Our Ancestors E-Book

Rowena Strittmatter

• Herausgeber: tredition
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 151

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

A compilation of stories surrounding Norse Mythology, the Vikings, the Normans and the Anglo Saxons. A description of how one can trace their ancestors back in history.

Leseprobe

Rowena Strittmatter

Our Ancestors

A Journey through the Generations

From Britain to the continent and back again

Copyright © 2016 Rowena Strittmatter

Publisher: tredition, Hamburg, Germany

ISBN

Paperback:

978-3-7323-8141-8

Hardcover:

978-3-7323-8142-5

eBook:

978-3-7323-8143-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

For my family

Preface

Kings and queens, knights in shining armour, smugglers, a dragon-slayer, a giant and even someone with a blue tooth. Who could wish for more fascinating ancestors?

Genealogy research is a compelling, in fact, quite obsessive hobby. 40 years ago, anyone tracing their roots, would need to visit the parish where their ancestor came from and look at the parish records, seeking confirmation. Parish records in England sometimes went back to the 15th century. The clergymen were usually some of the few people who, in those days, could read and write. However the language was Latin and spelling differed considerably. After the 16th century official BMD (Birth, Marriage, Death) indexes existed in England. In 1841 England started to comprise censuses at regular intervals. These listed who was living at an address, their relationship to one another, their ages and occupations. All the above information has now been digitalized. The more you know about your ancestor, the easier it is to sift through this information and find your roots. There are also software programmes available which may help you, or you can join internet companies such as Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com, Familyroots.com etc.

Most ancestry research is impossible before this time. However, noble or important families often kept their own records, for example in form of noting their marriages and children in their family bible. Or, such families were important enough to be noted in official historical records.

Part two is an account of how I traced my father’s male ancestors back to the Isle of Man. There I came across one such family, the Christians, who proved to become a major breakthrough in my research.

Finally I arrived back at the 5th century. Now, as all serious historians will know, this is an age where history becomes mythology. Very few written accounts of these times exist today and those that do are often prejudiced, written from just one point of view. However, the stories and legends are so compelling, that they are just too good not to be included.

In a 1999 paper, Yale University statistician Joseph Chang used a mathematical model to show how all modern Europeans, except recent transplants, have a common ancestor who lived about 1400. Go back to 1000, and 20 percent of adult Europeans alive then have no descendants today, while each of the remaining 80 percent is an ancestor of every European alive today. I am probably a fairly typical English woman, at least as far genealogy goes, born in 1955. Should my DNA be tested, I expect, apart from the obvious Angle Saxon, Irish and Scottish DNA, one would also find traces of Viking and Norman roots. Considering this information I changed the title of this book from my ancestors to our ancestors.

However, when I name a person, I’m relating to his or her relation to myself, for example, 30th Great grandfather, means “my” 30th great grandfather, because, depending on when you were born, the generations may be one or two more or less. Usually one generation lasts 25 to 30 years but this can vary.

Arriving at the 12th century in England, my ancestors will not be shared with any given person in England today. Just the ancestors of anybody related with the Lathams, Christians and Kinreads, to mention a few names. I included these chapters to show how I arrived back in the 5th century and to demonstrate how, if you are interested, you can do the same with your own ancestors.

I conclude this book with chapters about the Dalriada, a lesser known pagan Irish tribe, the Isle of Man, and as an example of an industrial English city in the 1800s, Liverpool.

For the younger generations I include a timeline, to give the reader an idea of what life was like in previous times.

