, it’s only when everything else has been tried that a person ends up in the hands of a healer who discovers an ancestral connection during the healing process. Of course, it is important not to assume that an ancestral pattern is the cause of a problem, for it may just as well be rooted in a past or past life experience. Spirit attachment could also be involved. Since we tend to reincarnate in the same family lines, we could even be the ancestor causing the problem!
If you suspect that you are dealing with family karma or ancestral wounds, it’s a good idea to find a healer who is experienced in such matters. A hypnotherapist will ask your own higher self/subconscious mind what’s going on and what you need in order to create what you want in your life. Some healers may use kinesiology testing or dowsing to determine the root problem. A good psychic may be able to pick up on what’s happening and what you need to do to resolve it.
There are a few things you can do on your own. There are many cultures that build altars devoted to their ancestors. If you are feeling some tension or conflict with your family line, you might use regular prayer or meditation in front of a family altar as a ritual to help you begin to consciously work through your familial karmic inheritance. You can also send healing back to your ancestors much as you would send distant healing to a family member living now. I recommend meditating on whatever it is you are struggling with and sending healing to whatever comes to you, whether it’s ancestral in nature or not. Also, when we keep experiences secret, we actually give those experiences power over us. If there are any family secrets you’re holding close to your chest, you may want to unburden yourself of the power they hold over you by bringing them out into the open where you can face and deal with them.
Finally, it’s important to remember that what we inherit is a tendency, not a certainty. What we are unconscious of controls us; what we become conscious of, we can control. In my view, the most powerful way to free yourself of a negative outside influence, whether that influence comes from the people you’re descended from, the people you are living with now, or the circumstances you find yourself in, is to consciously choose to create what you want in your life. This is the power underlying personal and spiritual growth. It’s the power of working with the subconscious mind in order to cultivate positive beliefs.
Biology is not destiny: you have the power and freedom to take whatever you’ve been given and mold it into whatever you desire. The key is to bring whatever is happening up into the light where you can see it clearly, for then you’ll have the power to transform it.
We all hold certain beliefs that we are not consciously aware of. In fact, we may think we believe one thing while our behavior tells an entirely different story. These beliefs are programmed into our subconscious minds and stored in our cellular memory. Some of these we picked up from early childhood; some were developed in past lives; some we absorbed as if by osmosis from what we sensed the people around us believed; some we inherited from our ancestors through our DNA. We have also inherited survival beliefs and instincts from our ancestors, so we may instinctively react to experiences in a way that would have been more appropriate in a different time and place. Since nearly everything we do and assume arises from the subconscious, it is very powerful to become conscious of what we really believe and work on cultivating the beliefs we truly desire to hold on this level. This is the power underlying hypnotherapy.
According to many cultures and shamanic traditions, we can not only inherit the unresolved wounds and issues of our ancestors, we can also heal them. This is because time is not actually linear. If we step outside of time to connect with those ancestors and help them to heal, we actually change our own present and future. (Since time is not linear, it is possible for those ancestors to be reincarnated and for us to connect with them anyway.) If we view moments as places, we can perhaps imagine that we have only to travel upstream to where the problem occurred to be able to work on addressing and resolving it, which will change what flows down the line to us.
Sometimes it is obvious that a family pattern is being repeated. For example, if you struggle with alcoholism and you come from a long line of alcoholics, you are clearly dealing with something you’ve inherited. Sometimes, however, we have no idea that we are playing out an unconscious program we’ve inherited. Often, it’s only when everything else has been tried that a person ends up in the hands of a healer who discovers an ancestral connection during the healing process. Of course, it is important not to assume that an ancestral pattern is the cause of a problem, for it may just as well be rooted in a past or past life experience. Spirit attachment could also be involved. Since we tend to reincarnate in the same family lines, we could even be the ancestor causing the problem!
If you suspect that you are dealing with family karma or ancestral wounds, it’s a good idea to find a healer who is experienced in such matters. A hypnotherapist will ask your own higher self/subconscious mind what’s going on and what you need in order to create what you want in your life. Some healers may use kinesiology testing or dowsing to determine the root problem. A good psychic may be able to pick up on what’s happening and what you need to do to resolve it.
