Varangian Guard

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Depiction of the Varangian Guard (above) in the 11th century chronicle of John Skylitzes

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The Varangian Guard (

Anglo-Saxons from England.[1] The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions.[2]

The

Varangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military assistance agreement.[3][4][5] Basil's distrust of the native Byzantine
guardsmen, whose loyalties often shifted with fatal consequences, as well as the proven loyalty of the Varangians, many of whom had previously served in Byzantium, led the Emperor to employ them as his personal guardsmen.

Immigrants from

Þingalið).[9]

Composed primarily of Norsemen and Rus for the first 100 years, the Guard began to see increased numbers of Anglo-Saxons after the Norman conquest of England. By the time of the Emperor Alexios Komnenos in the late 11th century, the Varangian Guard was largely recruited from Anglo-Saxons and "others who had suffered at the hands of the Vikings and their cousins the Normans".[This quote needs a citation] The Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic peoples shared with the Vikings a tradition of faithful (to death if necessary) oath-bound service, and the Norman invasion of England resulted in many fighting men who had lost their lands and former masters and were looking for positions elsewhere.

The Varangian Guard not only provided security for the Byzantine emperors, but also participated in many wars, often playing a decisive role, since they were usually deployed at critical moments of a battle. By the late 13th century, Varangians were mostly ethnically assimilated by the Byzantine Greeks, though the Guard remained in existence until at least mid-14th century. In 1400, there were still some people identifying themselves as "Varangians" in Constantinople.[10]

History

Skylitzes Chronicle, depicting a Thracesian woman killing a Varangian who tried to rape her, whereupon his comrades praised her and gave her his possessions[11]

The earliest members of the Varangian guard came from Kievan Rus'. A treaty between Rus' and the Byzantine empire under Basil I was agreed in 874 after a period of hostilities. A clause in the treaty obliged Rus' to provide men for Byzantine service. Renewed hostilities between 907 and 911 ended with a new treaty under which any Rus' who chose could serve Byzantium as a right.[12]

The scholarly consensus[13] is that the Rus' people originated in what is currently coastal eastern Sweden around the eighth century and that their name has the same origin as Roslagen in Sweden (with the older name being Roden).[14][15][16] According to the prevalent theory, the name Rus', like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden (*Ruotsi), is derived from an Old Norse term for "the men who row" (rods-) as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe, and that it could be linked to the Swedish coastal area of Roslagen (Rus-law) or Roden, as it was known in earlier times.[17][18] The name Rus' would then have the same origin as the Finnish and Estonian names for Sweden: Ruotsi and Rootsi.[18][19]

As early as 911, Varangians are mentioned as fighting as mercenaries for the Byzantines. About 700 Varangians served along with Dalmatians as marines in Byzantine naval expeditions against the

Constantine Porphyrogenitus in 949. A unit of 415 Varangians was involved in the Italian expedition of 936. It is also recorded that there were Varangian contingents among the forces that fought the Arabs in Syria in 955. During this period, the Varangian mercenaries were included in the Great Companions
(Gk. Μεγάλη Εταιρεία).

In 988,

Anna, in marriage. Vladimir also agreed to convert to Christianity and to bring his people into the Christian faith
.

In 989, these Varangians, led by Basil II himself, landed at Chrysopolis to defeat the rebel general Bardas Phokas. On the field of battle, Phokas died of a stroke in full view of his opponent; upon the death of their leader, Phokas' troops turned and fled. The brutality of the Varangians was noted when they pursued the fleeing army and "cheerfully hacked them to pieces".

These men formed the nucleus of the Varangian Guard, which saw extensive service in

catepan of Italy, Basil Boioannes, for reinforcements to put down the Lombard revolt of Melus of Bari. A detachment of the Varangian Guard was sent and in the Battle of Cannae
, the Byzantines achieved a decisive victory.

The Varangians also participated in the partial reconquest of

King of Norway as Harald III (1046–1066). However, when Maniakes ostracised the Lombards by publicly humiliating their leader, Arduin
, the Lombards deserted and the Normans and Varangians followed them.

Not long after, the catepan

Michael Doukeianos had a force of Varangians stationed at Bari. On 16 March 1041, they were called up to fight the Normans near Venosa; many drowned in the subsequent retreat across the Ofanto. In September, Exaugustus Boioannes
was sent to Italy with only a small contingent of Varangians to replace the disgraced Doukeianos. On 3 September 1041, they were defeated in battle by the Normans.

Many of the last catepans were sent from Constantinople with Varangian units. In 1047,

Mabrica, arrived with Varangian auxiliaries and took Brindisi and Taranto. At the disastrous Battle of Manzikert in 1071, virtually all the Emperor's Guards fell around him.[22]

Asia Minor, the Arctic, and North America. Lower Normandy, depicted as a ″Viking territory in 911″, was not part of the lands granted by the king of the Franks to Rollo in 911, but Upper Normandy
.

Composed primarily of Scandinavians for the first 100 years, the guard began to see increasing numbers of

Alexios I.[24] Those who did became so vital to the Varangians that the Guard was commonly called the Englinbarrangoi (Anglo-Varangians) from that point. In this capacity, they fought in Sicily against the Normans under Robert Guiscard
, who unsuccessfully sought to invade the lower Balkans as well.

