Normans of Continental Europe (Normans-CE)- Background

Background

The purpose of our DNA Project is to identify descendants of Normans in Continental Europe, i.e. Europe without British Isles and Scandinavian Peninsula. We classify as Normans, people with Haplogroup I1, whose families historically originated in this region. Today, we see six basic waves of their influx into this region: - Prehistoric movements of Nordic tribes in times of “Voelker-Wanderung”. - Early-medieval expansion of Norman conquerors, merchants and mercenaries from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. - Participation of knights with Norman origin in the wars and crusades– from the eleventh to the fifteenth century. - British people of Norman origin serving in mercenary regiments in this part of Europe – from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. - Immigration waves of German and Dutch settlers to Central, Eastern and Southern Europe from the thirteenth to the twentieth century. - Swedish soldiers in the conquests and wars in Central and Eastern Europe from the seventeenth to the eighteenth century. Distribution Map of the I1 Haplogroup in Continental Europe - Link: Distribution Map