Preface

Our children give us a sense of continuity and purpose, bringing a sense of satisfaction and happiness to our lives.   For many, this same need for a sense of continuity and purpose extends not just forward, but also backward in time.  The many researchers who have participated in the findings documented here are driven by the need to understand those who came before us; to understand their lives, behaviors and motivations.  This site is dedicated to our Angle ancestors, whose memory we keep alive for their sake and for ours.

Introduction

The broad and deep impact of the Danish peoples on world history has been long appreciated by scholars of the middle ages.  This is especially true for a branch of the Danish royal family that held the ancient town of Hedeby for many centuries.  Hedeby was perhaps the oldest and largest town and the most active marketplace in ancient Scandinavia.  Hedeby lies in the ancient region of Angle, which is now positioned in the modern German district of Schleswig-Holstein.  The Angles, a subgroup of the Danish peoples, are well known in history for their role in the Anglo-Saxon development of England.  The full extent of Danish influence and especially that of the Angles, however, is only recently beginning to surface.  This site is developed for the purpose of further documenting the role of the Angles in world history in accordance with recent and ongoing discoveries, including those based on archeology, DNA and various other forms of research.

The seat of power in Angle was Hedeby, and the regional name of Angle derives from the angled, or curved shape of the large semi-circular bailey fort at Hedeby.  Hedeby was an ideal location due to its position at the end of a very long inlet that cuts half way through lower Denmark.  Merchants would pass through Hedeby to substantially reduce transit time and risk, a benefit for which merchants were happy to pay a toll to the kings of Angle.

I1a Haplogroup Migration

While other haplogroups are found among the the Angles, the Dacian ancestors of the Danish people originate from the cradle of the I1 haplogroup in the Middle East.  The National Geneographic Project has attempted to map the path of the I1 and I1a migrations.

I1 Migration	I1a Migration

Analysis performed by the National Geneographic Project suggests that I1 migration progressed from the Middle East through the ancient region of Dacia and on to France.  In central France, the National Geneographic Project suggests that the I1a mutation occurred and that a subsequent migration proceeded to the British Isles and Scandinavia.

However, the I1a density map developed by the Scandinavian Y-DNA Project (see figure below) suggests a slight variation of the National Geneographic Project hypothesis.  The density map shows that the I1a haplogroup most likely formed after the migration to Scandinavia.  Density is highest at Zealand, spreading along coastal areas of the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Spain.  In addition, we find the highest density in the UK at northern Scotland, with a declining gradient to the south.   We might consider that an I1 ancestor migrated to Hedeby in Scandinavia leading to the I1a event.  Afterward, the I1a descendents continued to occupy the many areas of France that had been home to the I1 ancestors.  This hypothesis is very much in accordance with various research findings.

In addition we find several interesting high density pockets.  These pockets are prominent because they are not natural extensions of the I1a gradient that originates at Zealand, Denmark.  Instead, it is quite obvious that several significant migrations occurred to more distant locations.  While researching these locations, we find that these I1a hot spots map to the following places:

1. Kiev
2. The confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers
3. The confluence of the Danube and the Timok River

The first two locations map directly to the exploits of the Kievan Rus.  Kiev was the center of power for the Rus.  The second location was captured by the Rus during a campaign in 966 and was home to the Volga Bulgars.  The Rus are named for the word Rhos or Rus, which is a cognate with O.N. hris, "thorny thicket."  This is the same word used to name the domain of Rorik of Dorestad called Rustringen in Frisia.  Rus-tringen has the meaning “thorny thicket ring.”  Rustringen is no doubt named in honor of the ring fort at Hedeby, which was home to the kings of Angle.

The Rus army that went with Rorik is likely to have included participants from both Angle (Hedeby) and Frisia (Rustringen).  Most scholars believe Rorik is the son of either Anulo or Hemming.  Thus he is either the brother or first cousin of Ragnar.  Given the succession of rule, we should suspect that Rorik was a brother of Ragnar.