There are a few things you can do on your own. There are many cultures that build altars devoted to their ancestors. If you are feeling some tension or conflict with your family line, you might use regular prayer or meditation in front of a family altar as a ritual to help you begin to consciously work through your familial karmic inheritance. You can also send healing back to your ancestors much as you would send distant healing to a family member living now. I recommend meditating on whatever it is you are struggling with and sending healing to whatever comes to you, whether it’s ancestral in nature or not. Also, when we keep experiences secret, we actually give those experiences power over us. If there are any family secrets you’re holding close to your chest, you may want to unburden yourself of the power they hold over you by bringing them out into the open where you can face and deal with them.
Finally, it’s important to remember that what we inherit is a tendency, not a certainty. What we are unconscious of controls us; what we become conscious of, we can control. In my view, the most powerful way to free yourself of a negative outside influence, whether that influence comes from the people you’re descended from, the people you are living with now, or the circumstances you find yourself in, is to consciously choose to create what you want in your life. This is the power underlying personal and spiritual growth. It’s the power of working with the subconscious mind in order to cultivate positive beliefs.
Biology is not destiny: you have the power and freedom to take whatever you’ve been given and mold it into whatever you desire. The key is to bring whatever is happening up into the light where you can see it clearly, for then you’ll have the power to transform it.
To the Merovingians, the bee was a most hallowed creature. A sacred emblem of Egyptian royalty, it became a symbol of Wisdom. Some 300 small golden bees were founded stitched to the cloak of Childeric I (son of Meroveus) when his grave was unearthed in 1653. Napoleon had these attached to his own coronation robe in 1804. He claimed this right by virtue of his descent from James de Rohan-Stuardo, the natural son (legitimized in 1667) of Charles II Stuart of Britain by Marguerite, Duchesse de Rohan. The Stuarts in turn were entitled to this distinction because they, and their related Counts of Brittany, were descended from Clodion’s brother Fredemundus – thus (akin to the Merovingians) they were equally in descent from the Fisher Kings through Faramund. The Merovingian bee was adopted by the exiled Stuarts in Europe, and engraved bees are still to be seen on some Jacobite glassware.”
“ …the Merovingian kings, from their founder Merovee to Clovis (who converted to Christianity in 496) were ‘pagan kings of the cult of Diana’.” The bees, which are a recurring symbol of the Merovingians are, in the Typhonian Tradition, represented frequently as the humming or buzzing sound that occurs before the appearance of the Great Old Ones or “beings” proper to this tradition.
“ …the Merovingian kings, from their founder Merovee to Clovis (who converted to Christianity in 496) were ‘pagan kings of the cult of Diana’.” The bees, which are a recurring symbol of the Merovingians are, in the Typhonian Tradition, represented frequently as the humming or buzzing sound that occurs before the appearance of the Great Old Ones or “beings” proper to this tradition.
THE DRAKAINA SKYTHIA
was the first ruler of the land of Skythia. She was a woman from the waist up with the serpentine tail of a Drakon in place of legs. When Herakles visited her realm leading the cattle of Geryon, she stole some of the herd and insisted the hero mate with her before she would return them.
The Skythian Drakaina was probably identified with the monster Ekhidna, who was sometimes placed in the Skythian land of Arimoi. The Drakaina's story is undoubtedly a Greek translation of a Skythian myth. Her serpentine form, the birthing of the first men, and the title "Hora" (Season) all indicate that she was a native earth-goddess.
PARENTS Perhaps GAIA, though nowhere stated
OFFSPRING [1] SKYTHES, AGATHYRSOS, GELONOS (by Herakles) (Herodotus 4.9.1)
[2] KOLAXES (by Zeus) (Valerius Flaccus 6.48) ENCYCLOPEDIA
ECHIDNA (Echidna). The Greeks on the Euxine conceived her to have lived in Scythia. When Heracles, they said, carried away the oxen of Geryones, he also visited the country of the Scythians, which was then still a desert. Once while he was asleep there, his horses suddenly disappeared, and when he woke and wandered about in search of them, he came into the country of Hylaea. He there found the monster Echidna in a cave. When he asked whether she knew anything about his horses, she answered, that they were in her own possession, but that she would not give them up, unless lie would consent to stay with her for a time. Heracles complied with the request, and became by her the father of Agathyrsus, Gelonus, and Scythes. The last of then became king of the Scythians, according to his father's arrangement, because he was the only one among the three brothers that was able to manage the bow which Heracles had left behind, and to use his father's girdle. (Herod. iv. 8-10.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
Herodotus, Histories 4. 9. 1 ff (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) :
[N.B. Herodotus is probably translating a story from Scythian mythology.]
