Was Emperor Charlemagne Phoenician too, just like President Jefferson?
The Phoenician Connection: President Thomas Jefferson, descendent of Charlemagne, had Phoenician blood. Could his ancestor have had it too?
A controversial hypothesis and the Phoenician connection based on the Y-Chromosome
Human sex is determined by the X and Y chromosomes. A female has 2 X-Chromosomes and a male has an X and a Y-Chromosome. When a child is conceived it gets one chromosome from its mother and one chromosome from its father. The chromosome from the mother will always be an X, but the chromosome from the father may be either X or Y. If the child gets the X she will be a girl, if the child gets the Y he will be a boy.
The Y-Chromosome has certain unique features:
- The presence of a Y-Chromosome causes maleness. This little chromosome, about 2% of a father's genetic contribution to his sons, programs the early embryo to develop as a male.
- It is transmitted from fathers only to their sons.
- Most of the Y-Chromosome is inherited as an integral unit passed without alteration from father to sons, and to their sons, and so on, unaffected by exchange or any other influence of the X-Chromosome that came from the mother. It is the only nuclear chromosome that escapes the continual reshuffling of parental genes during the process of sex cell production.
Because the Y-Chromosome is passed from father to son, genealogies that are based on a direct male line may be used to conclude the genetic identifiers of forefathers based on their descendents, many generations later.
The hypothesis of this exercise is suggest that Emperor Charlemagne must have had Phoenician blood identifiers or have come from Phoenician bloodline, simply because his direct male descendent, Thomas Jefferson has been proven to have the same identifiers.
"Phoenician" Thomas Jefferson's patrilineal origin
Spencer Wells, the geneticist that heads the Genographic Project in search of the scientific "Adam" and the National Geographic study "Who were the Phoenicians," revealed that Thomas Jefferson, one of the "founding fathers" of the United States belonged to Y-chromosome haplogroup K2. The quote from Wells that follows is the scientific explanation of what was discovered in studying Jefferson's DNA.
"As part of our genetic analyses for the film Search for Adam, we analyzed additional markers on Jefferson's Y-chromosome in an effort to determine why it is so unusual. If you recall the original Hemmings paper in Nature by Foster et al., the haplotype was 'rare', which is what enabled them to implicate Jefferson as the source rather than another European. At the time there were no matches among the 607 European men (Jefferson's father claimed Welsh ancestry) who had been genotyped for the same 11 microsatellites. Recent searches of more comprehensive databases have turned up related haplotypes belonging to haplogroups O, K and Q. We investigated the 12 microsatellites routinely typed by FTDNA, which did not add to the haplogroup resolution. SNP testing, however, revealed that Jefferson's Y is positive for M70, which places him in haplogroup K2. K2 is rare in northern Europe (only one K was found among 1772 British men surveyed by Capelli et al., but it wasn't typed for M70) but quite common in the Middle East and northeast Africa, where it reaches frequencies of 10% or more...We are currently looking at potential source populations for Jefferson's K2 as part of a broader survey of Y-chromosome variation in the Middle East and North Africa, and expect to submit a publication by the end of the year. I'm sure that all of you will appreciate the amount of effort that has gone into launching The Genographic Project, and hope that you will understand that our publication schedule has been somewhat delayed as a result.
Spencer Wells
Mission Programs
National Geographic Society"
In the film, Spencer Wells indicated that Thomas Jefferson's Y-Chromosome was "Phoenician", which probably means that it belongs to one of the haplogroups entering Europe from the Phoenician homeland. Until Wells publishes his findings, one has to build a hypothesis based on the preliminary conclusions presented herewith, a matter which may need to be reviewed and possibly dismissed when the final results become available.
What are the historical ramifications?
Since President Thomas Jefferson carried Phoenician genetic identifiers, what are the historical ramifications and interesting questions that this raises? Because the study is based on the patrilineal line, one may look into Jefferson's male ancestors and identify other historical figures of the same genetic ancestry. If Jefferson's ancestral line back to Charlemagne is a valid one, one has to conclude that Charlemagne himself and his other male descendents were Phoenician too. At the same time, Charlemagne's forefathers (male line) must have come Phoenician descendents. How far back could history tell us about Charlemagne's line of descent? We will explore this question in this essay back to the 4th century A.D.
