poniedziałek, 2 grudnia 2019

Baltic ancestry of Prof. Tolkien confirmed!
The Tolkiens' Y-DNA is West Baltic R1a-Z92 (> Y42738)

The continuation of this story can be found here. The Tolkien family terminal SNP (Y-DNA) is R1a > Z92 > Y42738*


Haplogroup R1a-Z92 and its Baltic subgroups including YP350*
of the ancestors of the author of this blog (graphics made by Łukasz Łapiński)
 
My four big discoveries in the #TolkienAncestry in the year 2019 are:
  • J. R. R. Tolkien's letter to his American cousins with his genealogical information. See here!
  • J. R. R. Tolkien's drawing of the Tolkiens' pseudo-coat-of-arms in the collection of the Bodleian Library. See here!
  • documents from the 16th and 17th century about the Baltic, Prussian roots of the Tolkien family of J. R. R. Tolkien.See here!
  • information about the DNA haplogroup of the Tolkien family (generally R1a-Z92, West Baltic branch YP350*). 
Today I want to write more about this last discovery. After my appeal and request from the post entitled "Important news about Professor Tolkien's ancestors!" my American friend, Mrs Charlaine Tolkien, thanks to whom I could publish the letter by Professor Tolkien from 1951, wrote to me: 
"I had my brother's DNA done in 2010 and I have scanned the front page for you." 
Charlaine's brother is Mr Charles Embury Tolkien. The genetic test of Mr Tolkien was made by "Ancestry.com | DNA". His results were interpreted by the best Polish specialist in the genetic genealogy, Mr Łukasz Łapiński. His verdict is: "haplogroup R1a-Z92, rather certain West Baltic subgroup YP270, quite possibly YP350 or another related branch". Mr Łapiński wrote:  
"I'm happy that I could help a little bit with DNA classification of Tolkien's Y-DNA Line. Prussian ancestry of that great author is great news. I've got also Prussian roots (from paternal grandmother side), So that information is also awesome for me. Looking forward for next steps in discovering Tolkien ancestry!". 
This specialist in the genetic genealogy suggests that a member of the Tolkien family should do more sophisticated SNP test. That would be really great!

What is the genealogical relationship between Mr Charles Embury Tolkien and Professor J. R. R. Tolkien? Charlaine Tolkien made this simple form of the family tree according to my instructions:

Common Tolkien ancestor of these two branches of the Tolkien family was the Feuerwercker from Danzig (Gdańsk), Christian Tolkien (born in Kreuzburg, Kingdom of Prussia in 1706, died in Danzig/Gdańsk in Poland in 1791). If Mr Chales Embury Tolkien, Christian's great-great-great-great-grandson belongs to the Prussian (West Baltic) haplogroup R1a-Z92, so his Tolkien ancestors belong to the same haplogroup too. And even more - J. R. R. Tolkien and his descendants should belong to the same haplogroup. It is in accordance with my genealogical research which proved that the Tolkiens' ancestors were Prussians (who spoke a Baltic language known as Old Prussian) from the tribe of Natangians, who lived in a village called Tollkeim (before the Second World War in East Prussia). The Tolkien family-name comes from the Tollkeim place-name as many surnames in the German-speaking parts of Europe (Tolkeim > Tolkein > Tolkin [spelled Tolkien, Tolkiehn, Tollkühn etc.]). 

And there is something thrilling in this Z92! Really! Today Z92 characterizes descendants of the Old Prussian, Yotvingian and Lithuanian populations. But Z92 as the ancient DNA (aDNA; it means DNA isolated from ancient specimens) should be interesting to every fan of J. R. R. Tolkien's literature because it belongs to the... Vikings of the Baltic Sea! It was found in the Viking burials from today's Estonia, Poland and Russia:

Map with the Viking Age Z92 aDNA from the website indo-european.com
It is very possible that some branches of Z92 became Old Prussian and Yotvingian because some Vikings from eastern shores of Baltic Sea became witings, a class of the nobiles in the Old Prussian society.

To be precise a witing (from Old Prussian wītingis) was an Old Prussian nobil, a nobleman, a mounted warrior. It is an Old Prussian term related to the Polish wiciądz (Czech vitěz, Russian витязь, etc.), meaning "a warrior", "a winner" and "a hero". In a document of the Komtur of Koenigsberg from August 10, 1299, regarding Sambia, we find almost a hundred of old witings (Latin antiqui witingi) who remained faithful to the Teutonic Order during the Second Prussian Uprising. In the Teutonic State, they became the so-called free Prussians, they received land and were called up for military services (used, for instance, in the intelligence units and for information service like the tolks, the interpreters of the Teutonic Order). Yes, the tolks!

