Comments on: Are you descended from Bran the Blessed?

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:03:52 +0000

You’ve got some really good points there, Melissa. I mean, I think the days of claiming Pharoah-like descent from some God or other are long past

Good thoughts, thank you

Gary x x x

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 02:10:28 +0000

I, too, have just traced my heritage back to Bran the Blessed on ancestry.com. I just thought that it was really fascinating. I absolutely fell in love with Celtic mythology and the Druids when I was a teenager, so I began recognizing the names while I was tracing my heritage. I think that it is silly to want to investigate ancestry.com for fraud because this information is on the site. I know that when I paid my money for the subscription, I just wanted to be able to go back a few generations and search for answers to some questions. There are millions of government records on this site and if you question the legitimacy of anything prior to these records, stop tracing and cancel your subscription at this point. I know that there will be no way to ever “prove” I am actually related to Bran the Blessed, or whether he even actually existed. It is not as though anyone who finds this information will be entitled to anything or out anything because of it. It is not harming anyone, and besides, the tales surrounding these legends are incredible. Even as an adult, I find that it is great fun just to think that I could be related these kings, lords, Druids, descendents of gods, etc. It is a great escape from every day.

As for the comments from “flyinggargoyle” … I think that as long as you are not trying to use the information to, say, publish a book, what is the harm? I don’t believe that it is a matter of “talking sense” into anyone. Common sense says that if you are looking for real, hard data, you are not going to divulge much effort into tracing ancestry back to a time when you can find no real records. I know that for me, I don’t need to be “unwrapped.” I enjoy being able to go my computer and see, not only the ancestors I can prove existed, but also those supposed ancestors descended from a magickal realm. Having an imagination is something that should never be outgrown.

By: flyinggargoyle

flyinggargoyle — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:39:01 +0000

Ah….it is nice to see those forged ancestries finally including Pagans. Back when you could rule a country only by “divine right”, the court historian, genealogist or what have you would invariably produce a genealogy which linked whatever despot had just seized the throne with Mithras, Mabon, Bran, Odin, etc. (later Jesus and Adam). If the scholar didn’t, a suitably nasty fate happened and a NEW historian/genealogist would be asked to produce a suitable line back to the Gods.

That’s why most credible lines only go back to the 300s or so C.E.

I had come across many forgeries going back to the Christian myths. I hadn’t come across any for the other traditions until now.

If you’re doing genealogy, those sites are tempting, but you want to stick with sources that you can credibly cite. It sucks having to throw out a line because it was based on faulty info, but it is the right thing to do.

I’ve learned, though, that there is no talking sense into those who have invested themselves in a forgery that takes their line back to [insert deity of choice here]. If they have wrapped themselves into it, there’s no amount of proof that will unwrap them.

By: Jes

Jes — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:17:41 +0000

I too have found ancestory all the way back to Adam on OneGreatfamily. I would like to see these websights defend their research records on investigative television. I think they should all be investigated for fraud. They are after all, taking people’s money.

By: Gary

Gary — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:49:05 +0000

I think the same was true for the Pharoahs – each claimed ancestry from a god. Possibly Osiris?

By: Webwitch

Webwitch — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 19:50:08 +0000

If you’ve ever watched “Who do you think you are?”, you will have found Matthew Pinsent can trace his ancestry back to Jesus, through William the Conqueror.

It was the way the medieval ancestry scrolls were produced. Every king was of divine origin, so every king of Britain’s family tree went back to the origins of Christianity. As it happens, I can also trace one line of my family this way, though I tend to view it as fiction.

My own family history gets lost in a culture without written records on several lines, so I will never be sure (without DNA tests) of my true origins.