Jörg Feuchter, "Mittelalterliche Migrationen als Gegenstand der ‚Genetic History‘", in: Felix Wiedemann, Kerstin P. Hofmann and Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Eds.), Vom Wandern der Völker. Migrationserzählungen in den Altertumswissenschaften, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2017, 347–370

Abstract

Genetic History is the study of historical questions with DNA as a source. Migrations are its main subject. It is thus very relevant to Medieval Studies. Yet until recently historians have not been involved. The contribution provides a definition of the new discipline (1), explores the role of migration as a concept in Population Genetics (2) and describes the state of migration studies in Medieval History (3). It then sets out for an overview of medieval migratory areas studied by Genetic History (4) and takes an exemplary look first (5) at a study on Anglo-Saxon migration to Britain and later (6) at a current project where for the first time a medieval historian has taken the lead. The contribution ends (7) with some general observations and stipulations.

Published In

Felix Wiedemann, Kerstin P. Hofmann and Hans-Joachim Gehrke (Eds.), Vom Wandern der Völker. Migrationserzählungen in den Altertumswissenschaften, Berlin: Edition Topoi, 2017