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Danes to be tested for Viking ancestry

Published 29.09.08 16:00

Researchers are to run genetic tests on Scandinavians to find a link to Viking descendants in England A group of international researchers will carry out genetic tests on Danes, Norwegians and Swedes to trace the connection between Scandinavia and Viking...

The study, lead by Prof. Mark Jobling of the University of Leicester, is a continuation of a previous study carried out in Wirral, in the northeast of England.

The earlier study by Prof. Stephen Harding from the University of Nottingham found that half of the 150 test subjects from Wirral had Norwegian ancestry.

The continuation of the study will extend the test area to most of northeastern England.

Harding is part of the new research team and told The Copenhagen Post that the new study aims to create a larger Scandinavian database to compare the common Viking ancestry.

‘We would like to sample areas, such as Jutland and Zealand, where men can prove that their families have belonged to the area for hundreds of years.’

Harding explained that because of population migration it was necessary to create strict criteria for inclusion in the study.

‘For example, we had a list of names of people from the Wirral area that paid taxes during the time of Henry VIII. The test subjects had to have the same surname as one of these families.’

The researchers have run into some problems because of the different traditions in England and Scandinavia.

‘It has been the norm for the family surname to be passed from father to son for generations in England, whereas in many areas of Scandinavia this is quite a recent development,’ said Harding.

The researchers will also examine the genetic history of men from southern Sweden and from Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim in Norway.

Danes to be tested for Viking ancestry
 
Researchers are to run genetic tests on Scandinavians to find a link to Viking descendants in England
 
A group of international researchers will carry out genetic tests on Danes, Norwegians and Swedes to trace the connection between Scandinavia and Viking descendants in northeast England.

The study, lead by Prof. Mark Jobling of the University of Leicester, is a continuation of a previous study carried out in Wirral, in the northeast of England.

The earlier study by Prof. Stephen Harding from the University of Nottingham found that half of the 150 test subjects from Wirral had Norwegian ancestry.

The continuation of the study will extend the test area to most of northeastern England.

Harding is part of the new research team and told The Copenhagen Post that the new study aims to create a larger Scandinavian database to compare the common Viking ancestry.

‘We would like to sample areas, such as Jutland and Zealand, where men can prove that their families have belonged to the area for hundreds of years.’

Harding explained that because of population migration it was necessary to create strict criteria for inclusion in the study.

‘For example, we had a list of names of people from the Wirral area that paid taxes during the time of Henry VIII. The test subjects had to have the same surname as one of these families.’

The researchers have run into some problems because of the different traditions in England and Scandinavia.

‘It has been the norm for the family surname to be passed from father to son for generations in England, whereas in many areas of Scandinavia this is quite a recent development,’ said Harding.

The researchers will also examine the genetic history of men from southern Sweden and from Stavanger, Bergen and Trondheim in Norway.

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The Copenhagen Post