Without knowing the past, there is no way to the future. A well-known and common term that is used in modern literature - genealogy - is the compilation of a family tree and the search for one's ancestors. In fact, everything is not so simple. Genealogy is a doctrine with its own laws and postulates, which are quite difficult for the mind of the layman.
A bit of terminology
Genealogy is an auxiliary historical discipline that aims to study the origin of childbirth and the mutual relationships between them. Drawing up a family history of your family is also one of the tasks of genealogy. The word comes from the Greek genealogia, which is formed by the words "birth", "kind" and "word". Genealogy is not only a narrowly focused compilation of a family tree, but also an analysis of the historical and cultural development of any group.
Problems and subject
The tasks of genealogy as a science are to analyze the place and significance of a particular kind in history, to determine the cultural environment of groups of people in a historical period, to identify genetically fixed patterns,solution of other anthropological, demographic and ethnographic problems. The subject of study of the science of genealogy is the history of individual families and clans (including princely and boyar ones).
A bit of history
The history of practical genealogy in Russia begins in the 11th century with genealogies preserved in chronicles. These genealogies contained mainly information about the families of the boyars and servants who served them for many generations. Since the 16th century, the maintenance of genealogies has become systematic, with an inventory of only male descendants being kept. Later, wives are also included in the genealogies as heirs of allotments and property along with children. Peter the Great established the King of Arms office, which recorded and maintained genealogical documents of the origin of families of the nobility. It is from this time that the pedigree acquires value as an indicator of the privileged lineage.
Science genealogy XIX-XX centuries
If we consider the topic of the article as a scientific discipline, it is worth remembering the scientists to whom it owes its development. At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, genealogy is the annals represented by the works of Feofan Prokopovich “The Genealogy of the Grand Dukes and Tsars of Russia” (1719), the books of M. M. Shcherbatov, A. E. Knyazev and others. Since 1797, the General Armorial has been published, and in 1855 the publication of Prince P. V. Dolgoruky “The Russian Genealogical Book” was published, and the books of A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky and V. V. Rummel supplement this edition with information. After the revolution of 1917, genealogy in Russia fell into oblivion, and only at the end of the 90s of the last century did interest in genealogies begin to grow.
DNA genealogy
Molecular genetics, as genealogical research based on the analysis of the DNA structure is also called today, in a broad sense, studies and analyzes the dynamics of accumulation of mutations in human DNA. The term "DNA genealogy" became widespread in 1992 during the period of active study of mitochondrial DNA by molecular geneticists. It is this DNA that is transmitted from mother to child unchanged, and analysis of the dynamics of mutations, combined with structural features, can provide information about the relationship of all the inhabitants of the planet and the common origin of man as a biological species. The theory of a single "foremother Eve" has received wide resonance in the last decade, and it is based precisely on the study of the structure of mitochondrial DNA of inhabitants of various parts of the planet.
Interest in one's roots and origins of the family has always been inherent in man. In certain periods, it was the origin of the clan, the chronicle of its heroes that determined the social status of a person and his belonging to a certain class group. Today, an increasing number of Russians are interested in the origins of their birth and the stories of distant ancestors. And although this knowledge is not decisive for an individual in society, it gives an understanding of the origins and serves as a source of pride.
