Outside of Scandinavia, Britain is the place where you're most likely to find people with Viking heritage as the Vikings settled here and colonised. People who live in Britain and have I1 in their DNA can be quite confident, especially if their paternal name is Norse, that their ancestry is somewhat Viking.
Around 930,000 descendents of warrior race exist today - despite the Norse warriors' British rule ending more than 900 years ago.
The Viking DNA
The DNA test shows that there is a strong Viking heritage on few countries in Europe from England, Ireland, and Iceland to Greenland. Samples of the DNA suggest links to Viking heritage. In Finland and Estonia, there are links for Swedish Viking heritage.
The genetic legacy of the Viking Age lives on today with six percent of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10 percent in Sweden. Professor Willerslev concluded: “The results change the perception of who a Viking actually was.
Modern descendants of Norsemen include the Danes, Icelanders, Faroe Islanders, Norwegians, and Swedes, who are now generally referred to as "Scandinavians" rather than Norsemen.
Who was a Viking? If we are speaking ethnically, the closest people to a Viking in modern-day terms would be the Danish, Norwegians, Swedish, and Icelandic people. Interestingly though, it was common for their male Viking ancestors to intermarry with other nationalities, and so there is a lot of mixed heritage.
Experts have said that any surname ending in 'sen' or 'son' is likely to be of Viking descent (big news for Emma Watson, Emma Thompson, Robert Pattinson and co) – and surnames such as Roger/s, Rogerson, and Rendall also hint that there's a touch of the marauder to you.
The genetic legacy of the Viking Age lives on today with six per cent of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10 per cent in Sweden.
“A lot of the Vikings are mixed individuals” with ancestry from both Southern Europe and Scandinavia, for example, or even a mix of Sami (Indigenous Scandinavian) and European ancestry.
1. Norway. As one of the countries where Vikings originated, there's tons of Viking heritage in Norway.
The genetic legacy of the Viking Age lives on today with 6% of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10% in Sweden.
Who are the descendants of the Vikings? Viking settlements exist in different parts of the world, including Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Normandy and Swedish parts of Finland, Estonia and Latvia.
New research shows that the Irish definitely have their fair share of Viking heritage–in fact, the Irish are more genetically diverse than most people may assume. The Irish have Viking and Norman ancestry in similar proportions to the English.
Early research said the exodus was due to many problems, including climate change, a lack of management, economic collapse and social stratification. Temperature change has often been cited as an explanation for the end of the Vikings, so let's take a closer look.
The Viking age ended when the raids stopped. The year 1066 is frequently used as a convenient marker for the end of the Viking age. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the Norwegian king Haraldr harðráði was repulsed and killed as he attempted to reclaim a portion of England.
What skin color were Vikings? While most Vikings are believed to have had fair, peach-toned skin and light hair, there may also have been Vikings with darker skin. It's important to understand that when Vikings traveled to distant lands, they often brought back people from those cultures.
It turns out most Vikings weren't as fair-haired and blue-eyed as legend and pop culture have led people to believe. According to a new study on the DNA of over 400 Viking remains, most Vikings had dark hair and dark eyes. (Sorry, Chris Hemsworth and Travis Fimmel.)
So did the Vikings share a common blood type? Research suggests that most ancient populations had a similar composition to the current population in Northern Europe, with Type A being the most common, followed by Type O and then B. This indicates that Viking blood may have shared these same three types.
This marker is barely present in England with an average of 1 per cent of men carrying the genetic code. Vikings are still running rampant through Scotland as, according to the researchers, 29.2 per cent of descendants in Shetland have the DNA, 25.2 per cent in Orkney and 17.5 per cent in Caithness.
The average height of Vikings as found by researchers and scholars, varied depending on a number of factors, including their age and gender. Typically, the average male Viking would usually be between 5 foot 7 and 5 foot 9, while the average female would be between 5 foot 1 and 5 foot 3.
Dupuytren's contracture (also called Dupuytren's disease, Morbus Dupuytren, Viking disease, palmar fibromatosis and Celtic hand) is a condition in which one or more fingers become permanently bent in a flexed position.
What did the Vikings look like? Overall, Scandinavians had softer brows and jawlines during the Viking Age. Fair hair and complexions were common, but not ubiquitous. Dark hair was common, and red hair had a higher prevalence in Norwegian Vikings compared to the general population of Europe.
Elsewhere, during the period, Viking voyages didn't just spread conquest and trade, but also genetic seeds that can still be seen in people today, with 6 percent of people in the UK estimated to have Viking DNA, and in Sweden, as much as 10 percent.
Quick wit, bravery and action were among the key attributes for a Viking warrior, but to be remembered for great deeds was the most important of all.