Alternative I1a Migration

From a study of the I1a density map, it seems likely that the I1a mutation is a relatively recent event, which happened following the Dacian migration to Denmark.  A study of the I1a density map combined with other research suggests that several groups of people descend from a common paternal ancestry:

• The Angles
• The Parisii of Paris
• The Parisii of York
• The Kievan Rus
• The Volga Bulgars
• The Danube Bulgars
• The Frisii
• The Belgae

We might consider the possibility that the Dacians migrated from the Thracian empire to Hedeby, the most ancient town in Denmark. 

Hedeby Archealogy		Aerial view of Hedeby

In Hedeby, the I1a mutation may have occurred, followed by migration back to the Dacian homeland (Danube Bulgars) and to other locations such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Paris, York, Kiev and Bolghar.

A dominant feature of the fort at Hedeby was the placement of Hawthorn bushes atop a tall earthen wall.  These bushes bristle with long, sharp thorns, providing additional defense against invaders.  The wall was curved (angled) in a semi-circle, with one side opening to a bay.  This curved wall and the thorns of the Hawthorn bush are defining features of the fort at Hedeby, and many places and people from Angle are named in honor of these and other features of the Hedeby fort.  The list of such names is quite long, but we might consider a few root words and composite names relevant to the I1a migration topic:

• Bul/Bol:  cognate with ball, bowl, meaning "round, curved"
• Rus/Ris:  derives from O.N. hris, meaning "thorny thicket"
• Ger/Gar:  derives from PIE *ghers- "stand out, rise to a point, bristle" used to name the thorny briar and spear
• Poe/Pa:  cognate with pea, meaning "round, curved"
• Tringen:  Old Frisian, "ring, curved"
• Phris/Pres:   authorities beginning with Chalmers (see Watson) correctly identified -fries with Gaelic preas, Angl. pres(s), gen. phris, Angl. -fries, gen. pl. preas, (b)p(h)reasach, "bush, copse, thicket, briar"

From these root words, we get the following names:

• Bulgar, "round [wall] of thorns"
• Rus, "thorny thicket"
• Rustringen, "round [wall] of thorny thicket"
• Paris, "round [wall] of thorny thicket"
• Frisia, "land named for the thorny thicket"

These names support the notion that Hedeby is the nucleus for migration of the Angles to Paris, York, Frisia, Kiev, Bolghar (Volga Bulgars), and Bulgaria (Danube Bulgars).  This fits the I1a haplogroup density map, but differs from the National Geneographic Project I1a migration hypothesis by placing the migration to France after the migration to Denmark.

The topic of symbology is explored further below and within another section of this site, but we might consider a common symbol that unites the Kievan, Danish and French descendents of the Angles.  The figure below indicates various stylized representations of the raven,  The raven (Latin corvus) is named for its curved beak and is symbolic of the curved fort at Hedeby. 

 

Stylized Ravens	Norman Carrying Raven Banner	Raven Banner on the ground

The Parisii, Frisii, Belgae and Bulgars

The Angles are known to have favored York and we know that a mass migration from Angle to York happened in the 5th century.  In the 9th century, the famous Viking Ragnar was ruler of Hedeby and was captured and killed in York.  His son Sigurd (aka Ingvar) captured York, which became an Angle stronghold and the capital of Northumbria.  A tribe called the Parisii held York in the 1st century.  As mentioned, the Parisii and Paris derive from Pa-hris, "round [wall] of thorny thicket" and are named in honor of Hedeby.  The Parisii "tribe" was also found in France near Paris.

Frisia is an ancient land lying within the current political boundaries of The Netherlands.   The Frisii and Frisia are names for the fris or thorny thicket ring hedge that characterized Hedeby.  Similarly, the Belgea and Bulgar are each named for the boll-ger, or "ring of thorns."

The use of thick hedgeworks for defense was not known in Italy.  A tribe of the Belgea, the Nervii, became known to Julius Caesar during his campaigns.  The Nervii tribe, he says, had an ancient practice: they cut into slender trees and bent them over so that many branches came out along their length; they finished these off by inserting brambles and briars, so that these hedges formed a defense like a wall, which could not only not be penetrated but not even be seen through.  There is some evidence for hedges from excavation.  For instance, Hawthorn berry pits are found in great quantities in the refuse layers of Hedeby.  Archeologists are puzzled, as Hawthorn berries are not generally considered edible.  Also, part of a hedge was excavated at Bar Hill (Dunbartonshire).  Beneath the Roman fort were found hawthorn stems. 