"Herakles, driving the cattle of Geryones, came to this land [Skythia], which was then desolate, but is now inhabited by the Skythians . . . Herakles came from there [the home of Geryon] to the country now called Skythia, where, encountering wintry and frosty weather, he drew his lion's skin over him and fell asleep, and while he slept his mares, which were grazing yoked to the chariot, were spirited away by divine fortune.
When Herakles awoke, he searched for them, visiting every part of the country, until at last he came to the land called the Hylaien (Woodland), and there he found in a cave a creature of double form [the Skythian Drakaina] that was half maiden and half serpent (ekhidna); above the buttocks she was a woman, below them a snake. When he saw her he was astonished, and asked her if she had seen his mares straying; she said that she had them, and would not return them to him before he had intercourse with her; Herakles did, in hope of this reward. But though he was anxious to take the horses and go, she delayed returning them, so that she might have Herakles with her for as long as possible; at last she gave them back, telling him, `These mares came, and I kept them safe here for you, and you have paid me for keeping them, for I have three sons by you. Now tell me what I am to do when they are grown up : shall I keep them here, since I am queen of this country, or shall I send them away to you?' Thus she inquired, and then (it is said) Herakles answered : `When you see the boys are grown up, do as follows and you will do rightly: whichever of them you see bending this bow and wearing this belt so, make him an inhabitant of this land; but whoever falls short of these accomplishments that I require, send him away out of the country. Do so and you shall yourself have comfort, and my will shall be done.' So he drew one of his bows (for until then Herakles always carried two), and showed her the belt, and gave her the bow and the belt, that had a golden vessel on the end of its clasp; and, having given them, he departed. But when the sons born to her were grown men, she gave them names, calling one of them Agathyrsos and the next Gelonos and the youngest Skythes; furthermore, remembering the instructions, she did as she was told. Two of her sons, Agathyrsos and Gelonos, were cast out by their mother and left the country, unable to fulfill the requirements set; but Skythes, the youngest, fulfilled them and so stayed in the land. From Skythes son of Herakles comes the whole line of the kings of Skythia; and it is because of the vessel that the Skythians carry vessels on their belts to this day. This alone his mother did for Skythes. This is what the Greek dwellers in Pontus say."
Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 6. 48 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"Next [to the war between Aeetes and his brother Perses] came Bislata’s legion and Colaxes its chief, himself too of the seed of gods, begotten by Jupiter [Zeus] himself in Scythian land by green Myrace and the mouths of Tibisis, enchanted, if the tale is worthy of belief, by a Nympha’s half-human body nor afraid of her twin snakes [the had twin serpent-tails in place of legs]. The whole troop bears Jove’s emblem, their targes embossed with the darting fires of the triple thunderbolt . . . Thereon had he himself joined serpents of gold, in likeness of Hora (Season) his mother; from either hand did the snakes’ tongues meet, darting wounds upon a shapely gem."
was the first ruler of the land of Skythia. She was a woman from the waist up with the serpentine tail of a Drakon in place of legs. When Herakles visited her realm leading the cattle of Geryon, she stole some of the herd and insisted the hero mate with her before she would return them.
The Skythian Drakaina was probably identified with the monster Ekhidna, who was sometimes placed in the Skythian land of Arimoi. The Drakaina's story is undoubtedly a Greek translation of a Skythian myth. Her serpentine form, the birthing of the first men, and the title "Hora" (Season) all indicate that she was a native earth-goddess.
