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Discover if you really descend from Charlemagne. Scientific explanations, mathematical probabilities, and limitations.
The question has fascinated generations: am I a descendant of Charlemagne? This question, which fuels fantasies and genealogical research, now has surprising answers thanks to mathematics and population genetics. Here's what science truly tells us about our links to the Carolingian emperor.
In 1999, Joseph Chang, statistician at Yale University, mathematically demonstrated that if we go back to the time of Charlemagne (about 40 generations), we should theoretically have over a trillion ancestors, about 2000 times more than the world population at that time. This apparent paradox is explained by a phenomenon called "pedigree collapse" or genealogical implex: our ancestors are not independent of each other.
According to Chang's model, around 1000 years ago, a particular situation prevailed: 20% of European adults living around the year 1000 left no descendants today, while the remaining 80% are the direct ancestors of all present-day Europeans. This means that if Charlemagne has living descendants today, then all Europeans likely descend from him.
In 2013, geneticists Peter Ralph of the University of Southern California and Graham Coop of the University of California, Davis confirmed these mathematical predictions by analyzing the genetic sequences of over 2000 Europeans. Their study, published in the journal PLOS Biology, revealed that anyone who lived 1000 years ago and has descendants today is an ancestor of all contemporary Europeans.
The Carolingian emperor presents a major advantage for genealogists: his descent is exceptionally well documented. Charlemagne had 18 children from 10 different wives and concubines, creating multiple descendant lines.
King Felipe VI of Spain alone has over 14 billion genealogical paths leading back to Charlemagne. Research by genealogist Christopher Moore identified over 38,000 common ancestors among current European royal families, confirming the extraordinary interconnection of aristocratic lines.
Diverse personalities like Prince George of the United Kingdom and former U.S. President Barack Obama are documented as descendants of Charlemagne. This spread is explained by marriages between nobles and commoners over the centuries, gradually transmitting Carolingian ancestry throughout the European population.
While the statistical probability is high, proving concrete descent from Charlemagne remains a considerable challenge. In France, parish registers have been mandatory since the Villers-Cotterêts ordinance of 1539, but some parish registers exist from the 14th or 15th centuries in certain dioceses. Parish registers often date back to the 16th century, and civil registration began in 1792.
Before 1600, record keeping was less systematic and their survival is uncertain. Noble families were better documented, but for more modest classes, information is scattered and fragmented. For an amateur genealogist, tracing back beyond the 16th century without a documented noble ancestor is often impossible.
Proving Charlemagne descent is a notable achievement because it means establishing an unbroken line over a period of 1200 years. The main difficulty lies in identifying a "gateway ancestor" - a documented noble ancestor who serves as a bridge between your commoner lineage and the medieval aristocracy.
Contrary to a common idea, we do not possess Charlemagne's DNA, so no one can prove their connection through DNA testing. Despite your millions of medieval ancestors, you inherit DNA from only a tiny fraction of them. For example, you only have about 2000 genetic ancestors from the 12th century, meaning your DNA sequence is a mosaic of about 2000 fragments, each tracing back to a single person from the 12th century.
To descend from Charlemagne through more than 40 generations, you would need to descend from him through hundreds of millions of lines to be certain of having inherited even a small segment of DNA directly from him. DNA tests can reveal information about your ethnic origins and identify potential relatives, but they cannot definitively prove a specific line of descent from an ancestor as distant as Charlemagne.
Since 1941, the Order of the Crown of Charlemagne in the United States has published volumes of pedigrees documenting descents from Charlemagne. These lineages are carefully documented, generation after generation, and verified by the Order's General Genealogist.
To be recognized as a descendant of Charlemagne by the Order, you must prove each generation over 1300 years, which, although possible, represents a considerable challenge requiring advanced genealogical skills. Most people who succeed in this proof first identify a "gateway ancestor" - an ancestor who immigrated to America whose descent from Charlemagne is already established - and then link their own lineage to this ancestor.
Descendants of European noble families, particularly British, French, German, or Spanish, generally have family archives, heraldic works, and published genealogies that facilitate this research. According to Mark Humphrys, a computer science professor at Dublin City University who has traced European royal genealogies: "You can ask if everyone in the Western world descends from Charlemagne, and the answer is yes. But can you prove it? That's the game of genealogy".
At the genetic isopoint, the genealogical trees of any two people on Earth today, no matter how distant, go back to the same set of individuals. As explained by Dr. Adam Rutherford of University College London: "Literally, every person in Europe descends directly from Charlemagne... Literally, not metaphorically. You have a direct line leading to Charlemagne".
From a genetic standpoint, however, this means little: not all Europeans of recent descent carry genes transmitted by Charlemagne. Nor does every Jew carry genes from their Sephardic ancestors expelled from Spain. After 40 generations, we retain only a tiny fraction of the DNA from each of our ancestors from that time.
The interest lies more in history and methodology. This research reminds us of a fundamental truth: we are all interconnected. If Charlemagne is likely your ancestor, so are thousands of other people from his time - nobles, craftsmen, peasants, clergy. Our genealogical heritage is a true, complex historical weaving.
Do we descend from Charlemagne? The scientific answer is likely yes for almost all people of European descent. Researchers confirm that anyone who was alive 1000 years ago and left descendants is an ancestor of all Europeans. Mathematics and population genetics demonstrate this unequivocally.
But being able to prove this with documentary sources remains the domain of a minority, mainly those who can identify noble ancestors in their lineage and have the resources to conduct in-depth research in medieval archives. The documentary barrier of the 16th century is a major obstacle for most genealogists.
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