The Ancestors of Sheila Raye Whitt: Vol. II

This work, in four volumes, takes the documented ancestry of Sheila Raye Whitt to notable historical figures in medieval history. To name just a few, in these pages you will find numerous Holy Roman Emperors, Byzantine Emperors, kings of England, France, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Spain, and Ireland. Many Catholic and Orthodox saints are also highlighted. The bulk of this work focuses upon Great Britain, specifically Scotland as well as Denmark, the Holy Roman Empire, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. There are many ancestors who came from Russia, Spain, and France, as well. These volumes contain 220 of our illustrations, 1,735 pages, 614,715 words and 8,114 footnotes and references. The references that are used, in most cases, are the same as those used by hereditary societies to track the ancestry of their applicants. These are listed in the bibliography at the end of each volume.This book is a narrative history in so far as the narrative is an aid to comprehension. There is more to every person than just their name and vital statistics. Every person who lived has a unique story; long or short, simple or complex, illustrious or infamous, noble or base, all have a story to be told that should be told and remembered. Some serve as good examples to be emulated others as bad examples to abhor and avoid. My goal is to tell the story of those who came before us. The lineage extends to Merovech, founder of the Merovingian dynasty, Hengist, the Jute mercenary who became King of Kent, Ercc, ancient King of Dalriada, Cerdic, the earliest King of Wessex, and even St. Gregory the Illuminator in the third century. His is the earliest credible descendancy into the modern world that is accepted by genealogists. The documented references stop at this point as we move from the very early medieval period to the late Roman era and from history to legend. Tradition carries these lineages back further, but it is tradition and cannot be reliably, historically documented…yet.COATS OF ARMS: Where possible, I have shown the historical Coats of Arms associated with each individual. Daughters typically have the same Coat of Arms as their father. Some notable exceptions are queens, as they typically carried both the Coat of Arms of their father and their husband in pale, or on the same shield, split vertically. Heraldry can tell the story of a lineage all its own. In some cases, the pedigree goes back before the age of heraldry. For example, it is doubtful that Charlemagne carried the shield shown beside his name. It is, however, the Coat of Arms that has been attributed to him. In other cases, such as the early Viking ancestry of some of the ancestors in this book, I have attributed a Coat of Arms to bring attention to the line.In some of the earliest cases, the history goes back to recited tales of lineage. This is especially true of Viking ancestry. The verbal lineage was written down 200-300 years after the fact, but it is what has been brought down from the 11th century. At this point documentation ceases and tradition begins. Where these can be found in reference material, I have included them. One must realize that when dealing with documents from the Dark Ages, the “Bureau of Vital Statistics” was not up to the modern standards of the 21st century.Any errors in this work are entirely my fault and not the fault of the original reference books I have consulted.Ky White—Ft. Worth, Texas—October 2019