What's Your Ancestry?

[Stargazer]

Seeing as we have members from almost all corners of the world (at least all corners of Europe) I think it would be fun to share our ancestry with one another.

Where do your ancestors come from? Are there any famous or 'important' people in your ancestry?

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My dad is a genealogy nut so he's found out all sorts of cool things and has been able to go back as far as the 7th century.

Turns out I'm practically royalty and a direct descendant of Medieval rulers from basically all corners of Europe. Most of the European royalties of the Middle Ages are related to one another because they kept marrying into each other's houses so once you have one of these guys in your ancestry, you basically have them all.

I'm a direct descendant of all the following Dukes, Kings, Queens and Emperors (meaning, they're all my Great Great Great [insert additional greats here] Grandfathers and Grandmothers).

I hadn't even heard of all these kings before, but maybe they're well-known in their country of origin?


BULGARIA
Emperor/Tsar
Ivan Vladislav (Иван Владислав)


BYZANTINE
Augusta
Anna Dalassene (Ἄννα Δαλασσηνή)

Caesar
John Doukas (Ιωάννης Δούκας)

Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos (Ἀλέξιος Α' Κομνηνός)
Constantine IX Monomachos (Κωνσταντίνος Θ΄ Μονομάχος)
John II Komnenos (Ίωάννης Β΄ Κομνηνός)
Theodore I Laskaris of Nicaea (Θεόδωρος Α' Λάσκαρις)


CZECH
Duke
Bořivoj I of Bohemia (founder of the Přemyslid dynasty)

King
Ottokar I of Bohemia
Vladislaus II of Bohemia (Vladislav II)
Vratislaus II of Bohemia (Vratislav II)


DANISH
King
Abel of Denmark
Canute IV the Holy (Knud den Hellige)
Canute V (Knud V Magnussen)
Christian I (ancestor of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, making him my nth-something cousin)
Eric I Evergood (Erik Ejegod)
Frederick I
Gorm the Old (Gorm den Gamle)
Harald Bluetooth (Harald Blåtand)
Niels of Denmark
Sweyn I Forkbeard, King of Denmark and England (Svend Tveskæg)
Sweyn II (Svend Estridsen)
Valdemar I the Great (Valdemar den Store)
Valdemar II the Victorious (Valdemar Sejr)


ENGLISH
King
Alfred the Great of Wessex
Æthelred II the Unready
Edgar the Peaceful
Edmund I
Edmund II Ironside
Edward the Elder
Henry I of England
Henry II Curtmantle
William the Conqueror

Queen
Matilda of Scotland, Queen of England


FRENCH
Duke
Richard I "The Fearless" of Normandy
Richard II of Normandy
William I "Longsword" of Normandy (Guillaume Longue-Épée)

King
Charlemagne, King of the Franks
Henry I of France (Henri I)
Hugh Capet (Hugues Capet)
Louis VI the Fat
Louis VII the Young
Louis VIII the Lion
Philip I the Amorous (Philippe I)
Philip II Augustus (Philippe Auguste)
Robert I
Robert II the Pious
Rudolph II of Burgundy (Rodolphe II de Bourgogne)


GERMAN
Count
Adalbert II of Ballenstedt (23rd grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, making her my 20th-something cousin)

Duke
Albrecht II of Mecklenburg
Henry the Lion of Saxony and Bavaria (Heinrich der Löwe)

King
Henry I the Fowler (Heinrich I)
Rudolph I of Habsburg (Rudolf von Habsburg)

Holy Roman Emperor
Louis IV, King of the Romans and Italy (Ludwig IV)
Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, Italy and Burgundy (Friedrich I)
Frederick II of Germany, Sicily and Jerusalem (Friedrich II)
Henry Vi of Germany, Italy and Sicily (Heinrich VI)
Otto I the Great
Otto II of Saxony


HUNGARIAN
Grand Prince
Álmos of the Magyars
Árpád of the Magyars
Taksony of the Hungarians
Zoltán of the Magyars

King
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan of Hungary and Croatia (Jeruzsálemi II András)
Béla I the Champion
Béla II the Blind
Béla III
Béla IV
Géza I
Géza II of Hungary and Croatia
Stephen V of Hungary and Croatia


ITALIAN
King
Adalbert of Italy (Adalberto II d'Ivrea)
Bernard, King of the Lombards (Bernardo)
Charles I of Naples (Carlo I d'Angiò)
Charles II of Naples (Carlo II d'Angiò)
Frederick III of Sicily (Federico III di Sicilia)
Manfred of Sicily (Manfredi di Sicilia)
Roger II of Sicily (Ruggero II di Sicilia)


