TheVat Posted March 22, 2023 Posted March 22, 2023 The New York Times reports on DNA analysis done on locks of hair that were determined to belong to the composer. https://archive.is/E9yQ5 (screenshot of NYT article) Now, an analysis of strands of his hair has upended long held beliefs about his health. The report provides an explanation for his debilitating ailments and even his death, while also raising new questions about his genealogical origins and hinting at a dark family secret. The paper, by an international group of researchers, was published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. It offers additional surprises: A famous lock of hair — the subject of a book and a documentary — was not Beethoven’s. It was from an Ashkenazi Jewish woman. The study also found that Beethoven did not have lead poisoning, as had been widely believed. Nor was he a Black man, as some had proposed. And a Flemish family in Belgium — who share the last name van Beethoven and had proudly claimed to be related — have no genetic ties to him. Researchers not associated with the study found it convincing. It was “a very serious and well-executed study, “ said Andaine Seguin-Orlando, an expert in ancient DNA at the University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, in France....
exchemist Posted March 22, 2023 Posted March 22, 2023 2 hours ago, TheVat said: The New York Times reports on DNA analysis done on locks of hair that were determined to belong to the composer. https://archive.is/E9yQ5 (screenshot of NYT article) Now, an analysis of strands of his hair has upended long held beliefs about his health. The report provides an explanation for his debilitating ailments and even his death, while also raising new questions about his genealogical origins and hinting at a dark family secret. The paper, by an international group of researchers, was published Wednesday in the journal Current Biology. It offers additional surprises: A famous lock of hair — the subject of a book and a documentary — was not Beethoven’s. It was from an Ashkenazi Jewish woman. The study also found that Beethoven did not have lead poisoning, as had been widely believed. Nor was he a Black man, as some had proposed. And a Flemish family in Belgium — who share the last name van Beethoven and had proudly claimed to be related — have no genetic ties to him. Researchers not associated with the study found it convincing. It was “a very serious and well-executed study, “ said Andaine Seguin-Orlando, an expert in ancient DNA at the University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, in France.... Well it's fairly obvious he wasn't black. That's a ridiculous idea, given the time, place and circumstances of his life. God preserve us from people trying to shoehorn identity politics into everything. The identification of this Ashkenazi woman is interesting though, as it was that strand of hair that gave rise to the lead poisoning hypothesis. They think he had hepatitis B, I gather, though his wine drinking will not have helped.
TheVat Posted March 22, 2023 Author Posted March 22, 2023 Per the article, they think it may have been lifelong Hep B, caught in childbirth. "Arthur Kocher, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany and one of the new study’s co-authors, offered another possible explanation for his infection: The composer could have been infected with hepatitis B during childbirth. The virus is commonly spread this way, he said, and infected babies can end up with a chronic infection that lasts a lifetime. In about a quarter of people, the infection will eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer..." That his father was born of an extramarital affair was also a finding that might be more common than people expect. And yes, the Beethoven was Black theory is amusingly stupid. I had not heard the rumors that his father was an illegitimate son of Friedrich Wilhelm II or even Frederick the Great. Sounds like the DNA can only confirm that Ludwig's grandfather was not his biological grandfather. Unless they can then test DNA from those royal lineages. Too bad about those Belgian van Beethovens getting shut out of the picture.
exchemist Posted March 22, 2023 Posted March 22, 2023 46 minutes ago, TheVat said: Per the article, they think it may have been lifelong Hep B, caught in childbirth. "Arthur Kocher, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany and one of the new study’s co-authors, offered another possible explanation for his infection: The composer could have been infected with hepatitis B during childbirth. The virus is commonly spread this way, he said, and infected babies can end up with a chronic infection that lasts a lifetime. In about a quarter of people, the infection will eventually lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver cancer..." That his father was born of an extramarital affair was also a finding that might be more common than people expect. And yes, the Beethoven was Black theory is amusingly stupid. I had not heard the rumors that his father was an illegitimate son of Friedrich Wilhelm II or even Frederick the Great. Sounds like the DNA can only confirm that Ludwig's grandfather was not his biological grandfather. Unless they can then test DNA from those royal lineages. Too bad about those Belgian van Beethovens getting shut out of the picture. Yes I've occasionally wondered why he had a Low Countries name: van rather than von and Beethoven pronounced Bayt-hoven are very Flemish.
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