What question did this study set out to answer?

This study aims to clarify Woden's chronological placement in early English genealogical traditions based on ancient-DNA findings.

June 15, 2026Open Access

Woden in the Right Century: Anglo-Saxon Genealogy, Scandinavian Tradition, and the Ancient-DNA Horizon of the Migration Period

Key Points

This study aims to clarify Woden's chronological placement in early English genealogical traditions based on ancient-DNA findings.
Analyzed ancient-DNA studies of northern-Europe population dynamics from 250–450 CE.
Integrated evidence from historical texts like Bede and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.
Proposed a chronological-convergence model for understanding Woden's significance.
Woden-linked genealogies date around 250–450 CE, aligning with evidence of Scandinavian population shifts.
Reassessing Woden enhances understanding of dynastic identity in post-Roman North Sea society.

Abstract

Working Paper Version 1.0. This paper is publicly posted for scholarly discussion and has not yet undergone peer review. This article reconsiders the chronological placement of Woden in early English royal genealogical tradition in light of recent ancient-DNA studies of northern-European population movement. It argues that the earliest recoverable Woden-linked genealogies repeatedly place him within a broad c. 250–450 CE horizon, aligning with a period now visible archaeogenetically as one of significant North Sea and Scandinavian mobility. The paper brings together evidence from Bede, the Anglian genealogical tradition, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, Asser, Æthelweard, Scandinavian dynastic memory, and recent ancient-DNA studies to propose a chronological-convergence model for reassessing Woden’s role in early medieval royal ancestry, migration memory, and the formation of dynastic identity in the post-Roman North Sea world.

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