Thracians, Dacians and Goths

The Danish people derive from a massive migration to Scandinavia that occurred during the early centuries AD from regions west of the Black Sea.  Some scholars believe this migration was triggered by Roman oppression of this region, including forced military service.  We should consider that the Goths are likely to have also derived from the Danube River region.  The Goth Jordanes in his Getica (The origin and deeds of the Goths) considered the Dacians a related nation of the Goths.

The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, a manuscript written about 1000 AD, provides an interesting account of the Dacians.  The original text was written in Scotland, probably in the early eleventh century, shortly after the reign of Kenneth II, the last reign it relates.  The author indicates that the Dacians were offspring of the Goths who were thought to be named after Magog the son of Japheth.  "They were a courageous and most powerful race, lofty, with massive bodies and striking terror with their kind of armor."  Also, of interest, this same manuscript provides details related to the first rulers of Scotland from Angle.  Kenneth Mac Alpín is regarded as the first King of Alba who had conquered most of Pictavia by around 843.  "However Pictavia was named after the Picts whom, as we said, Kenneth destroyed.  For God, to punish them for the fault of their malice..."

We can be relatively certain that the Dacian migration included various related tribes from the region of modern Bulgaria and Romania.  Among these peoples include both Dacians from north of the Danube and Thracians from south of the Danube.  The Dacians settled in a region that includes modern Denmark and the northwest region of Germany.  The Dacians named this region Dacia, in honor of their homeland.  The Thracian tribe of Svear settled in modern Sweden.  The Svear (Latin: Suiones) gave Sweden its name (Sverige, or Svea Rike, in Swedish, meaning “kingdom of Svea”), and it was the nucleus from which Sweden developed politically and culturally.

In Sweden, archeological evidence suggests the Thracian tribe of Svear displaced native populations in the areas selected by the Svear for settlement.  In Dacia, the Dacians displaced the native peoples.  Undoubtedly, some level of integration happened between the Thracians, Dacians, and native populations.  Dr. David Faux offers a compelling argument that while the Dacians clearly displaced the Celtic Cimbrians, the Angles are likely to have partially integrated with them.

Some Important Findings

The "Discoveries" section of this site contains a more complete overview of key findings.  Here we present some of the more important findings that have emerged from research efforts that continue to impact our greater understanding of the Angles.

Right to Rule

Claimants to power in Angle were from a ruling family, with preference given to the eldest male most closely related to the prior ruler.  This tradition reduced the likelihood of conflict during times of transition and served to concentrate wealth and power.  This tradition continued in Russia, Scotland, Flanders, Normandy, post-conquest England and other regions controlled by the Angles, likewise serving to enable the formation of powerful governments and military capabilities.  Conflicts were reduced to situations where the lack of an immediate male heir led to contested claims by paternal cousins.

The origin of this behavior is perhaps based on the very ancient notion that the royal family descends from the gods.  Perhaps this concept was borrowed by the Dacians and Thracians from the Romans.  The family of Julias Caesar (gens Julia), for example, claimed to descend by Venus through Aeneas.  The original royal family of Norway were said to be descended from Odin.  Frey was the main god of kingship among the Swedes and the royal family (the Ynglings) were believed to have descended from him.

We should consider the many similarities among the the Goths, Dacians and Thracians.  They shared common cultural characteristics and often shared a common government.  We might consider the possibility that these groups of peoples were aware of their common heritage and perhaps ruled by branches of a common ruling family.

