MANY modern day Icelanders are descendants of ancient Cumbrian women, DNA research has revealed.

The dominant maternal line seen in the present population of Iceland originated in northern Britain, according to research featured in a fascinating new e-book.

Many of the original 'mothers' would have been Cumbric, said Edward Conduit, co-author of the book The Iceland Bus.

MORE TOP STORIES:

He said DNA evidence indicated they were taken as wives back to Iceland by Viking men,

And, in a surprising twist, he speculates that rather than resisting the Norsemen, who have been blamed throughout history for their excessive raping and pillaging, some British women might have actually welcomed them with open arms.

"Genetic research shows that the mitochondrial DNA of Icelanders, which comes exclusively down the female line, is overwhelmingly British," Mr Conduit, a linguistics expert, told The Westmorland Gazette.

"These women might have been Gaelic, Pictish, Welsh or Cumbric, the ancient inhabitants of Cumbria."

In their book, Mr Conduit and his co-author Jean Scott-Smith, from Shap, explore the connection further, speculating what influence Cumbric and other Celtic-British women might have have had on today's Icelandic language.

They say the research has shown that male settlers of Iceland were overwhelmingly Scandinavian, but the female settlers were overwhelmingly Celtic-Britons.

The authors suggest the possibility that rather than hatred for the Vikings, Britons actually had an affinity with them, having a mutual disdain for the increasingly dominant Anglo-Saxons.

"British women may have decided Norsemen were a lesser evil than Saxons as husbands," they speculate.

But the pair say more research is needed to establish whether the DNA link is borne out by other evidence, such as the extent to which ancient Cumbric has influenced the Icelandic language.

Intriguingly, they point out how the common influence of the West Norse language has been known to help Cumbrian travellers who visit Iceland. They cite the experience of veteran Morecambe Bay fisherman Jack Manning, who claimed he he could make himself understood by speaking his Flookburgh dialect to Icelanders.

Mr Conduit is author of Lakeland Language. Mrs Scott-Smith is an officer of the Lakeland Dialect Society and a founder member of Shap Local History Society.

The Iceland Bus is published on the internet by Laghamon at Smashwords, £5.