Boy he got around
Dec. 6th, 2008 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynhefarAs much of my ancestry seems to end up in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, it is not really that strange that somewhere along the line I can supposedly claim Odin/Woden as my ancestor. What I find intriguing is that I can apparently claim him through 7 of his sons, through 7 different pedigrees.
Through his son Geat/Gauti, he is my 62nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Skjoldr, he is my 59th great-grandfather.
Through his son Baldur/Baeldaeg, he is my 54th great-grandfather.
Through his son Casere he is my 52nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Sigrlami, he is also my 52nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Wecta, he is my 50th great-grandfather.
Through his son Sigi/Sigar, he is my 43rd great-grandfather.
I guess it's not that surprising if you think about it. I mean, if you're a Germanic or Norse warlord who wants to take over a kingdom, what do you do? You kill the current king, marry his daughter (by force if necessary), and immediately claim your blood is every bit as 'divine' as his was. And through the marriages with the daughters the conquerors and conquered ended up related to each other anyway, so if you're related to one, you're related to them all and they all have different routes to the same goal -- descent from a major divinity to lend legitimacy to their kingship.
It's just really rather cool to see *how* they did it, and how the pedigrees end up working out.
Through his son Geat/Gauti, he is my 62nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Skjoldr, he is my 59th great-grandfather.
Through his son Baldur/Baeldaeg, he is my 54th great-grandfather.
Through his son Casere he is my 52nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Sigrlami, he is also my 52nd great-grandfather.
Through his son Wecta, he is my 50th great-grandfather.
Through his son Sigi/Sigar, he is my 43rd great-grandfather.
I guess it's not that surprising if you think about it. I mean, if you're a Germanic or Norse warlord who wants to take over a kingdom, what do you do? You kill the current king, marry his daughter (by force if necessary), and immediately claim your blood is every bit as 'divine' as his was. And through the marriages with the daughters the conquerors and conquered ended up related to each other anyway, so if you're related to one, you're related to them all and they all have different routes to the same goal -- descent from a major divinity to lend legitimacy to their kingship.
It's just really rather cool to see *how* they did it, and how the pedigrees end up working out.