Contents

Part one – our ancestors

1.Names and numbers

2.Norse mythology – The Völsunga Saga

a. Hrimnir the Giant, Sigmund und Signy

b. Sigurd the Dragonslayer

c. Aslaug and Ragnar

3. Harald Bluetooth and the Jelling Stones

Sweyn Forkbeard

Cnut the Great

4.The Charlemagne Dynasty

5.Harleva and Robert “The Magnificent”

6.William the Conqueror

7.King Alfred

8.Robert the Bruce

Part two – a journey through the generations

9.The Kinreads

10.Liverpool

11.The Isle of Man

12.The Dalriada

13.The Christians

14.The Lathams and the Earls of Derby

Part one – our ancestors

Chapter one – Names and Numbers

In this book, you may wonder why I often refer to people such as “Harald Bluetooth” or “Sigurd Snakeeye”. Most European surnames were originally occupational or locational, and served to distinguish one person from another if they happened to live near one another for e.g. two different people named John could conceivably be identified as John Butcher and John Chandler. The Icelandic system, formerly used in much of Scandinavia, does not use family names. A person's last name indicates the first name of his or her father, for e.g. Ragnarsson or Ragnarsdatter. Occupational surnames originally denoted the actual occupation followed by the individual. At what period they became hereditary is a difficult problem. Many of the occupation names were descriptive and could be varied. In the Middle Ages, at least among the Christian population, people did not usually pursue specialized occupations exclusively to the extent that we do today, and they would, in fact, turn their hand to any form of work that needed to be done, particularly in a large house or mansion, or on farms and smallholdings. In early documents, surnames often refer to the actual holder of an office, whether the church or state. Nicknames often referred to some physical attribute for e.g. Charles “the Bald”, or to a familiar attribute for e.g. Edgar “the Elder”. Between the 11th and 15th centuries it became customary for surnames to be assumed in Europe, but were not commonplace in England or Scotland before the Norman Conquest of 1066. They are to be found in the Domesday Book of 1086. Those of nobler blood assumed surnames at this time, but it was not until the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) that second names became general practice for all people.

Reading this book, some people may think, “How can the King Alfred “the Great”, be the author’s 32nd great-grandfather and Harold VIII "Bluetooth" Herbastus, King of Denmark, her 29th great-grandfather. Harald Bluetooth wasn’t related to King Alfred.” Well, of course, we all have 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 2nd great grandparents, 256 6th great grandparents etc.

However, after about 30 generations, the doubling of our direct ancestors leads to more people than the total world population at that time. This phenomenon is called “Pedigree Collapse”, a phrase coined by Robert C. Gunderson. When you think of your cousin, you are usually thinking of your so-called “first cousin”. This means that you and your cousin are related because one of your parents and one of your cousin’s parents are or were siblings. That means that you share one common pair of grandparents. A second cousin pushes the relationship back another generation. You and your second cousin share a common pair of great grandparents. And so on through third, fourth and fifth cousins.

Rutgers University professor Robin Fox has estimated that 80 percent of historical marriages have taken place between second or closer cousins, causing the same people to occupy multiple spots on pedigree charts. That means your family tree starts shrinking once you've gone back so many generations.

This genealogical shrinkage makes you cousins with just about everyone. English genealogist, physicist and computer programmer Brian Pears says that "If every single marriage was between second cousins, then 30 generations ago the residents of Britain would all have needed exactly 4,356,616 ancestors - more than the English population at the time."

Chapter two - Norse mythology - The Völsunga saga

These are ancestors of fairytales and legends. They have such fabulous names, I can’t help but love them.

a.Hrimnir "The Giant"

Birth 650 • Norway Death 720 • Norway 36th great-grandfather

COA Norway

Hrímnir is a jǫtunn ("giant") frequently mentioned in Norse mythology. His name may mean either "the one covered with hoarfrost" or "the sooty one."

In the Völsunga saga he is the father of Ljod who Odin sends to Rerir as a "wish-maid" with the apple that enables his wife to conceive Völsung—and subsequently Hrímnir himself sends Ljod to Völsung to be his wife.

Throughout the saga, elements of the supernatural are interwoven into the narrative. One recurring theme is the periodic appearance of Odin, the foremost among Norse deities. He is typically depicted as a mysterious, hooded old man with one eye.