I suppose that a medieval ancestor of J. R. R. Tolkien was a witing used by the Order as an interpreter, a tolk. His ancestors could be Vikings of the Baltic Sea. He founded a village called Tolkeim, in Old Prussian "a village of a tolk". His descendants were called the Tolkeims which became the Tolkiens in the 17th century.
_______________________

I remember J. R. R. Tolkien's Lost Road. As Tolkien Gateway relates: 
The theme of The Lost Road is one of 'Preincarnation': there are a series of occurrences throughout time of father and son duos sharing names that are etymologically connected with Amandil ('Bliss-friend') and Elendil ('Elf-friend'). These include Eädwine-Ælfwine of Anglo-Saxon legend, Audoin-Alboin of Lombardic, through to "the traditions of the North Sea concerning the coming of corn and culture heroes, ancestors of kingly lines, in boats".[1] In the story the present pair—Edwin and Elwin—travel back through the different phases of the history of their names, eventually reaching the time of Amandil and Elendil and the Akallabêth or Atalantie ('Downfall' in Númenórean and Quenya respectively) of Númenor. 
Would you like to see the Lost Road of the patrilinear ancestors of J. R. R. Tolkien? Knowing his probable haplogroup we can track the road of his ancestors from Palelitic Africa and Asia to the Iron Age and Medieval area of Baltic Sea (according to the tool SNP Tracker):


See also this general "family tree" of the haplogroup R1a made by Łukasz Łapiński:


And in the end I can say that by accident the Tolkien family are my distant cousins. Years ago I made my own genetic tests. And to my surprice I found out that my family, the Derdzinski, are also descendants of the Balts, the Old Prussians or Yotvingians. My haplogroup is R1a-Z92 (YP350*)

28 komentarzy:

  1. Hello cousin, I also am Z92(350+), now I have a better understanding of my affinity for Tolkien. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Wow, lovely, Cousin! Are your ancestors from East Europe? Is your surname of non-English etymology? This all is very interesting! :)

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    2. Hi Cousin, surely the world gets smaller. My surname is Waryck altered in the US from Warych. My great grandfather was born in Zdunek, not far from Myszyniec Masovia Poland. I hear tell that my surname comes from the word in Polish for to boil and is very similar to the same word in Belarussian.

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    3. Yes, my surname is Waryck altered in the US from Warych,my great grandfather was born in Zdunek, Masovia Poland from all I can tell in the area of the Galindians. It is truly very interesting. What is Witing?

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  2. I also have haplogroup YP350 and as far as I know there are not too many of us. So... hi, cousin :D

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    1. Nice to meet you! Where are you from? It is fascinating to meet genetic cousins!

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    2. I'm from Szczecin, Poland, but my family is from Warsaw. So if my (our) descendant is from Prussia he lived not far from Warsaw (Mazovia)

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    3. And what is your family name? My surname is Derdziński

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  3. So nice to hear it. Imagine that I am from Poland too, my male ancestors lived in the villages and small towns near Przemyśl and Lwów. But our family name - Derdziński - occurs mainly in the north, near Augustów. So I believe that my ancestors were Polonized Yotvingians who lived in Mazowsze (Mazovia) and who in the 17th century fled to Ziemia Tarnopolska and Lwowska.

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  4. Hi, Cousin, yes my paternal ancestors are from East Europe. I am in USA, my great grandfather was born in Zdunek, Masovia not far from Myszyniec. My surname is Waryck mispelled from Warych.

