odd relatives

[EUOL]

Sprig and I, as our grandmother is always fond of telling us, are related to the Danish nobility.  Me, Jordo, Beowulf, and Hamlet.  That's pretty cool.

Of course, we've probably got some British kings in the line somewhere too.  That's the cool thing about being from America, the great mongrel nation.

[fuzzyoctopus]

I know I've got Dutch, English, Scottish, and of course my great-grandmother, who was full-blooded Arapaho Indian.

Not that you'd guess it to look at me.  My dad, you can see it, but all the European genes must have had a coup in my case.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I am thirty something generations decended from William the Conquerer. YEah, that's me. Of course, like the Douglas Adams character who is many generations removed from Genghis Kahn, this mostly just manifests as a frustrated desire to punch something, but having my more tame blood talk me down.

[stacer]

Wow, SE, we're related.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

you and me and 3/4 of England.

[fuzzyoctopus]

William got around a lot, did he?

I learned that I'm related to most of the Schoonovers in America because my great-grandfather Schoonover had something ridiculous like 10 sons.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

yeah, him all those decendants.

[Entsuropi]

Us british are genetic mutts as well, really, just like everyone. I probably have Viking, Pictish, Irish, Scot (same thing as irish since they went over to ireland and became the irish) and, wait for this, hungarian. 1/16th of my blood is hungarian. Yeah.

[JP Dogberry]

My mother's parents are hungarian. My dad is a greek cypriot. I eat turkish bread frequently. That's whacked out right there.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

actually, if i remember my history right, the Scots were originally from Ireland and settle Pictland (modern Scotland) and then re-colonized back. It's hard to parse out though.

The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scotch) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (the Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. It is essential to keep these distinctions clearly in mind (and verce visa).

-Sellar and Yeatman, 1066 and All That

[stacer]

Ah, but what you forget is that the Scots are Irish who were once British Celts, so that complicates matters. The Celts migrated up through continental Europe, moved to the British Isles, conquered Ireland, and then invaded the Picts, who I believe were the native dwellers of Britain that the Celts had forced further and further north a few centuries before.

[Lieutenant Kije]

Sprig and I, as our grandmother is always fond of telling us, are related to the Danish nobility.  Me, Jordo, Beowulf, and Hamlet.  That's pretty cool.

I married into a family with roots in Danish piracy.  So should we be at odds or something?

[EUOL]

Well, our great-grandpa was the king's illegitimate son, so we're probably kind of at odds with the proper royals too.

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

I'm declaring a sovereign nation within 100 yards of me, with me as it's king. There. Now I'm royalty.

[fuzzyoctopus]

I have this image of you saying that out loud, Saint, and of your wife giving you a really funny look.