Comments by "Jack Mac" (@TheEggmaniac) on "The Curious Case of Scythia, Scotland and Ireland: From The Declaration of Arbroath to the Picts" video.

Its an interesting question. I dont really think the people of Scotland today are related to Scythians. I think this came from the idea in the bible that the Scythians were related to one of the lost tribes of Israel. In the middle ages it was seen as important and gave people, especially of royal descent, great prestige, to describe themselves as being descended from people who came from the holy land. The land or people that Jesus came from. People of the bible. When the declaration of Arbroath was written, it included a letter asking the pope for his recognition of the legitimacy of Robert the Bruce as the rightful heir to the Scottish throne, and Scotland to be recognised as an independent country. If the pope agreed to this, (which he did) then it was hard for anyone to disagree with it. To help put forward their point, and argue Scotlands case, a long list of kings in a line of descent was given, which went way back beyond the first king of Scotland , Kenneth MacAlpine. It names lots of supposed kings going back to a line of Scythian kings. I dont think there is any real evidence of these names being really connected to Scotland, or if these people really existed. This was done to show how legitimate, and also how holy the line was. It was meant to show the Scottish line of decent goes back to the holy land. Scotland was not the only country to do this at the time. Lots of other royal lines claimed to show descendants from the lost tribes of Israel, and other people in the holy land and bible. They did it to give them more legitimacy, and so their kings could say they were ordained by God.
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@vladimpaler4689 So what if the R1b haplogroup can be traced back to Mesopotamia! Its very commons in large parts of Europe, and is in fact the most common male haplogroup in most Western European countries. It doesnt mean every one in those countries are all 100% direct descendents from people of Mesopotamia or are the descendents of Scythians. Apart from the fact the Y chromosome haplogroup is only a very small part of humans DNA. The rest of their DNA can come from anywhere else and probably does. It only means they might have some common ancestor, on the male line in common way back in history. There is no other evidence of Irish or Scots having anything in common with Scythians. The Scots DNA is heavily influenced by all the other peoples that have made up Scotland in at least the last two thousand years, like the Vikings, Anglo Saxons, Normans and Picts.
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@Joanna-il2ur Robert the Bruce's birthplace seems to be debateable . Some sources say Ayrshire, where his mothers family were from, or could be in Writtle, in England. But one thing that is known is that his father's family, the 'de Brus,' were Norman French in origin, and had land in England and Scotland. Like a lot of Norman/ French/ English noble families of that time.
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Just about everyone in Western Europe are descended from the Yamnaya people who originally came from the Russian steppe, 5-6000 years ago. R1b if the most common male haplogroup in Western European countries, including Spain and Portugal. So that doesnt prove the Scottish and Irish are descended from the Scythians.
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@jackbirdie Im not parroting anyone. I think you have misunderstood what I said. I do actually believe that Gaels and Scots came from Iberia originally, but I dont believe the came Gaels or Scots came from Scythia. This is all myth. Having R1b as a male haplogroup doesnt prove that anyone came from Scythia. Of course somewhere way back in time people moved from what is today called the West Eurasian Steppe into the west of Europe. There were lots of migrations of people along this route. So you could say people in Scotland with R1b haplogroup, are very distantly related to people who originally came out of this region. But it doesnt mean people in Scotland are directly related to Scythian people. Thats what this whole video is about. The declaration of Arbroath states that Scottish Kings can be traced back through lines of Scythian kings. This was written to try an impress the pope, and show that Scots were a long descended independent kingdom. So worthy of being recognised as an independent kingdom. As though they needed that anyway. There is no DNA evidence from any bodies of time connecting early Scots ( including Picts ) with the people who were from Scythia. Apart than they may have a male haplogroup R1b, which only makes up a tiny part of persons DNA. I think you need to do some more research.
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@vladimpaler4689 'We' is it? So you are now speaking for everyone who has R1b as a haplogroup. That doesnt mean you speak for all Scottish people. Im Scottish and of my family goes way back, and Ive had my DNA tested and my haplogroup is not R1b. Not all Scottish people have R1b male haplogroup. Why do you seem to think that people with R1b haplogroup are all part of some homogenous group or race. Its just a male haplogroup that many people in parts of the World , particularly Western Europe, have in common. They could be completely unrelated and of different race and still be R1b. You could find lots of males in parts Africa, where there was previous European colonisation, who have the R1b haplogroup, because generations ago their great great great etc grandfather was European and was R1b. They will still be R1b, but the 99.8% of the rest of their DNA could be African. How does being R1b mean that you are descended from Scythians? Obviously back thousands of years in Western Eurasia there were common ancestors who were R1b and spread out into Western Europe, and elsewhere. But its doesnt prove any direct lineage to Scythians
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Yes this whole idea of Scots or even Irish being descended from ancient Scythians is very tenuous. I read comments here that say Scots are predominately Male haplogroup R1b., as though that is some kind of proof. But so are they vast majority of men of Western Europe, including Spain and Portugal. The area the Scythians came from are not R1b now. Beside from that, there is not any genetic evidence of Scots and Irish are descended from Scythians. It just seems a myth that has perpetuated.
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@emmanuelgoldspleen2905 Everyone in Western Europe is partly descended from people who came from the Yamnaya people, who migrated originally from Pontic-Caspian Steppe about 5000 or more years ago. So yes I agree. It doesnt make the Scots some direct descendants of the Scythians or their kings.
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@nvanguy6868 Is that all youve got in response?
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@emmanuelgoldspleen2905 Yes I agree, that is pretty much what I was saying in my comment.
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