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  5. Warych and similar names possibly derive from Baltoslavic or even earlier tribal military ethos and were carried as far as Scandinavia and India (Varegi, Waraich).
    If you are interested I can try to explain etymology and point at some newest archeological sites in NE Poland.
    Adam

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  6. Concerning Warych name origins, contact me at inshoresailing@yahoo.com
    Adam

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  7. Hi there cousins! I too am R-Z92. I found this site through a random Google search. My earliest known "Y" ancestor was Albertum Sebastiani Strzałkowski born in 1689 & died in 1761 in what is today, Janowiec, Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. The Strzałkowski line then continued in Masovia until my Great Grandfather came over to America in the early 1900s. My earliest Y ancestors WikiTree profile (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Strzałkowski-43) and my GEDMATCH is A781813. Hope everyone is doing well! - John

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    1. Hi John,

      I am interested in Strzałkowski as a descendant of Łukasz Strzalkowski who married Helena Rozalia(?) and had a son Adam Strzałkowski (who married Helena Hendryk. They latter had a daugter Zofia Strzałkowska, my closest ancestress. I couldn't go past Lukasz Strzalkowski, I don't even know when he was born. Any insight from you would be very helpful. It is not my paternal side, therefore I have a different haplogroup than you (I am R-Y2902).

      Best,
      Artur

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  8. Kilka dni temu dowiedziałem się, że moja haplogrupa to R1a-Z92. Mimo, że w genealogii swojej rodziny dotarłem do 1721 r. to jest to spore zaskoczenie bowiem nazwisko mam niemieckobrzmiące i sądziłem, że moi przodkowie przybyli do Polski (obecne woj. kujawsko-pomorskie) raczej z zachodu Europy...

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    1. Wspaniała wiadomość! Witaj zatem Kuzynie. Ciekawe, jakim okaże się Twoje terminalne SNP? Zobacz na całą rodzinę R1a-Z92:

      https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Z92/

      Wydaje mi się, że jeżeli w naszej grupie znajdują się Niemcy, to wywodzą się oni raczej z terenu Prus Wschodnich i Zachodnich

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    2. Mnie znajdziesz tutaj:

      https://www.yfull.com/tree/R-Y42738/

      Terminalne SNP rodu Tolkien poznamy w najbliższych tygodniach. Wiele wskazuje, że będzie to w obrębie rodu R-YP350

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    3. Dziękuję Ci za miły komentarz. Przyznam się, że świadomość, że jestem "nosicielem" subkladu Z92, czyli jestem w grupie mieszkańców Polski mniejszej niż 5% ma dla mnie dalekosiężne skutki. Oswajam się z tym powoli zastanawiając się co robić z tą wiedzą, w jakim kierunku prowadzącym do dowiedzenia się cokolwiek więcej o moich pruskich(?) przodkach iść? Już dawniej czytywałem Twojego bloga będąc pod wrażeniem ogromnej pracy jaką wykonałeś w odkrywaniu genealogii Tolkiena ale nie sądziłem, że w jakimś stopniu dotknie mnie to osobiście.
      Myślę, że masz rację pisząc o pochodzeniu mojego niemiecko brzmiącego nazwiska. Musiało ono zostać nadane moim przodkom gdzieś w Prusach krzyżackich i z nimi może w XVII w. zawędrować do Polski. Dziękuję Ci raz jeszcze i póki co dalej oswajam się z moją odkrytą, pruską tożsamością.

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    4. Chętnie Ci pomogę rozwikłać tajemnicę nazwiska. Podaj mi jakieś dane na maila derdzinski(at)gmail(dot)com

      W naszym "klanie" jest nie tylko Tolkien - jest też na przykład Puszkin ☺️

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    5. I have R1a z92 z660 it's connected with baltoslavic?

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  9. Hello I am R1 Z92 z660 I use my heritage SNP test for some sort of program and I have that's Y result, I don't know how it true but I have a strong SNP connection with vikings from Saaremaa and I read they had R1a z92 as well.

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    1. Welcome to our "Club" :)

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    2. I made my Y dna test, so it looks as I am from different (but no much) club =) R1a Z282>Z280> Z92>Y4459>> Y11268 >> YP6505 78.78%

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    3. Welcome to our Clan :D Nice to hear from you. Are you on YFull?

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  10. Ważna informacja | Important information

    http://tolkniety.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-tolkien-confirmed-haplogroup-is-r.html (Polish)

    http://tolkniety.blogspot.com/2021/08/tolkien-confirmed-haplogroup-is-y42738.html (English)

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  11. Mi apellido es Stantien y somos originarios de Prusia Oriental desde siempre. Pero no sé mucho más que eso.

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  12. Hi guys, I am R-Z92 also, I am from Macedonia. Our family name is Prentoski. Nice to see some history on my paternal haplogroup. Thank you for taking the time write all this. Not much is known about R-Z92. Greetings cousins 😃

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