Earlier, I mentioned in passing that one line of those New England ancestors of Dan Myers goes back to medieval European royalty. As I expected, those pedigrees are well researched and documented, going back several more centuries. I have now added nearly all of them to my database, and you can view them by going to “full pedigrees” and selecting Dan Myers.
Before I began the “Pilgrim Connection,” my knowledge of Dan’s pedigree totaled about 36 individuals. There are now over 800! About 200 of these were already in the database, due to cross-connections (more on this later). The other 600, I have added manually over the past month. Some of the more familiar names among these ancestors are: King John of England (1166-1216; legendary enemy of Robin Hood), William the Conqueror (c. 1027-1087), King Philip I of France (1053-1108), Duncan I of Scotland (d. 1040; highly fictionalized in Shakespeare’s Macbeth), Hugh Capet (940-996; first king of France), Vladimir I of Kiev (958-1015), and of course our old friend, Charlemagne (742-814). Wait a minute … I was already related to those last two. Stay tuned.
Diana
Jan 18, 2010
Whoa – does this mean we’re (I’m) related to Eleanor of Aquitaine (King John’s mother), one of my favorite historical women of all time?!
George
Jan 19, 2010
Definitely! Eleanor of Aquitane is your 25th great-grandmother.
Lois Larson Hall
Jan 19, 2010
George, if you haven’t already, you absolutely must read the book I mentioned in another post, “1066: The Hidden History in the Bayeux Tapestry.” You will learn much about your famous ancestor William Duke of Normandy who became William the Conqueror, king of Britian. You know what? Lots of both our ancestors weren’t very nice guys sometimes, or gals either for that matter, as it seemed quite a few of the women were right in there in fray in the quest for power. It was a blood-thirsty era with seemingly unending power struggles in northern Europe. At any rate, the book is fascinating. I think you’d enjoy it.
George
Jan 19, 2010
I am eager to read that book. I’m sure I can get it from the local library, either from its own collection or on Inter-Library Loan. I am already aware that those folks “weren’t very nice.” Power corrupts, and just becoming powerful already involves violence and corruption, except in our democratic society, where it only requires corruption.