Emperor Charlemagne forefather of Thomas Jefferson
Below is the Medieval Ancestry of Thomas Jefferson quoted as is without permission. It traces Jefferson back to Emperor Charlemagne through the line of Counts of Vermandois who were descendants of Charlemagne in a direct male line.
For the record, Charlemagne was
King of the Franks and Emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire (742 - 814). He was born in 742 in Northern Europe. Charles was the eldest son of Pippin III and Bertrada of Laon. "By the sword and the cross," Charlemagne became master of Western Europe.
If Charlemagne is without a shadow of a doubt is a forefather of Thomas Jefferson, then he and all his male line descendents must have been carriers of the same Phoenician blood line which Jefferson carries.
What is the ancestral line of Charlemagne?
The need to trace the ancestral line of Emperor Charlemagne is clearly necessary to find out how or where did his Phoenician blood line come from.
Charlemagne came from the Merovingian Dynasty that was a Frankish dynasty considered the first French royal house. It was the first major political authority which rose out of the ashes of the dying Roman Empire in Europe. It was named for Merovech (fl. c. 450), whose son Childeric I (d. 482?) ruled a tribe of Salian Franks (426-447) from his capital at Tournai. He was Semi-legendary King of the Salian Franks and father of Merovech, founder of the Merovingian Dynasty.
1. The Merovingian Family
The Merovingian family, from which the Franks used to choose their kings, is commonly said to have lasted until the time of Childeric [III, 743-752] who was deposed, shaved, and thrust into the cloister by command of the Roman Pontiff Stephen [II (or III) 752-757]. But although, to all outward appearance, it ended with him, it had long since been devoid of vital strength, and conspicuous only from bearing the empty epithet Royal; the real power and authority in the kingdom lay in the hands of the chief officer of the court, the so-called Mayor of the Palace, and he was at the head of affairs. There was nothing left the King to do but to be content with his name of King, his flowing hair, and long beard, to sit on his throne and play the ruler, to give ear to the ambassadors that came from all quarters, and to dismiss them, as if on his own responsibility, in words that were, in fact, suggested to him, or even imposed upon him. He had nothing that he could call his own beyond this vain title of King and the precarious support allowed by the Mayor of the Palace in his discretion, except a single country seat, that brought him but a very small income. There was a dwelling house upon this, and a small number of servants attached to it, sufficient to perform the necessary offices. When he had to go abroad, he used to ride in a cart, drawn by a yoke of oxen driven, peasant-fashion, by a Ploughman; he rode in this way to the palace and to the general assembly of the people, that met once a year for the welfare of the kingdom, and he returned him in like manner. The Mayor of the Palace took charge of the government and of everything that had to be planned or executed at home or abroad.
2. Charlemagne's Ancestors
At the time of Childeric's deposition, Pepin, the father of King Charles, held this office of Mayor of the Palace, one might almost say, by hereditary right; for Pepin's father, Charles [Martel 715-41], had received it at the hands of his father, Pepin, and filled it with distinction. It was this Charles that crushed the tyrants who claimed to rule the whole Frank land as their own, and that utterly routed the Saracens, when they attempted the conquest of Gaul, in two great battles -- one in Aquitania, near the town of Poitiers , and the other on the River Berre, near Narbonne -- and compelled them to return to Spain. This honor was usually conferred by the people only upon men eminent from their illustrious birth and ample wealth. For some years, ostensibly under King the father of King Charles, Childeric, Pepin, shared the duties inherited from his father and grandfather most amicably with his brother, Carloman. The latter, then, for reasons unknown, renounced the heavy cares of an earthly crown and retired to Rome [747]. Here he exchanged his worldly garb for a cowl, and built a monastery on Mt. Oreste, near the Church of St. Sylvester, where he enjoyed for several years the seclusion that he desired, in company with certain others who had the same object in view. But so many distinguished Franks made the pilgrimage to Rome to fulfill their vows, and insisted upon paying their respects to him, as their former lord, on the way, that the repose which he so much loved was broken by these frequent visits, and he was driven to change his abode. Accordingly when he found that his plans were frustrated by his many visitors, he abandoned the mountain, and withdrew to the Monastery of St. Benedict, on Monte Cassino, in the province of Samnium [in 754], and passed the rest there in the exercise of religion.
