Bibliotheca Arnamagnæana - 01.06.2005, Page 295
The Celtic Element in the Icelandic Population
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genetic make-up of the Icelandic population support my conclusions.
The researchers found the Icelanders to be among the more diverse
populations in Europe in spite of the faet that there has been hardly any
immigration since the settlement period, which means that the gene
pool of the present population must mirror the original settlement popu-
lation, and having analyzed the mitocondrial DNA (the genes transmit-
ted through females) they argue that “both Scandinavian and British
populations could have contributed the majority of the mtDNA lineages
that are currently observed in the Icelandic gene pool.”4 In contrast, the
analysis of the haplotypes of the present male population showed that
the large majority of founding males must have carried Scandinavian Y
chromosomes and the researchers concluded that “the Icelandic found-
ing population was comprised of a majority of males carrying Scandin-
avian Y chromosomes and females carrying Gaelic mtDNA lineages. In
addition to purely Scandinavian males and Gaelic females, many of
these Icelandic founders are likely to have been the offspring of ad-
mixed family groups formed by Scandinavian males and Gaelic fe-
males in the British Isles prior to the settlement of Iceland.”5
The Laxdæla saga tells the story of Melkorka, a tenth-century Celtic
woman. The daughter of an Irish king, she was captured by an Icelandic
chieftain, Hpskuldr, and taken to Iceland to be his mistress. At first, she
lived with Hpskuldr and his wife on their farm, where she gave birth to
two sons. As this domestic arrangement was untenable in the long run,
Hpskuldr gave Melkorka her own farm on which she lived with her
sons.
The oldest son, Olåfr påi, grew up to be a most handsome and accomp-
lished man. During his youth, he traveled widely as a merchant to the
British lsles, Ireland, and Norway, retuming to Iceland with wealth and
honor. By this time, his royal ancestry had become known and his fam-
ily background, demonstrated abilities, and wealth made him a desirable
4AgnarHelgason et al., “mtDNA and the Origin of the Icelanders: Deciphering Signals of
Recent Population History,” The American Journal of Human Genetics, 66 (2000) pp.
999-1016.
5 Agnar Helgason et al., “Estimating Scandinavian and Gaelic Ancestry in the Male Set-
tiers of Iceland,” The American Journal of Human Genetics, 67 (2000) pp. 697-717; ad-
ditional evidence pointing in the same direction is presented in Agnar Helgason et al.,
“mtDNA and the Islands of the North Atlantic: Estimating the Proportions of Norse and
Gaelic Ancestry,” The American Journal of Human Genetics, 68 (2001) pp. 723-37.