Ellen, that is a great history lesson. Thanks for sharing it with us. Joann Nichols Ellen wrote: > They were busy attacking from around 700 through the 1000s. The first > written record of a Rudd (spelled Rud) is, I believe, 10th century in > northern Ireland. The 1400s were downright civilized in England. That was > the last century of the Plantaget rule and the ascent of the first Tudor, > Henry VII. The English had been sending periodic "conquering hoards" to > Ireland since the 1100s under Kind Edward of "Braveheart" fame. The Vikings > had all been well assimilated into the culture by then. The last of the > foreign invaders to have a major impact in England were the Normans, under > William the Bastard, or William the Conquerer. He got the throne after his > famous slaughter in 1066. Saxon rule bit the dust at the that time. All > this was going on in England w/o a whole lot of impact on Ireland until the > Normans started settling in for good. It was inevitable, I suppose, their > wandering eye would find its way to Ireland. I also believe it is accurate > to say that that the Saxons were the English at that time. The Normans, the > Plantagenet Kings, considered themselves French since they owned Normandy > and Aquitaine and huge other chunks of what is now France. What was > actually French in 1066 was a little island on which sat Paris and not much > else. At any rate, the Vikings were pretty well assimilated in Ireland, > Scotland, and England (and wherever else they went) by the 1100s. The > Saxons were the good English being slaughtered by Normans. England wasn't > English until the Tudors took the throne away from the Plantagenets in the > 1400s, and I'm sure there are people who debate how English the Tudors were. > Henry Tudor was part Welsh, which was still considered Celtic at that time. > Many of the "new" religions, including the Puritans, began to crop up under > the Tudors (except for under Mary). It was Elizabeth, my hero, with her > stable country and full coffers that could support a Navy and expeditions to > "see what's out there" that got the first of us over here. The Irish aren't > that fond of her, I think. The English have insisted Ireland is their's for > 900 years and it's getting irritating. My ancestors, allegedly sent to > Ireland by Elizabeth, probably weren't the favorite folks on the block. > It's all relative. And, our Rudd ancestors were English, Scots, or Irish by > then no matter what they started out as during the invasions. > > You have a lovely fantasy and I've no comment about the debate about Vikings > in North America in the Dark Ages. That tends to become a heated > discusussion. But, I think it would be impossible to get all the Rudds tied > together with a common Viking ancestor. Vikings came from more than one > country, too. Denmark and Norway come to mind. > > This is a simplistic timeline of Irish history: > http://www.usm.maine.edu/~mcgrath/cor148/documents/irhist.htm. Notice it > says the Normans, not the English, invaded Ireland in 1169. That Norman was > a King of England. As for written records, they weren't kept in English > until the relatively recent past. Even into the 19th century, the Hanovers > were still speaking German. I'm not sure what Victoria spoke at home. By > the time she died, and WWI was on the horizon, the royal family changed its > name arbitrarily to Windsor, their favorite palace, to separate themselves > from their German cousins and I think they were all speaking English by > then.