Wow!

I’m trying to locate that picture of the fierce Varangian warrior with the dead hamster on his shoulder and came up with:

As we mentioned before, the Varangian Guard was initially formed mostly of warriors and adventurers from Rus who tended to have Swedish lineage. However, by the late 11th century, these ‘Scandinavians’ were gradually replaced by the Anglo-Saxons from Britain. There was a socio-political side to this scope since most of England was overrun by the Normans under William the Conqueror (post-1066 AD).

As a result, the native Anglo-Saxon military elites of these lands had to look for opportunities elsewhere – thus kick-starting mini waves of migration from Britain to the Black Sea coasts, and then ultimately to Eastern Roman Empire.

https://www.realmofhistory.com/2022/06/13/10-fascinating-facts-varangian-guard/#h-who-were-the-varangians

I knew there was a lot more movement between places in early history, but this is sort of a surprise for me. On the other hand, my heritage is pretty much Northern European with about a quarter being from the southern Mediterranean. Or Varangian stomping grounds.

My DNA isn’t really tied to a nation, unless it’s something like the Holy Roman Empire. Actually, the Hanseatic League pretty much covers where my ancestry comes from, which gets really interesting. I like where I have residency even if I don’t speak the language. Or at least much beyond my “Hello”, “Goodbye”, “How are you?”, “Please”, “Thank you”, “Where is the WC?”, and “Do you speak English/French/German?” The last one tends to be superfluous.