Odin appears a number of times to assist characters with his magic and powers. At the start of the saga, he guides his son Sigi out of the underworld. He also sends a wish maiden, Ljod, to Sigi’s son Rerir, with an enchanted apple that finally allowed Rerir and his wife to have a child. Later, he appears as an old, one-eyed stranger and thrusts his sword into the tree, Barnstokkr, during the wedding celebrations, at the palace of King Völsung, declaring that “he who draws this sword out of the trunk shall receive it from me as a gift, and he himself shall prove that he has never carried a better sword than this one,” which King Volsung’s son Sigmund does. Odin also directly intervenes during key points in the narrative. During a battle, Odin, again in the guise of an old, one-eyed man, breaks Sigmund’s sword, turning the tide of the battle and ultimately leading to his death. He also stabs Brynhild with a sleeping thorn and curses her never to win another battle, as an act of revenge for killing Hjalmgunnar, a rival king to whom Odin had promised victory.

The Völsunga saga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan, including the story of Sigurd and Brynhild and destructtion of the Burgundians. The saga covers themes including the power struggles among Sigurd's ancestors, Sigurd's killing of the dragon Fafnir and the influence of the ring Andvaranaut.

Two of the main themes of the saga are the male responsibility of rewarding friends and punishing acts of shame, and the female responsibility of goading for revenge. Together these create much of the contention in the saga. It is largely based on epic poetry. The earliest known pictorial representation of this tradition is the Ramsund carving, Sweden, which was created c. 1000 AD.

The origins of the material are considerably older, however, and it in part echoes real events in Central Europe during the Migration Period, chiefly the destruction of the Burgundian kingdom by the Huns in the fifth century.

The first chapters tell of the generations which came prior to Sigurd, beginning with Sigi, a man banished from his homeland for murdering his neighbour’s servant. After much adventuring, Sigi settles down to rule over the Huns. His wife’s brothers eventually become envious of Sigi’s power and wealth and raise an army against him. In the ensuing battle, Sigi is killed and his in-laws take over the kingdom. Sigi’s son Rerir then avenges his father’s death, killing his uncles and regaining his father’s throne. After many years, Rerir becomes ill and dies, and shortly thereafter his wife gives birth to their son, Völsung. Volsung grows up and marries Ljod, the daughter of the giant, Hrimnir.

Völsung and Ljod have eleven children, the two eldest being the twins Sigmund(m) and Signy(f).In the Völsung Saga, Signy marries Siggeir, the king of Gautland (modern Västergötland). Völsung and Sigmund are attending the wedding celebrations, when Odin, in the guise of a beggar, plunges a sword into the living tree around which Völsung's hall is built. The disguised Odin announces that the man who can remove the sword will have it as a gift. Only Sigmund is able to free the sword.

A depiction of Sigmund by Arthur Rackham.

Siggeir is smitten with envy and desire for the sword. Siggeir invites Sigmund, his father Völsung and Sigmund's nine brothers to a visit in Gautland to see the newlyweds three months later. When the Völsung clan arrive they are attacked by the Gauts. King Völsung is killed and his sons captured.

Signy beseeches her husband to spare her brothers and to put them in stocks instead of killing them. As Siggeir thinks that the brothers deserve to be tortured before they are killed, he agrees.He then lets his shape-shifting mother turn into a wolf and devour one of the brothers each night, until only Sigmund remains. Signy bribes a servant to smear honey on Sigmund's face and when the she-wolf arrives, she starts licking the honey off Sigmund's face. She licks and sticks her tongue into Sigmund's mouth, whereupon Sigmund bites her tongue off, killing her.

Sigmund then hides in the forests of Gautland and Signy brings him everything he needs. As time goes on, Signy has two sons by Siggeir. She sends her boys to Sigmund to help him avenge the death of the Völsungs. However, both boys fail to pass a test of bravery and, at their mother’s insistence, are killed by their uncle Sigmund, as she deems them unfit for vengeance. Signy then meets a sorceress with whom she exchanges shapes. Signy, looking like the sorceress and thus tricking her brother, goes to him in the woods and sleeps with him for three nights. She then returns to the castle and regains her normal appearance. After a time she gives birth to a son Sinfjötli. When he was nine years old, he was also sent to her brother in the forest. Sinfljoti becomes a powerful man raised with only one purpose: to avenge his uncles and grandfather.