MIDDLE-EASTERN
Prince
Bohemond II of Antioch

King
Baldwin II of Jerusalem
Fulk of Jerusalem


NORWEGIAN
King
Haakon III (Håkon III Sverresson)
Haakon IV (Håkon Håkonsson)
Haakon V (Håkon V Magnusson)
Harald IV (Harald Gille)
Harald Hardrada (Harald Hardråde)
Magnus III Barefoot (Magnus Berrføtt)
Magnus VI Lagabøte
Olaf III (Olav Kyrre)
Sigurd II Haraldsson (Sigurd Munn)
Sverre Sigurdsson


POLISH
Duke
Bolesław I Chrobry
Casimir I the Restorer (Kazimierz I Odnowiciel)
Henry II the Pious (Henryk II Pobożny)
Mieszko I (first historical ruler of Poland)
Siemomysł
Władysław I Herman

Prince
Bolesław III Wrymouth (Bolesław III Krzywousty)

King
Mieszko II Lambert

Queen
Richeza of Sweden, Queen of Poland (Rikissa Valdemarsdotter/Ryksa Szwedzka)


PORTUGUESE
King
Afonso I of Portugal
Sancho I of Portugal


RUSSIAN/UKRAINIAN
Grand Prince
Mstislav I of Kiev (Мстислав Владимирович Великий)
Vladimir II Monomakh of Kievan Rus (Владимир Мономах)
Vladimir the Great of Kievan Rus (Влади́мир)
Vsevolod I of Kiev (Всеволод I Ярославич)
Yaroslav the Wise of Novgorod and Kiev (Ярослав Мудрый)

Prince
Sviatoslav I Igorevich of Kiev (Святослав Игоревич)
Igor of Kiev (Игорь)

Princess
Saint Olga of Kiev (Ольга)
Maria Dobroniega of Kiev (Мария Добронега)


SCOTTISH
King
Causantín mac Cináeda, King of the Picts
Donald II, King of the Picts (Domnall mac Causantín)
Duncan I of Alba (Donnchad mac Crínáin)
Kenneth II of Alba (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim)
Kenneth MacAlpin, King of the Picts (Cináed mac Ailpín)
Malcolm I of Alba (Máel Coluim mac Domnaill)
Malcolm II of Alba (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda)
Malcolm III of Alba (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada)

Queen
Saint Margaret, Queen of Scots


SERBIA
Grand Prince
Uroš I Vukanović (Урош I Вукановић)


SPANISH
King
Alfonso II of Aragon
Alfonso III of León
Alfonso V of León
Alfonso VI of León and Castile
Alfonso VII of León and Castile
Bermudo II of León
Ferdinand I of León and Castile
García Ramírez of Navarre (de Pamplona)
García Sánchez III of Navarre (de Pamplona)
James I of Aragon (Jaime el Conquistador)
Ordoño I of Asturias
Ordoño II of León
Ordoño III of León
Peter II the Catholic (Pedro II de Aragón)
Peter III the Great (Pedro III de Aragón)
Sancho III of Castile and Toledo


SWEDISH
Earl
Birger Brosa
Birger Jarl (founder of Stockholm)

King
Canute I of Sweden (Knut Eriksson)
Charles VIII (Karl Knutsson Bonde)
Eric IX of Sweden (Erik den helige)
Eric X of Sweden (Erik Knutsson)
Inge the Elder (Inge "den äldre" Stenkilsson)
Magnus I (Magnus Nilsson)
Olof Skötkonung


These are the ones I've found out. None of these lived past the 16th century so there might be more "recent" ones I don't know about yet. Royal blood FTW! So proud of my newly-found ancestry (well Charlemagne and Karl Knutsson Bonde I've known about since I was a kid).

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

You serious?! Surely you must be part of at least one of the European Royal Families today then?! Im well jealous... wish I was Royalty .

 

[Stargazer]

Haha, yes I am absolutely and totally serious.

And I wish I was, but it's not that simple. All of these guys lived between the 8th-16th century. A lot has happened since then. The reason I'm related to most of them is because King Frederick I of Denmark liked to fool around and have a couple of kids out of wedlock (though they were documented). It's through him I'm related to most of these people because they too are his ancestors.

He's my Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather.

 

[Charly]

All i know I have ancestors from: Morocco (Mothers Blood) France (Fathers Blood) China (French Grandma) Switzerland (French Grandad) And 1 of my ancestors I think was in Mexico.....

