Icelanders use app to prevent incest: Gene pool has been very small for centuries | life & knowledge

2023-09-07 10:24:37

Iceland is alone in the far north of the Atlantic and is not only geographically isolated. Associated with this is the risk of inbreeding within the population.

The volcanic island near the Arctic Circle was settled by Vikings, Danes and Celts in several waves of emigration during a climatic warm phase in the early Middle Ages. Relationships with Germany are also handed down in the Nibelungen saga – hero Siegfried travels to Iceland with King Gunther, the ruler wants to marry the strong Kriemhild. But as the climate cooled, fresh blood stopped coming to the far-flung island.

Today almost 390,000 people live in Iceland – they have been intermarrying for centuries. You get closer to each other, especially as a family, and that’s where the problems start: there is a risk of inbreeding.

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You have to keep a close eye on your family tree so that no one in your limited circle of acquaintances accidentally marries your cousin, aunt or nephew. Not easy, since surnames are not common there. Rather, the father’s name (rarely the mother’s name) is added to the first name – that’s the full name of the well-known musician and actress Björk (57) Björk Guðmundsdóttir, so she is the daughter (dóttir) of her father Guðmundur.

In addition to the history, the “Book of the Icelanders” primarily records the family trees of the residents’ families over the centuries – in order to avoid close blood relationships

Photo: PR

Therefore, since the 12th century, the inhabitants have carefully recorded their family tree in the “Book of Icelanders” (“Íslendingabók”) in order to avoid incest. This wasn’t always the case, as natural disasters, famine, and Atlantic isolation kept the gene pool and marriage opportunities small. In the 16th century marriage in the family up to the seventh degree of kinship was even punished with death!

Today, these draconian penalties no longer exist. Modern technology now helps ensure that the family tree is not a circle: Based on the data from the “Book of Icelanders” and combined with DNA data, Icelanders have been able to use the app for a few years Islanding Check whether the person you care about is the potential father or mother of their children or just a dear relative.