Talk:Volkonsky

What in the world would "true Rurik" Y chromosome mean in this context?
Do we have Y chromosome material from all Rurikids? No. Do all Rurikids tested (dead ones from way back) share identical Y chromosome? No (but there is a strong pattern). Still, given that Y chromosomes are inherited only from males and women can still be Rurikids, making such a statement in an encyclopedia amounts to sheer nonsense. If people want to confine "Rurikid" to just a Y chromosome marker (or two) they're going to have a tough time proving their case. The fact that some main Rurikid patterns are known should in no way imply that all Rurikid patterns are known. For example, the last Danish King of the Rurik branch has been studied - but doesn't have the mtDNA pattern of the woman buried near him, who is marked as his mother. She clearly raised him, he was, perhaps, adopted. But he was still a Rurik King - and she was a Rurik Queen. Two different families. Redefining a family entirely in terms of DNA would mean a major revision of many Wiki pages.LeValley 01:10, 14 March 2011 (UTC)