For those interested in the subject of DNA testing applied to genealogical problems, there is an interesting article by Manrubia et al in the American Scientist, "Genealogy in the era of genomics" [March -April 2003, pp. 158-65]. The authors correctly assess the incomplete picture that standard Y-line [direct male] or MtDNA [direct female] studies provide for the purposes of genealogical study, since the vast majority of our DNA [99%] are *recombinant*. Of particular interest to Plantagenet descendants [virtually all of whom descend from various combinations of female and male direct-line descent as opposed to the standard female-to-female, male-to-male models that DNA research is presently restricted to], this study uses Edward IV's pedigree charts [reproduced in full color] as a springboard for discussion. Throughout human history, people have lived in, for the most part, closed populations. These are just the sort of conditions ideal for the creation of merged pedigrees. >From examining closed populations, most notably using the Plantagenets as a typical model of coalescence, this study concludes that pedigree collapse [Chang, 1999] produces a common family tree for humankind in a matter of *hundreds,* not hundred of thousands, of years. The peasantry, who form the bulk of the ancestors of today's populations, faced the same closed conditions as their noble/royal contemporaries: limitation to a particular demesne and geography, resulting in an equally restricted pool of marriage partners. This phenomenon increases exponentially in the American colonial Eastern seaboard settlements. These facts, to a genealogist, are far more compelling than Bryan Sykes' bestselling book on mtDNA, _The Seven Daughters of Eve_. We are, all of us, related to each other. Genealogy can tell us exactly how this is, provided we follow proper genealogical standards of evidence [Stevenson, Genealogical Evidence: A Guide to the Standard of Proof Relating to Pedigrees, Ancestry, Heirship and Family History; Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogical Standards Manual]. Seasoned genealogists, particularly those who specialize in medieval ancestral lines, have long been privy to the fact of inter-relatedness. It may no longer be a question of "if" a significant number of the human population is descended from medieval-era nobility/royalty, but "how much." The democratization of medieval-era nobility is at hand. There are few, if any, bragging rights to be enjoyed from claiming royal descents. There is, however, tremendous satisfaction to be gained by actually proving from contemporary and quality secondary evidences that these descents exist in one's own ancestry. These links are the key to connecting to the world family tree that virtually all of us with European ancestry shares. In over 30 years of research, I've only managed to identify 20% of my ancestors 12 generations in the past; yet, I've uncovered multiple instances of cousin marriages, and at least five "gateway" ancestors with vetted descents from the medieval English monarchs. KB Homepage: http://home.earthlink.net/~kdb60/plantagenet01.htm Database: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=plantagenet "Anyone who believes they belong to one race, or that their ancestors were fine people, hasn't done enough genealogy." -- Mark Humphrys