Extant medieval bodies

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Extant medieval bodies

Legg inn av Gjest » 12 sep 2005 03:03:54

I was reading in Pat Engel's "Realm of St. Stephen: A History of
Medieval Hungary" (2001) that although the royal tombs of
Székesfehérvár were destroyed during the Ottoman occupation, the
body of King Béla III of Hungary fortunately survived. He is now
interred at the Mathias church in Budapest, and at 190 centimeters
(approximately 6 foot 2 inches) he would've been quite an imposing
fellow.

This made me wonder which other medieval bodies are still in existence.
If, for instance, DNA tests were to be done, King Béla III would
represent not only the Arpad Y chromosone, but also an X inherited from
his matrilineal-line ancestress, Helena, wife of Inge I of Sweden. The
mtDNA could be compared to a number of Scndinavian royals also
descended in the female line from Helena. I don't know where another
male-line Arpad Y could be found, unless the body of Stephen II is
still extant (he was interred in Nagyvárad, but I don't know if his
body survived the centuries).

As for medieval rulers whose bodies are now lost, as far as I can tell
the remains of Frederick Barbarossa were destroyed. I know Reading
Abbey was largely destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII, but I don't
know if the bodies of Henry I, his great-grandson William, or Constance
of York were destroyed as well.

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