 

[MyHeartIsYours]

I know slight bits about my ancestry, but not really about much pre-1900. A lot of it either Irish or to do with the military, so here we go:

My maternal grandmother's side is Irish; but it is interesting that my grandma's mother was a Protestant and her father was Roman Catholic (she was forced to give up her religion though because it wasnt seen to be 'acceptable' in the south). The Protestant side originate from the Plantation of Ireland, they moved from Whitby, North Yorkshire when the British government wanted to create a Protestant majority in Ireland and prevent Catholic rebellions. They also stayed strongly pro-British throughout their time there (my great-great grandfather was a General in the British Army - he fought not only against Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence, but also during World War One - I never knew him obviously but Im proud to say that Im one of his descendants) and my grandmother to this day is very pro-British even though she was raised as a Roman Catholic and so she is termed an Irish Unionist. She doesnt even consider herself to be Irish actually. However, the other half of this family were the original Irishmen, been there way before the British came. I dont know as much about them except that they came from County Cork and my great-great grandfather was very strongly anti-British, he even used to cheer on the Germans during World War Two and love when it was going wrong for the United Kingdom... very foolish man! I do wonder sometimes how they ever got together, but I just guess politics wasnt discussed all too often! Also, from this side of the family I have connections to the United States, Canada and Australia. I believe they left during the times when it was hard in Ireland, like during the Potato Famine. The Canadian side I know most about, and my great-great uncle was a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was shot down over France in 1944 I think.
On my maternal grandfathers side, it is Irish once again, but that's basically where my knowledge ends. There was a lot of trouble regarding the church on this side, I dont not dislike Roman Catholics but I dont trust that church because of the damage it did to this part of my family. I believe it is the main reason why I never got to see my grandfather.

On my paternal grandfathers side, it is the military again. I dont know about individual people much beyond my great-grandfather here but I know that they were stationed around the British Empire - Africa, Middle East, India, etc - and even as recently as my uncle fought in Aden in Yemen and was based in Cyprus whilst the Empire was crumbling. He also was part of the British Army in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.
On the grandmothers side, I dont really know anything, but as far as Im aware, it's nothing great. Just were part of the many millions who became 'labourers' during the Industrial Revolution, and carried on being until my grandmother retired. Now the industry is gone and so is that part of the family history.

 

[Stargazer]

Very nice you guys! Ireland, China, Mexico and Morocco sound really cool to have ancestors from.

I've always wished (ever since I was a kid) that I had either Native American, Inuit or Sami ancestry. Something indigenous! But what I do got isn't so shabby after all.

 

[Morty]

My ancestry is quite boring. I did some checking for a school project 10-15 years ago, and managed to find information back to the 1500s. No one famous, and no one foreign. I'm about as pure Norwegian as you can get. :shock:

I do have foreign relatives tho, descendants from people who moved away from Norway, so I got relatives in at least Minnesota, Iowa and Switzerland. Don't really know much about them, but me and my dad are planning to go visit our Minnesota relatives soon.

 

[Quent91]

Is this a serious topic ? :?

 

[Stargazer]

Is this a serious topic ? :?

Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't it be?

 

[Scooby]

I'm peasant

 

[Quent91]

I'm impressed by your ancestry :?

 

[Stargazer]

I'm impressed by your ancestry :?

As am I still. I only recently found out. Like I said, King Frederick I of Denmark is my Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Grandfather. The other kings and emperors on that list are his ancestors too.

 

[sannerz]

I'm most likely from a background of peasants. Most recently, Yugoslavian peasants, before that Turkish, and on and on... Nothing exciting. /:

 

[r3gg13]

My background is a mix of Filipino and Spanish

On the Filipino side, my ancestors are from the Tagalog region (Batangas province to be more exact)
On the Spanish side, my ancestors are from the Basque country and from Avíla in Castilla y Léon.
I don't know what they did for a living, but they were most likely merchants or farmers. Nothing fancy here

 

[aja675]

My background is a mix of Filipino and Spanish

On the Filipino side, my ancestors are from the Tagalog region (Batangas province to be more exact)
On the Spanish side, my ancestors are from the Basque country and from Avíla in Castilla y Léon.
I don't know what they did for a living, but they were most likely merchants or farmers. Nothing fancy here

I'm also a Filipino with Spanish ancestry. I also have some Chinese blood.

 

[Scooby]

I'm most likely from a background of peasants. Most recently, Yugoslavian peasants, before that Turkish, and on and on... Nothing exciting. /:

my brother haha

 

[r3gg13]

I'm also a Filipino with Spanish ancestry. I also have some Chinese blood.

Awesome . I seriously didn't know there were other Pinoys here (except for Roadrunner)

 

[Nikoreindeer1973]

Inuit/Native Ameran too.

 

[Stargazer]

Inuit/Native Ameran too.

Lucky you! I've always been strongly fascinated by the Native American, Inuit and Sami cultures, ever since I was a kid.

 

[seb89]

Adam & Eve (according to the bible)