“Importantly our results show that 'Viking' identity was not limited to people with Scandinavian genetic ancestry.” 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.
The Viking DNA patterns are rarely found outside Scandinavia
Around 930,000 descendents of warrior race exist today - despite the Norse warriors' British rule ending more than 900 years ago.
They are well known for their raids and exploration of much of northern Europe and beyond. As such, an estimated population of over 15 million people today claims Viking descent. Many surnames have been passed down to modern-day descendants, allowing them to trace their lineage back to the Vikings.
The Vikings established significant settlements in the British Isles, particularly in Ireland, Scotland, and northern England. As a result, many Irish, Scottish, and English individuals may also have Viking DNA. Genetic studies estimate that about 20% of the population in Ireland and 29.2% in Scotland carry 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 per cent of people of the UK population predicted to have Viking DNA in their genes compared to 10 per cent in Sweden.
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.
Early Viking Age raiding parties were an activity for locals and included close family members. The genetic legacy in the UK has left the population with up to six per cent Viking DNA.
“The Vikings had a lot more genes from southern and eastern Europe than we anticipated,” said Willerslev. “They frequently had children with people from other parts of the world. In fact, they also tended to be dark-haired rather than blond, which is otherwise considered an established Viking trait.”
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.
A small percentage of Scandinavian DNA can easily be explained by distant ancestors who settled in foreign lands. If your Scandinavian ethnicity is more than 20%, though, you probably have strong and fairly recent ties to the region.
And experts say surnames can give you an indication of a possible Viking heritage in your family, with anything ending in 'son' or 'sen' likely to be a sign. Other surnames which could signal a Viking family history include 'Roger/s' and 'Rogerson' and 'Rendall'.
A household might consist not only several husband-and-wife couples (with one member of each couple typically related by blood to one member of every other couple) and their children, but also the families of servants and bondsmen. During this time, the typical household size was probably ten to twenty people.
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. This compares with just with 5.6 per cent of men in Yorkshire carrying Norse DNA.
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.
Vikings worked long hours, carrying, and using heavy equipment which contributed to the formation of muscles, even from an early age. Another reason for the significant strength of the Vikings was their diet. Vikings were mostly hunters, not gatherers, due to their cold, harsh environment.
VikingGenetics is owned by VikingDanmark, Växa Sverige and Faba in Finland meaning that app.
'Viking' is a catch-all term for the people who came from Scandinavia, what is now Norway, Denmark and Sweden, between the eighth and 11th centuries, more properly known as the Norse, or Norsemen. Greek shields were more usually seen on the Hoplites, although Vikings did also use them.
Modern descendants of Norsemen include the Danes, Icelanders, Faroe Islanders, Norwegians, and Swedes, who are now generally referred to as "Scandinavians" rather than Norsemen.
From this, it was calculated that the modern English population has approximately 6% Danish Viking ancestry, with Scottish and Irish populations having up to 16%. Additionally, populations from all areas of Britain and Ireland were found to have 3–4% Norwegian Viking ancestry.
In fact, across Great Britain there is a clear pattern: the highest Scandinavian genetic ethnicity is found in northeast England, decreasing as you get further from that region. And in Ireland, the average Scandinavian ethnicity varies rather widely, with a high of 5.3% in Ulster and a low of 2.0% in Munster.
No, Vikings aren't a Germanic tribe. The fact of the matter is that Germanic tribes consisted of an umbrella of various tribes that speak different languages commonly grouped together. Moreover, Vikings were only a subgroup of different peoples that included the Germans.
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.
Everyone of European descent possesses Viking ancestors. In fact, I can assure you with complete confidence that every individual on Earth is descended from kings and queens multiple times over.