3. Charlemagne's Accession
Pepin, however, was raised by decree of the Roman pontiff, from the rank of Mayor of the Palace to that of King, and ruled alone over the Franks for fifteen years or more [752-768]. He died of dropsy [Sept. 24, 768] in Paris at the close of the Aquitanian War, which he had waged with William, Duke of Aquitania, for nine successive years, and left his two sons, Charles and Carloman, upon whim, by the grace of God, the succession devolved.
The Franks, in a general assembly of the people, made them both kings [Oct 9, 786] on condition that they should divide the whole kingdom equally between them, Charles to take and rule the part that had to belonged to their father, Pepin, and Carloman the part which their uncle, Carloman had governed. The conditions were accepted, and each entered into the possession of the share of the kingdom that fell to him by this arrangement; but peace was only maintained between them with the greatest difficulty, because many of Carloman's party kept trying to disturb their good understanding, and there were some even who plotted to involve them in a war with each other. The event, however, which showed the danger to have been rather imaginary than real, for at Carloman's death his widow [Gerberga] fled to Italy with her sons and her principal adherents, and without reason, despite her husband's brother put herself and her children under the protection of Desiderius, King of the Lombards. Carloman had succumbed to disease after ruling two years [in fact more than three] in common with his brother and at his death Charles was unanimously elected King of the Franks.
How is Charlemagne's Salian Frank bloodline get its Phoenician connection is an open question
The earliest record that I was able to find about the origin of the Salian Franks is that they are thought to have originated from the region of Pomerania, near the Black Sea. They moved up to the Rhine during the third century (the Period of Migration). The Salian (Western) Franks led the influx of Frankish and sub-Frank peoples into Gaul during the 4-5th centuries, and founded minor kingdoms along the line of their advance, such as at Cambrai and Yssel.
The root that takes them to the Black Sea is the closest to the Phoenician homeland I was able to trace them. It is unknown at this time whether they came from a Phoenician settlement near the Black Sea or their forefathers intermarried with Phoenicians.
The question of the ancestral line of Charlemagne and the Salian Franks is broken at this juncture and the question of their ethnic origin remains an open question.
The Monticello Association:
The Medieval Ancestry of Thomas Jefferson
by Robert T. Coolidge (back)
Although the Historian's official task is to maintain
records of Jefferson's descendants, it seems appropriate for his activities to include an
interest in his ancestry , especially in these Bicentennial years when we are all
examining our heritage.
This article is partly based on the author's researches in
medieval history , in the course of which he discovered that some of the personalities he
was studying were his (and Jefferson's) ancestors. This discovery, and the author's
election as Historian of the Association, furnish the motivating occasions for the
article. It is a summary account of researches into this subject which were not intended
to be exhaustive, since the author claims no expertise in genealogy .It emphasizes certain
features which may be of interest to members of the Association, and omits or skips over
much that is of less interest. The author is especially grateful to Mr. Gary Boyd Roberts
of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, who led him to, or supplied him with,
much of the information he has used.
The ancestors encountered during the author's own medieval
researches were a line of Counts of Vermandois who were descendants of Charlemagne in a
direct male line. They were never considered as candidates for succession to any of the
kingdoms which had been part of Charlemagne's empire, even after all other male lines from
Charlemagne had died out. The reason for this has never been discovered, but perhaps it
was because their ancestor, Charlemagne's grandson Bernard, had committed treason against
his uncle, Emperor Louis the Pious. The first of these counts was Bernard's grandson,
Herbert, who died about 900, killed by a vassal of Count Baldwin of Flanders after having
himself killed Baldwin's brother Raoul, who became the hero of a chanson de geste,
"Raoul de Cambrai. " Herbert was succeeded by Herbert 11, Albert I, Herbert 111,
Odo, and Herbert IV, all of whom played important roles in the politics of the French
kingdom during the tenth and eleventh centuries. Albert married the half-sister of the
French king Lothaire, who was also the granddaughter of King Henry I of Germany and niece
of Emperor Otto I. The daughter of Herbert IV, Adelaide, married Hugh, son of King Henry I
of France and brother of Philip I, who inherited the county. Their daughter Isabel married
Robert de Beaumont, who became the first Earl of Leicester, thereby linking the
Carolingian and French segment of this line of ancestry to the English segment, which will
later be traced in the ascending rather than descending direction.
