What’s the genetic history of the British Isles and what impact did the Romans, the Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans have on its genetic make-up? The People of the British Isles study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford, set out to answer this question. They took DNA samples of UK and European volunteers to identify clear traces of population movements into the UK over the past 10,000 years. They found 17 clusters of individuals that had similarities in their DNA that matched remarkably well with their geographical locations. The major findings of the study were that:
The Anglo-Saxons made a noticeable impression on the genetics of much of England but they did not completely wipe out earlier settlers. Groups of Angles and Saxons from ancient Germany and Denmark migrated over to Britain beginning in the 5th century after the Romans left. The genetic map of Britain shows that most of the eastern, central and southern parts of England form a single genetic group with between 10 and 40 per cent Anglo-Saxon ancestry. However, people in this cluster also retained DNA from earlier settlers. The invaders did not wipe out the existing population; instead, they seem to have integrated and intermarried with them.
What impact did the Vikings have? Although highly influential militarily, politically, linguistically and culturally, there is no obvious genetic signature in England from the Danelaw period. In Orkney however, there is a remarkable genetic legacy. The population in Orkney emerged as the most genetically distinct, with 25% of DNA coming from Norwegian ancestors. This shows that the Norse Viking invasion (9th century) did not simply replace the indigenous Orkney population however, but intermarried with the indigenous Pictish population. More broadly, there was a notable Norwegian signal in all Scottish and Northern Irish samples, however this was less pronounced in Northern England, and even less so in Wales. The most different of all the clusters from the rest of the UK was Orkney, what clearly corresponds to the existence of a Norse Viking Earldom in Orkney from 875 to 1472.
The genetic evidence indicates that people from Wales are most closely related to the Palaeolithic settlers who first moved across from Europe as the ice receded. These first settlers following the last ice age spread across the British Isles, but people in England, Scotland and Ireland were more impacted by later migration and invasions than Wales. Thus, the Welsh are the most genetically similar to the earliest settlers of the British Isles after the last ice age than any other group in the study. There was however a genetic split between north Wales and south Wales.
0:00 Intro 0:42 Anglo-Saxons 1:29 Vikings, Danelaw and Orkney 2:35 Wales 3:15 The Romans and the Normans 3:45 The Celts 5:17 Support
What's the genetic map of the British Isles, and what impact did the Romans,
the Vikings, the Normans and the Anglo-Saxons have on its genetic make-up?
The people of the British Isles study, led by researchers from the University of Oxford,
set out to answer this question. They took DNA samples from volunteers from the UK and Europe
to identify key traces of population movement into the UK over the last 10,000 years.
They found 17 clusters of individuals who had similarities in their genetics
that matched remarkably well with their geographical location.
Some other major findings of the study were...
The Anglo-Saxons made a significant impact on the genetics of much of England,
although they did not wipe out all traces of the earlier settlers of Britain.
Groups of Angles and Saxons migrated from places like Germany and ancient Denmark
into Britain starting around the 5th century AD after the Romans left.
The genetic map of Britain shows that large parts of eastern and central and southern England
form a single genetic group with between 10 and 40% Anglo-Saxon ancestry.
They did not completely wipe out the earlier settlers of Britain however.
This suggests that the Anglo-Saxons, instead of completely wiping out the indigenous people of
Britain, intermarried and integrated with them.
What impact did the Vikings make genetically on the British Isles?
Although they made a significant impact militarily, politically, linguistically and culturally,
there is no significant genetic signature in England from the Danelaw period.
In Orkney however, the Viking genetic legacy is quite remarkable.
25% of DNA from Orkney has Norwegian ancestry, a clear marker of the Viking period
and their colonization of Orkney and other islands in that region.
They did not completely wipe out the indigenous people of Orkney
prior to the Viking raids and occupation however, as the indigenous resident population of Orkney
prior to this, probably a Pictish population, is still present in the genetic code.
Norwegian markers were found in all Scottish and Northern Irish samples,
but less so in England and even less so in Wales.
In general, Orkney was the most genetically distinct of all the clusters in the study.
The genetic evidence suggests that the people of Wales are the most genetically similar to
the earliest settlers of the British Isles after the last Ice Age ended and the ice receded.
These early settlers of the British Isles spread across all regions into Scotland,
England and Northern Ireland. However, these peoples of these ancient nations
were more affected by migrations and invasions than the people of ancient Wales. Thus,
the people of Wales are the most genetically similar to the earliest settlers of the British
Isles. Interestingly however, there is a clear genetic split between Northern Wales and Southern
Wales. Although the Romans had a remarkably large impact on Britain in general, they left a
remarkably small impact genetically on its people, perhaps because only a small number of Romans
actually settled in Britain. A similar story is found when we look at the Normans. Although they
had a notable impact on the language and government of Britain, they had a remarkably little impact
genetically outside of a few small, powerful families that did settle in Britain. Other
findings of the study were that the Celtic peoples of the British Isles are distinct genetically,
reaffirming the fact that Celts are bound by language, culture and shared history as opposed
to genetics. There is links though between Northern Ireland and many people in Western Scotland,
with this in part explained by the history of the Gaels and the Gaelic Kingdom of Dalriada,
which stretched from parts of Ireland to the western coast of Scotland. There was also a
genetic split in Northern Ireland however, with both groups linking to some parts of Scotland.
The Ulster Plantation is another potential explanation for this reality. The data also
suggests a large movement of people from Northern France into the British Isles,
particularly Scotland and England, between 6,000 and 3,000 years ago.
This is obviously a massive subject, so please let me know your thoughts in the comments below
and any studies or reports you come across on this subject. I am also going to make a separate
video on Ireland and delve into each individual country in more detail in future videos,
so like I say, any references please let me know in the comments below and I'll use them
for future videos. As we have seen, the genetic map of the British Isles is as fascinating as it
sounds, although it does raise its own questions. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments
below. Thanks for watching, if you would like to support this work through Patreon,
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