Quote:
Originally Posted by Mynydd
To the eyes of an outsider, Denmark is unmistakably North Germanic or Scandinavian (obviously not understood in a geographical context).
If I dig up more into it (always as seen by an outsider), it seems logical to me that there should be a difference between "Peninsular Scandinavians" and "Continental Scandinavians". After all, being peninsular is a condition not all that different from being insular when there is a consistent geological barrier (so no, Jutland does not count as peninsular under this scheme). I can relate to that myself.
But anyway, even if there is a genetically stronger (pretty strong as it appears) western element in the Danes, they are still a North Germanic and Scandinavian ethnicity. If the Danes are not, then what are the Norwegians and, subsequently, the Icelanders? Would then the Swedes be the only North Germanics?
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The Icelanders would be a mixture of several components. I am not sure of their exact genetic make-up, but my guess would be a mix of Norse and Danish vikings, and (perhaps) other components.
Norwegians I am pretty sure are distinct from the Danish - I remember reading some Danish study about the genetic difference and distance between Danes and Norwegians and Swedes. I think Norway is closer to Sweden than to Denmark. They can be considered a North Germanic people by any standard, I see no reason to dispute that title for Norwegians (all though they have been influenced by Danish culture).
With the Danish, however, its different. The Cimbri simply mess that up for me. While they in large numbers emigrated to Southern Europe, their genetic imprint remains, and their legacy is documented by the significant quantity of Celtic art found in Denmark, specifically Jutland and Funen, and even mixtures of Norse and Celtic art. Jutland was referred to, before the introduction of Iut, as Cimbria, or the Cimbrian peninsula.
These significant finds of Celtic art are most often ignored in the context of Celtic Jutlandish tribes; and merely attributed to being stolen and transported from other parts of Europe. I think that is very wrong to do, without a whole lot of evidence.
It seems the Germanophiles of the scientific world have simply censured anyone to suggest that Jutland, or Cimbria, which is considered the very coreland of Germanic peoples, might be originally Celtic or have a strong Celtic component. That very fact might be a potential linkage between Germanic and Celtic populations.