The Jefferson line of T.J.'s ancestors has been traced
back to the thirteenth century , but not with certainty, in the Collected Papers,
ch. 3. There are however at least five lines which can be traced with far more certainty
from two of their wives, Jane Randolph (T .J. 's mother) and Mary Brinch (his
great-grandmother ).
The Branch line itself goes back seven generations to John
Braunche (f1. 1437-1488); that is ten generations from T.J. (Hereafter, generations from T
.J .will be indicated by numbers in parentheses.) From this line another one goes back six
generations, from Katherine (or Barbara) Jennings (7) to Sir Adam Bostock (13) and his
father-in-law, Hugh, Baron Kinderton (14). These lines are composed of knights and gentry
with no famous people and little likelihood of royal connections, although it is worth
bearing in mind that at this degree of removal the number of ancestors in each generation
must be counted in four or five figures.
The Randolph side is more promising in terms of medieval
lines of ancestry. The Randolphs themselves have been traced to only the sixteenth century
, so far as the author is aware. There are two lines, however, from Mary Isham (3) wife of
William Randolph of Turkey Island, and one from Dorothy Lane (5) wife of William Randolph
I. The Ishams themselves can be traced to the thirteenth century , to Henry de Isham (
17), with more certainty than the Jeffersons, and appear to be of the same class origin as
the Branches. Two of their wives, Anne Borlase (6) and Elena Vere (9) represent two
different lines which meet in a common ancestor but are of unequal length, so that their
common ancestor, and his ancestors, have two generational numbers, the higher one counting
by the Borlase line, the lower one by the Vere line. The common ancestor is Eudo la louche
( 18-15), son of Alan la louche (19-16) Baron louche of Ash by de la louche, Constable of
the Tower of London in the 13th century .The Borlase line is almost all female, so that
the names change frequently, and the husbands and fathers-in-law are almost all knights,
with a few lords at (15) and above. The Vere line is also knightly, containing three
Greenes (two Sir Henry's and Sir Thomas) between Vere and la louche. From this point (
19-16) on, the line we shall be following (one of a number of possible lines going back to
Charlemagne (35-32) and beyond) is composed entirely of earls, counts, princes, and kings
(and their daughters in some instances) except for Alan la louche's mother-in-law, Helen
(20-17) daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway (21-18) who signed the Magna Caita. The line
follows the one in Burke's Presidential Families, Appendix C-3, which is the
"Vere" line mentioned above, up to this point. Burke's however, mistakenly
continues Helen's ancestry to King David I of Scotland through her mother, who was
actually not Margaret but Alan's first wife, whose name is not known. Our line continues
through Helen's husband, Roger de Quincy, Earl of Winchester and companio'1 of King
Richard on the Third Crusade. Roger's mother was the daughter of Robert de Beaumont
(22-19), Earl of Leicester (d. 1190), whose grandfather Robert, the first Earl of
Leicester (24-21), married Isabel, granddaughter of King Henry I of France (26-23) and of
Herbert IV, count of Vermandois (26-23), who was descended from Charlemagne (35-32) and
King Henry I of Germany (31-28) as was pointed out earlier in this article.
In the other Randolph line, from Dorothy Lane (5), the
first notable ancestor is Catherine de Neville (10) who married the grandson of Edward
Brook, Lord Cobham (12) and was herself the great-great-granddaughter of King Edward III
(14) through Ralph de Neville (12), Earl of Westmoreland. She was also the
great-granddaughter of Thomas de Mowbray (13) Duke of Norfolk (1366-1399) who was himself
a great-great-grandson of King Edward I (17) and a descendant of William de Mowbray (19),
who signed the Magna Carta along with Alan of Galloway (21-18) and served with Roger de
Quincy (20-17) on the Third Crusade.
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