Sigmund and Sinfjötli kill Siggeir to avenge the death of their father/grandfather together. It is only after this that Signy informs Sigmund of the incest that led to Sinfjötli's birth. Signy then walks into the funeral pyre that is burning her husband, announcing, "In everything I have worked toward the killing of King Siggeir. I have worked so hard to bring about vengeance that I am by no means fit to live. Willingly I will now die with King Siggeir, although I married him reluctantly."

After this Sigmund returns to his own country, retakes his father’s throne, and rules there for many years.

As an old man, Sigmund marries Hjordis, the daughter of King Eylimi. The suitor she rejected in Sigmund’s favour brings an army against him, and Sigmund is mortally wounded in the battle. In the aftermath, Hjordis finds her husband and tells him that she is pregnant. He entrusts to her the shards of his sword, prophesying that they will be reforged someday for their yet unborn son. He dies and Hjordis marries Alf, son of Hjalprek, King of Denmark. Shortly thereafter she gives birth to Sigurd, her son by Sigmund. Sigurd is fostered in Hjalprek’s court by Regin, his tutor, and grows to manhood there.

The Middle High German epic poem “Nibelungenlied” is based largely on the old stories, which were commonly known in all of the Germanic lands from the early Middle Ages on, but reworks the material into a courtly medieval setting.

Among the more notable adaptations of this text are Richard Wagner's tetralogy of music dramas “Der Ring des Nibelungen”, Ernest Reyer's opera “Sigurd”, Henrik Ibsen's “The Vikings at Helgeland”, William Morris's epic poem “The Story of Sigurd the Völsung and the Fall of the Niblungs”, and J. R. R.Tolkien’s “The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun”.

b.Sigurd “the Dragonslayer”

Hrimnir the giant had a daughter

Ljod Hrimnirsdatter

Birth 685 • Norway Death 705 • Norway

35th great-grandmother

She married

Völsung Rersson

Birth 680 • Norway Death 704 • Norway

35th great-grandfather

And together they had a son

Sigmund Völsungsson

Birth 705 • Buskerud, Buskerud, Norway Death 735 • Norway

34th great-grandfather

Sigmund married

Hjordis Eylimasdatter, Queen of Denmark, and of Norway

Birth Jan.1st, 710 • Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway. Death 0810 • Norway

34th great-grandmother

They had a son

Sigurd Fafnisbana "The Dragonslayer" Sigmundsson King of Denmark, and of Norway

Birth 735 • Ringerike, Buskerud, Norway Death 770 • King Denmark, Norway

33rd great-grandfather

In the Völsunga saga, Sigurd is the posthumous son of Sigmund and his second wife, Hjordis. Sigmund dies in battle when he attacks Odin (who is in disguise), and Odin shatters Sigmund's sword. Hjordis tells the dying Sigmund tells of her pregnancy and he bequeaths the fragments of his sword to his unborn son. Hjordis, after the birth of her son Sigurd, marries King Alf. King Alf decides to send Sigurd to Regin as a fosterchild.

Regin tries to tempt Sigurd to greed and violence by first asking him if he has control over Sigmund's gold. When Sigurd says that Alf and his family control the gold but will give him anything he desires, Regin asks Sigurd why he consents to a lowly position at court. Sigurd replies that he is treated as an equal by the kings. Then Regin asks Sigurd why he acts as stableboy to the kings and has no horse of his own. So Sigurd then goes to get a horse. An old man (Odin in disguise) advises Sigurd on his choice of horse, and in this way Sigurd gets Grani, a horse derived from Odin's own Sleipnir. Finally, Regin tries to tempt Sigurd by telling him:

The story of the Otter's Gold.