Symbology

The "Symbology" section of this site contains a more complete overview of key symbolic representations.  The best known symbol of the Kings of Angle is the raven (Latin Corvus).  The corvus was symbolic of the curved (Latin curvus) fort at Hedeby.  The raven was carried into battle by the kings of Angle on the raven banner.  The raven is also found as a personal emblem of the Rus kings of Kiev.  The raven is also found on coinage minted by the Kievan Rus kings, including coins produced by Yaroslav "the Wise" and coins minted by Vladimir "the Great."  Other well known symbols of Hedeby are drawn from features such as:

• The heathland or moorland upon which Hedeby was situated
• The crescent-shaped earthen ramparts protecting Hedeby
• The Schlei Inlet leading to Hedeby
• The spring-fed bourn that bisected Hedeby, supplying the town with fresh water
• The underground fire that the Danes believed to burn, causing the Hedeby bourn to bubble from the spring

The most commonly found symbols of the kings of Angle include:

• Raven (L. corvus), symbolic of the curved (L. curvus) fort of Hedeby
• Hart or Stag (L. cervus), symbolic of the curved (L. curvus) fort of Hedeby
• Serpent: represents the bourn of Hedeby which "snakes" from a hot spring to the fort; the “gleaming worm” or “boneless” creature represent the bourn.  Perhaps the Angles thought of the dragon or boneless creature, not in a physical sense, but more in a spiritual sense in accordance with pagan nature-based concepts
• Acorn: from Eck-kern, meaning "ring of thorns"
• Oak leaf: from Eik, "oak" as canting device for Eck, "edge, thorn"
• Bow: represents the bowed or curved fort at Heidabyr
• Piercing Spear: the pheon represents Eck, "edge" and the spear represents the thorn which was also called the ash, fremen or ger.
• Thistle: symbolic of the prickly (thorny) briar at Heidabyr
• Cinquefoil rose: derived from 5-petal rose of the hawthorn bush
• Gules and ermine chapeau: gules and ermine are the colors of Danish royalty, as mantles were often composed of red wool and the fur of the ermine, which were quite expensive to construct
• Wheat stalk: derives from ON kok, meaning a "column, stack or pole" which is often used to describe Hedeby.  This seems to concern the tall vertical stack of earth forming the rampart walls. In later times a kok was a conical stack of harvested wheat.  Alternatively, the column, stack or pole may have pertained to the long narrow Schlei Inlet.

The notion of the Schlei Inlet as a rod, spear, pole, stack or column is a particularly powerful concept among the Angles.  From our research, we know the first kings of Scotland were Danes from Angle named for the Schlei Inlet.  This finding is highlighted by the name of the Scottish king, who was more properly called Mael Column Caen More “Long Neck,” whose name was Anglicized as Malcolm III of Scotland.  Caen is a cognate of channel, each deriving from L. canalis "pipe, groove, channel."  In essence, Mael Column Caen More “Long Neck” has the meaning of “King from (of?) the long neck of the columnar channel on the moor.”  Similarly, Duncan (ie, King Duncan) derives from dun-caen, meaning “fort on the channel.”

Place Name Propogation

The Danes were fond of honoring homelands by naming new locations for prior ones.  The Scandinavian region of Dacia, for example, was named for the Balkan homeland.  This tradition continued for centuries, as locations throughout Denmark, Germany, Normandy, England and elsewhere.  Places named for Hedeby include:

• Russia:  meaning "land of the Rus."  Rus is equivalent to O.N. hris and has the meaning of "thorny thicket."  The Rus were named for the thorny briar (certainly including Hawthorn bushes) that ringed Hedeby.
• Germany:  derived from Ger-man, meaning "from ger," where ger is the Germanic word for spear and thorn.  Thus Ger-man essentially means "from the thorny [fort]."
• Poland:  derived from "pole-land" whereby pole is likely the same rod, spear, pole, stack or column often used to characterize Hedeby
• England:  derived from "Angle-land" for the Angles that conquered the Danelaw and Northumbria
• Roskilde:  meaning spring or fountain on the thorny thicket, this location in Zealand is named for Hedeby
• Hamburg:  meaning curved fort and named for Hedeby
• Bailleul:  derived from Beu-leigh, meaning bowed fort on the field
• Bellefountain:  found in Normandy and meaning spring of the bowed fort on the field
• Oldenburg:  meaning "old fort" is a later name by which Hedeby was known.  A town in Germany is identically named

Countless further examples are to be found.  In fact, just about every name in areas once controlled by the Danes is likely to have been named for some place else.

