It seems appropriate as the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand celebrate
Mother’s Day that we take a moment to think about not just our own moms, but
also all of the mothers who came before. After all, we each carry a bit of our
mother’s DNA and that of every one of our grandmothers, through Mom’s direct
line, going back many thousands of years.
also all of the mothers who came before. After all, we each carry a bit of our
mother’s DNA and that of every one of our grandmothers, through Mom’s direct
line, going back many thousands of years.
Did you know that most of us are descended from at least one queen, king, saint
or other famous person from history? For example, if you have Western
European ancestry, you are almost certainly a descendant of Charlemagne and
one of the seven mothers of his 18 children. Now that was a lot of Mother’s Day
gifts!
If you have the surname Stewart, you can likely count one of the royals of
Scotland or England as an ancestor. At least half a million people alive today are
descended from one man from the 12th century, Somerled, the powerful Gaelic
Viking warlord who was the progenitor of some of Scotland’s oldest clans. Only
Genghis Khan has more descendants.
In addition to a DNA test, which can tell you things like what percentage of your
ancestry is from which part of the world, you can research your family tree on
websites such as Ancestry, Geni or Family Search. If you have Scottish heritage,
you can also search birth, marriage, christening and death certificates going back to 1500s on the government website ScotlandsPeople.
We were chatting about this with a friend from the USA who recently started
researching her ancestors. A test confirmed that her DNA was mainly Scottish,
but also a bit Scandinavian. Further digital digging into her family tree backed
this up, and revealed famous historic female figures from history, including Saint
Margaret, Queen Ingebjørg Finnsdotter from Norway-who was married to both
Jarl Thorfinn the Mighty, of Orkneyinga Saga fame, and King Malcolm III of
Scotland- as well as Poppa of Bayeux by her husband, Rollo the Viking. And yes, sure enough, good old Somerled and Charlemagne were in there, too!
No matter where in the world you live, no matter how humble your background,
if you have ancestors from the British Isles and you go back far enough, you will
probably find someone fabulous, famous, or both, in your family tree. If your
mother has Celtic or Viking roots, show her that she’s the queen of your heart
with one of our heritage inspired pieces of handcrafted jewellery. From bracelets
and charms to necklaces, rings and earrings, there’s a gift for every Mom’s taste.
And whether you are a Mither, as we say in Orkney, Màthair in Scots Gaelic,
Mom, Mum or Mama, here’s wishing all the wonderful Mothers- and mother
figures- in our lives the happiest of days!
figures- in our lives the happiest of days!