PARENTS Perhaps GAIA, though nowhere stated
OFFSPRING [1] SKYTHES, AGATHYRSOS, GELONOS (by Herakles) (Herodotus 4.9.1)
[2] KOLAXES (by Zeus) (Valerius Flaccus 6.48) ENCYCLOPEDIA
ECHIDNA (Echidna). The Greeks on the Euxine conceived her to have lived in Scythia. When Heracles, they said, carried away the oxen of Geryones, he also visited the country of the Scythians, which was then still a desert. Once while he was asleep there, his horses suddenly disappeared, and when he woke and wandered about in search of them, he came into the country of Hylaea. He there found the monster Echidna in a cave. When he asked whether she knew anything about his horses, she answered, that they were in her own possession, but that she would not give them up, unless lie would consent to stay with her for a time. Heracles complied with the request, and became by her the father of Agathyrsus, Gelonus, and Scythes. The last of then became king of the Scythians, according to his father's arrangement, because he was the only one among the three brothers that was able to manage the bow which Heracles had left behind, and to use his father's girdle. (Herod. iv. 8-10.)
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
Herodotus, Histories 4. 9. 1 ff (trans. Godley) (Greek historian C5th B.C.) :
[N.B. Herodotus is probably translating a story from Scythian mythology.]
"Herakles, driving the cattle of Geryones, came to this land [Skythia], which was then desolate, but is now inhabited by the Skythians . . . Herakles came from there [the home of Geryon] to the country now called Skythia, where, encountering wintry and frosty weather, he drew his lion's skin over him and fell asleep, and while he slept his mares, which were grazing yoked to the chariot, were spirited away by divine fortune.
When Herakles awoke, he searched for them, visiting every part of the country, until at last he came to the land called the Hylaien (Woodland), and there he found in a cave a creature of double form [the Skythian Drakaina] that was half maiden and half serpent (ekhidna); above the buttocks she was a woman, below them a snake. When he saw her he was astonished, and asked her if she had seen his mares straying; she said that she had them, and would not return them to him before he had intercourse with her; Herakles did, in hope of this reward. But though he was anxious to take the horses and go, she delayed returning them, so that she might have Herakles with her for as long as possible; at last she gave them back, telling him, `These mares came, and I kept them safe here for you, and you have paid me for keeping them, for I have three sons by you. Now tell me what I am to do when they are grown up : shall I keep them here, since I am queen of this country, or shall I send them away to you?' Thus she inquired, and then (it is said) Herakles answered : `When you see the boys are grown up, do as follows and you will do rightly: whichever of them you see bending this bow and wearing this belt so, make him an inhabitant of this land; but whoever falls short of these accomplishments that I require, send him away out of the country. Do so and you shall yourself have comfort, and my will shall be done.' So he drew one of his bows (for until then Herakles always carried two), and showed her the belt, and gave her the bow and the belt, that had a golden vessel on the end of its clasp; and, having given them, he departed. But when the sons born to her were grown men, she gave them names, calling one of them Agathyrsos and the next Gelonos and the youngest Skythes; furthermore, remembering the instructions, she did as she was told. Two of her sons, Agathyrsos and Gelonos, were cast out by their mother and left the country, unable to fulfill the requirements set; but Skythes, the youngest, fulfilled them and so stayed in the land. From Skythes son of Herakles comes the whole line of the kings of Skythia; and it is because of the vessel that the Skythians carry vessels on their belts to this day. This alone his mother did for Skythes. This is what the Greek dwellers in Pontus say."
Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 6. 48 ff (trans. Mozley) (Roman epic C1st A.D.) :
"Next [to the war between Aeetes and his brother Perses] came Bislata’s legion and Colaxes its chief, himself too of the seed of gods, begotten by Jupiter [Zeus] himself in Scythian land by green Myrace and the mouths of Tibisis, enchanted, if the tale is worthy of belief, by a Nympha’s half-human body nor afraid of her twin snakes [the had twin serpent-tails in place of legs]. The whole troop bears Jove’s emblem, their targes embossed with the darting fires of the triple thunderbolt . . . Thereon had he himself joined serpents of gold, in likeness of Hora (Season) his mother; from either hand did the snakes’ tongues meet, darting wounds upon a shapely gem."
- Herodotus, Histories - Greek History C5th B.C.
- Valerius Flaccus, The Argonautica - Latin Epic C1st A.D.
Boulet, Spider Grandmother
(c)2013; All Rights Reserved, Iona Miller, Sangreality Trust
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Fair Use Notice
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.