Personal Place Names

A common misconception is that the Danish kings used colorful personal nicknames.  This misconception has led to the creation of imaginative nicknames such as Hairy Britches, Ironside, the Boneless, Snake-Eye, Bluetooth, etc.  Just as later descendents (Norman, English, Italian, etc.), the rulers of Denmark augmented given names with with place names.

1. Lodbrok: “lot (enclosure) with the brook,” referring to the bourn that bisected the fort of Hedeby
2. Costae Ferreae: ”merchant harbor,” referring to the port of Hedeby which stood on the shore of the Schlei Inlet
3. Bier Costae Ferreae (aka Bjorn “Ironside”): “the town with the bourn near the merchant harbor,” a clear reference to Heidabyr
4. Ivar Bein Lausi (aka Ivar “the Boneless”): “thorny wall on the bourn”
5. Snake-Eye: “oval on the bourn”
6. Blatonn: “fort on the bourn (dark water)”
7. Sigurd:  "thorny fort"
8. Sigfried:  "thorny thicket"

The name of Ivarr or Igor is common among the kings of Angle and their descendents.  Like all other Angle names, these are actually place names.  Ivarr derives from Ing-Var meaning "wall of thorns."  Ivarr "the Boneless," for example, means "wall of thorns on the bourn."  We might consider that Ivarr "the Boneless" has the same meaning as Sigurd "Snake Eye."  From our research, we know these are almost certainly the same individual.

Bonds of Kinship

Research has revealed that consideration of paternal kinship is a prominent feature of social behavior among the Angles and their descendents.  An aspect of Danish (also Flemish, Frisian, Norman) social behavior is that land was held and passed among close paternal kin.  Such behaviors were intended to concentrate power for the purpose of defense, government, social order and wealth creation. It was a successful practice with the result that the region of Flanders became the most powerful in the world for a period of time.

Marriage to close cousins was a way to preserve power within a close kinship network.  In earlier times, this behavior was no doubt designed to limit expansion of the "blood of the gods" and potential claimants to power.  This behavior also had the effect of concentrating wealth.  In Flanders, marriage to paternal cousins by the nobility was not just tradition, it was the law.  Consequently, Flanders became one of the most powerful regions in the world.

Crispin Cousins

This site includes a look at key findings resulting from research pursued by the Crispin Cousins team at Yahoo, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/crispincousins/.  The particular research track of interest concerns ancient and medieval periods involving the Kings of Hedeby, one of the ruling families of Denmark.  The Crispin Cousins research team is exploring the lives and times, ancestry and descendents of a branch of the Danish royal family that were the Kings of Hedeby.

Crispin is one of the most ancient family names adopted by their descendents. Variations include Krause (German), Freskin (Frisian), Crispin (Latin) and Friser (French). Crispin derives from the meaning of "curly," which perhaps pertains to the semi-circular fort at Hedeby that curls in a crescent shape.

The subject family was also known for the many powerful Sea-Kings, including Ragnar, Hasting and their sons. The family is also noted for the Danelaw established in England, including the Kingdom of Northumbria and Kingdom of East Anglia, and the lands of the Five Boroughs of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Stamford and Lincoln. The family is also known for uniting Scandinavia under Harald Blatand, for the role played in the formation of Flanders and Normandy, and for influence and rule in Brittany, Maine and Anjou.

Tremendous discoveries have been made since this group was launched. As Crispin cousins, we are on a journey of discovery involving one of the most influential families in Danish, Flemish and Norman history.

Secondary research goals include:

• understand the origins of close cousin families and help cousins uncover their own heritage
• solve ancient pedigree mysteries
• make new friends and link up with cousins
• uncover the ancestral geographical trail, providing context for tourist travels in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, France and the British Isles

Tools available to genealogical researchers have changed dramatically.  While primary research still relies heavily on visits to libraries, the Internet and Y-DNA have each had a dramatic impact, allowing us to quickly formulate and probe emerging hypothesis.  We take an approach that blends all available information, including historical accounts, ecclesiastical charters, land grants, Exchequer records, coat-of-arms, Y-DNA profiles, family records, geographic proximity, town names, chronology, and many other sources.  Various sources, of course, offer varying degrees of reliability which must be taken into account.