Blakumen
Blakumen or Blökumenn were a people mentioned in Scandinavian sources dating from the 11th through 13th centuries. The name of their land, Blokumannaland, has also been preserved.
Blakumen on runestone G134
The only preserved example of the variant Blakumen of the ethnonym was an inscription on a
Hróðvísl and Hróðelfr, they had stones set up in memory of [their] three sons. This one in memory of Hróðfúss. Blakumen betrayed him on an expedition. God help Hróðfúss' soul. God betray those who betrayed him.
Blökumenn in the Flatey Book
Blökumen are mentioned in the
"It was easier for [Burizlaf] to lose his banner than his life," said Eymund, "and I understood that he escaped and has been in Tyrkland over the winter. Now he means to lead another army against [Jarizleifr]. He's gathered an unbeatable army with Tyrkir, Blökumen, and a good many of other nasty people, and I've also heard that he's quite likely to give up his Christian faith and hand over both kingdoms to these unpleasant people should he manage to take Russia away from you [Jarizleifr]".
Blokumannaland
Blokumannaland is a territory mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla ("The Circle of the World") from the 13th century.[16] The book narrates how the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, referred to by the name Kirjalax, invaded Blokumannaland where he fought against pagan tribes.[16] Since these pagans have not been identified, there is disagreement as to the actual date of the Byzantine invasion. For instance, Spinei identifies the events prescribed in the Heimskringla with the Battle of Levounion of 1091 AD,[16] which ended with the catastrophic defeat of the Pechenegs by the Byzantines.[17] He argues that Blokumannaland refers to a territory inhabited by Vlachs south of the Lower Danube.[10] On the other hand, Sandaaker proposes that the battle took place in 1040 AD, while the latest date of 1122 AD was proposed by Ellis Davidson and Blöndal.[16] Alexandru Madgearu says that Sturluson anachronistically mentioned the lands south of the Danube as Blokummanaland, because the latter term referred to the Second Bulgarian Empire in Sturluson's time.[18] In the modern Icelandic language, the term Blokumannaland may refer to either Wallachia or Africa.[16]
The following happened in Greece, the time when King Kirjalax ruled there and was on an expedition against Blokumannaland. When he arrived at the Pézína Plains, a heathen king advanced against him with an irresistible host. They had with them a company of horsemen, and huge waggons with embrasures on top.
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Pintescu 2001, p. 260.
- ^ a b c d e f Curta 2006, p. 303.
- ^ a b c Spinei 2009, p. 54.
- ^ a b Pritsak 1981, p. 373.
- ^ a b Jesch 2001, pp. 257–258.
- ^ a b Jesch 2001, pp. 96, 257–258.
- ^ Jesch 2001, p. 258, note 44.
- ^ a b Jesch 2001, p. 257.
- ^ Pritsak 1981, pp. 344, 373.
- ^ a b Spinei 2009, p. 106.
- ^ Spinei 2009, p. 107.
- ^ Pritsak 1981, p. 344.
- ^ a b Spinei 2009, p. 105.
- ^ a b Spinei 2009, pp. 104–105.
- ^ Eymund's Saga (ch. 8.), pp. 79-80.
- ^ a b c d e Pintescu 2001, p. 261.
- ^ Spinei 2009, p. 120.
- ^ Madgearu 2013, p. 162.
- ^ Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla (chapter 21.), p. 787.
Sources
Primary sources
- Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway (Translated by Lee M. Hollander) (2009). The American-Scandinavian Foundation. ISBN 978-0-292-73061-8.
- Eymund's Saga (1989). In Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's Saga and Eymund's Saga (Translated and Introduced by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards). Edingburgh University Press. pp. 69–89. ISBN 0-85224-623-4.
Secondary sources
- ISBN 978-0-521-89452-4.
- Jesch, Judith (2001). Ships and Men in the Late Viking Age: The Vocabulary of Runic Inscriptions and Skaldic Verse. Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 978-0-85115-826-6.
- Pintescu, Florin (2001). "Presences de l'element viking dans l'espace de la romanité orientale en contexte méditerranéen [The Vikings' presence in Eastern Romance lands in a Mediterranean context]". Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica. VIII. Centrul Interdisciplinar de Studii Arheoistorice: 257–272. ISSN 1224-2284.
- Madgearu, Alexandru (2013). Byzantine Military Organization on the Danube, 10th–12th Centuries. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-21243-5.
- ISBN 0-674-64465-4.
- Spinei, Victor (2009). The Romanians and the Turkic Nomads North of the Danube Delta from the Tenth to the Mid-Thirteenth century. Koninklijke Brill NV. ISBN 978-90-04-17536-5.
- Yotov, Valeri (2007). "The Vikings in the Balkans (tenth to 11th centuries). Strategic and tactical changes. New archaeological data". Archaeologia Baltica. 8: 321–327. ISSN 1392-5520.
Further reading
- (in Hungarian) Schütz, István (2002). Fehér foltok a Balkánon: Bevezetés az albanológiába és a balkanisztikába [Blank Spots in the Balkans: Introduction to Albanology and Balkanistics]. Balassi Kiadó. ISBN 963-506-472-1.
- Spinei, Victor (1986). Moldavia in the 11th–14th Centuries. Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Româna.
- Yotov, Valeri (2007). "The Vikings in the Balkans (tenth to 11th centuries). Strategic and tactical changes. New archaeological data". Archaeologia Baltica. 8: 321–327. ISSN 1392-5520.