This Y-DNA project was created to find common geographical, historical and patrilineal links among those who believe they have an early English/Anglo-Saxon or Frisian heritage and those who live in, or have ancestry, from the Germanic continental homelands in modern Denmark, NW Germany and The Netherlands, the lands that were once occupied by the North Sea Germanic tribes, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. We are a project for those who are interested in learning more about these early-medieval Germanic peoples, their migrations and our possible genetic connection to them. Using Y-DNA and Ancient genetic samples we will attempt to establish our ancient patrilineal connections with these Germanic tribes and their migrations along the North Sea Coastlines and into post Roman Britain. By 'Anglo-Saxon' this project means the peoples of early-medieval eastern and southern Great Britain and the ancestral locations from which they hail on the north-western part of the European continental mainland. *********** Join Request *********** In your join request please provide your known FTDNA tested Y-DNA HAPLOGROUP and some detail of your known paternal ancestry - for example your Earliest Known Paternal Ancestors name, and his date and place of birth. You may gain entry if you are the kit owner or the manager/administrator of a kit, You must have a FTDNA kit number and a Y-DNA result. 'Anglo Saxon' implies the people from early England, SE Scotland and from the ancestral Germanic locations in modern north-western Europe (Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands). You should be able to trace your paternal ancestry or surname to the regions mentioned above, your Y-Haplogroup may also indicate your paternal ancestry comes from these regions. We are very interested in recruiting more testers from Jutland, NW Germany and The Netherlands, especially the regions occupied by Frisian Speakers. Applications with a simple surname and no other contextual detail will be immediately dismissed. Surnames as we use them today were not used within Anglo-Saxon or early medieval Germanic continental societies, these regions didn't start using surnames in the modern sense until the mid to late medieval period, so long after the period which we are researching. On our DNA classic chart we will attempt to place our members kits in groups that have a shared SNP(haplogroup) that fits into the Anglo-Saxon/North sea Germanic migration period (approximately 350CE to 550CE). The phrase 'Anglo-Saxon' and/or 'W.A.S.P' have been used as racial and political terms in some parts of the world, if you have come to join this project based on these racial and political views then this is certainly NOT a project/group for you, we are a Geographical/Historical project interested in the Ancient people who migrated within north west Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries CE. PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR FTDNA TESTED Y-DNA HAPLOGROUP IN YOUR JOIN REQUEST (This is repeated because over 50% of join requests do not have a haplogroup result entered) ******************* Historical background. ******************* The Romans are known to have enlisted various Germanic warrior groups into military service and stationed them within the province of Britannia. Germanic units used in Britain include the Batavi(from modern day Belgium & S Netherlands), the Frisii(from modern day Netherlands), the Tuihanti eastern neighbours of the Frisii, when these troops had served their time in the Legions they were often settled on lands provided by the Emperor, often in the lands that they had served in. During this period there were pressures on German population groups in their continental homelands, at the end of the 4th century Europe started to suffer a cooling period of climatic change, also new tribal groups were pushing into the Germanic territorial homelands - Danes coming down from Scandinavia and Slavs from the east and the Huns pushing into the central Germanic lands. After the fall of the Roman Empire some Germanic settler families were granted land on the eastern coastal regions of Great Britain and used as mercenaries to help the Romano-British nobility guard their territories from raiders such as the Picts, Irish, Scoti and other incoming Germanics, these mercenaries were possibly also used against other competing Romano-British factions. The Romano-British Celtic speaking inhabitants of the British Isles called all the Germanics Saxon (Sais, Saeson, Sassannach and Sowson in modern Celtic language), a name which is from the large group of Germanics that the Romans called Saxones. The Saxons had been known for generations for their intense raiding and piratical practices on Roman British and Gaulish coastlines. Although possibly a high proportion of the incomers were of Anglian(Angle/Anglii) or Saxon Heritage, many other smaller Germanic groups from north western Europe migrated to shores of Britain too, the Jutes are the most famous of these smaller Germanic groups(other lesser known tribes possibly included Chauci, Cimberi, Charudes, Teutoni, Avionnes, Reudingi and Warni/Varini). Some of these Settler communities ousted their Romano British overlords and began forming small states mainly along eastern and southern coastlines and up the major river valleys(Thames, Nene, Gt Ouse, Welland,Trent and Derwent). As the populations of these settlers boomed and they were joined by new migrants they expanded their territorial claims into the interior of the British Midlands and up the North sea coastline. These Germanic migrants to Britain quickly intermarried and absorbed the existing British inhabitants into their communities. For many generations many small British independent communities remained surrounded by the Incoming Germanics, over a period of a few centuries the Germanic customs and languages became the dominant culture. Multiple small kingdoms within eastern, central and southern Great Britain were established by the 6th century CE. These settler peoples lived in different Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and often fought against each other over many centuries, but they seem to have thought of themselves as one people, their chroniclers called them the Angli or Angelcynn and later in the medieval period they called themselves the Ænglisċ(English). King Athelstan of the Wessex Dynasty became 'The King of all the Anglo-Saxons' in about 925CE and was also called 'King of the English' in about 930CE. The Kingdom itself was not recorded in written form as Engla-land 'England' until the late 980s by the Chronicler Æthelweard and was also used on documentation during the reign of the Canute 'the Great' after about 1016CE. Northern Bernicia a part of the Northumbrian 'English' Earldom was ceded to the Scottish kingdom in 973CE. This region makes up the modern day Scots counties of the Lothians and Berwickshire. The English population today are on average a autosomal DNA admixture of 60% British and 40% Germanic. Germanic Patrilineal Y-haplogroups are high within the east, south and central part of Great Britain, native ancient British and 'Celtic' central European Y-haplogroups are higher to the north and west of the Isles. ****************************************************************************************