the Cimbri in Denmark and Northern Italy

[Breydel]

No signature of Y chromosomal resemblance between possible descendants of the Cimbri in Denmark and Northern Italy


Abstract
Two European populations are believed to be related to the ancient Germanic tribe Cimbri: one living in Northern Italy, the other living in Jutland, Denmark. The people called Cimbri are documented in the ancient Roman historical record. Arriving from the far north their movements can be tracked from successive battles with the Romans. The Cimbri finally entered Italy from the northeast and were defeated at Vercellae (present day Vercelli) in 101 BC by Gaius Marius and his professional legions. Classical sources from the first centuries AD relate the homeland of the Cimbri to the coasts around the Elb estuary (northern Germany) or specifically towards the north (Himmerland in northern Jutland). In the alpine parts of Veneto, northeast of the historical battlefield, local traditions dating back to late medieval time, identify a local population as Cimbri living in Terra dei Cimbri. They are considered the descendents of the Germanic combatants that fled the battlefield at Vercelli. As the defeated Cimbri that possibly fled to the mountains of Northern Italy most likely would have been male (warriors), the present study investigated the possible Y chromosomal diversity of the two present populations using microsatellite markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms. While Cimbri from Himmerland resembled their geographical neighbors from Denmark for the Y-chromosome markers, Cimbri from Italy were significantly differentiated both from Cimbri from Himmerland and from Danes. Therefore, we were not able to show any biological relationship for uniparentally transmitted markers. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2007 © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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[Milesian]

There is some controversy over the nature of the Cimbri tribe.
There is certainly enough circumstantial evidence to make a case for them being a Celtic people.

[Menydh]

Both the Cimbri and the Ambrones are believed to be Celtic peoples. The name Cimbri suggests a relation with names like Cymru (Wales) and Cumbria.

Boiorix was a ruler of the Cimbri during the Cimbrian War of the Cimbri and the Teutones against Rome (115-101 BC). His name is Celtic and means King of the Boii, another Celtic tribe which dwelled in Bohemia where they arrived via Hungary from the Gauls (SE France and N Italy). This suggests a confederation of the Cimbri and the Boii, under a Boii ruler.

This could cast some doubts on whether the Teutones were actually Germanic or a Germanized mix of Celtic and Germanic. Which could also give a clue on the incidence of the R1b haplogroup in the NW fringes of Europe.

[Milesian]

Good, you do read my posts

The problem is compounded because the Romans tended to class surrounding "barbarians" according to their locations, rather than anything more meaningful.

It does seem strange that a Germanic tribal chieftain should have a name which is Celtic rather than Germanic in language, and whose name meant "King of the Boii" (a Celtic tribe themselves). This last part may infer that Boiorix was a title rather than his own personal name. If Cimbri is related to Cymru & Cumbria as it seems to be then this people's tribal name would have meant something like "Companions".

The Ambrones practically displayed their Celtic origins during the Battle of Aqua Sextae. As one Classical writer put it the Celtic auxillaries fighting with the Romans heard the Ambrones engage in the distinctive Celtic practice of shouting out their tribal names before the battle. The auxillaries responded and called back to them through the field of battle. The author remarks that the auxillaries themselves were once Ambrones too and still remembered their old allegiances.