Writing about the unit as it was in 1080, the chronicler and princess

Byzantine civil-servant, soldier and historian John Kinnamos calls these "axe-bearers" that guarded the Emperor "the British nation, which has been in service to the Romans' Emperors from a long time back".[26]
Kinnamos was writing in the later 12th century, indicating perhaps that the more Dane and Saxon composition of the guard continued to the point of the Fourth Crusade.

After the end of the

Sigurd I Magnusson, the guard had an influx of Norwegian Warriors. The Norwegian King sold his ships in Constantinople and returned to Norway with only a 100 men, out of an original army of around 6,000.[27]

The Varangians relied on the broad-bladed

Pecheneg wagons, collapsing the Pecheneg position and causing a general rout in their camp.[26]

The Varangians were described by 11th-century Byzantine historian

Michael Psellus as thus: "The whole group carry shields and brandish on their shoulders a certain single-edged, heavy-iron weapon", which is understood to have been the Dane axe[28] (many Byzantine writers referred to them as "axe-bearing barbarians", pelekyphoroi barbaroi, rather than as Varangians).[23] However, a mistranslation of the Greek text has led some to refer to the weapon as a rhomphaia,[29] which most likely occurred as a product of Atticism in Byzantine literature.[28]

They were prominent in the defence of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Of the role of the guard, it is said that "the fighting was very violent and there was hand to hand fight with axes and swords, the assailants mounted the walls and prisoners were taken on both sides".[23] The latest mention of the Varangian guard is in the Greek version of the Chronicle of the Morea, which states that this unit escorted the Prince of Achaia away to prison after the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259; historian D. J. Geanakoplos suggests they were reconstituted by Theodore I Laskaris to strengthen his claim as the rightful Emperor.[30] People identified as Varangians were to be found in Constantinople around 1400.[10]

Function

Seal of Michael, Grand Interpreter (megas diermeneutes) of the Guard

The duties and purpose of the Varangian Guard were similar—if not identical—to the services provided by the Kievan druzhina, the Swedish/Norwegian hird, and the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon housecarls. The Varangians served as the personal bodyguard[31] of the emperor, swearing an oath of loyalty to him; they had ceremonial duties as retainers and acclaimers and performed some police duties, especially in cases of treason and conspiracy. They were headed by a separate officer, the akolouthos, who was usually a native Byzantine.

The Varangian Guard was only used in battle during critical moments, or where the battle was most fierce.[32] Contemporary Byzantine chroniclers note with a mix of terror and fascination that the "Scandinavians were frightening both in appearance and in equipment, they attacked with reckless rage and neither cared about losing blood nor their wounds".[32] The description probably refers to berserkers, since this state of trance is said to have given them superhuman strength and no sense of pain from their wounds.[32] When the Byzantine Emperor died, the Varangians had the unique right of running to the imperial treasury and taking as much gold and as many gems as they could carry, a procedure known in Old Norse as polutasvarf ("palace pillaging").[32] This privilege enabled many Varangians to return home as wealthy men, which encouraged even more Scandinavians to enlist in the Guard in Miklagarðr (Swedish = Miklagård = 'The Great City', i.e. Constantinople).[32]

The loyalty of the Varangians became a trope of Byzantine writers. Writing about her father

Nikephoros II. A servant had managed to call for the guards while the Emperor was being attacked, but when they arrived he was dead. They immediately knelt before John Tzimiskes, Nikephoros' murderer and hailed him as Emperor. "Alive they would have defended him to the last breath: dead there was no point in avenging him. They had a new master now."[34]

This reputation exceeds the truth in at least two recorded instances. In 1071, after Emperor

Michael VII, as emperor. Thus, instead of defending their absent emperor, the Varangians were used by the usurpers—proving their loyalty to the throne, if not always the current occupier of that throne. In a more sinister episode, the historian Joannes Zonaras reports the guard revolting against Nikephoros III Botaneiates after the blinding of the general Nikephoros Bryennios in 1078, "planning to kill him" but being suppressed by loyal troops. They subsequently asked for and received a pardon.[35]

Runestones

Main articles:
Ingvar Runestones
Map of geographic distribution of Varangian Runestones (almost all are found in present-day Sweden).

There are a number of raised stone memorials called

runestones throughout Scandinavia. The runestones are unevenly distributed in Scandinavia: Denmark has 250 runestones, Norway has 50 while Iceland has none.[36] Sweden has as many as between 1,700[36] and 2,500[37][38] depending on definition. The Swedish district of Uppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereas Södermanland is second with 391.[38] Many date to the Viking Age, and there are many associated with the Varangian Guards.[39][40]

These

Italy Runestones
which were raised in memory of members of the Varangian Guard who died in southern Italy.

The oldest of the Greece runestones are six stones in the

Eriksstad runestone Sm 46.[43]

One of the more notable of the later runestones in the

Ed runestone U 112, a large boulder at the western shore of the lake of Ed. It tells that Ragnvaldr, the captain of the Varangian Guard, had returned home where he had the inscriptions made in memory of his dead mother.[43]

The youngest runestones, in the

Ed runestone U 104 (presently in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford), are dated to the period 1080–1130, after which runestones became unfashionable.[43]

The Varangians did not return home without being imprinted by Byzantine culture in one way or another, as exemplified by the

Viking Ulf of Borresta, see Orkesta runestone U 344, in memory of another Ulf, in Skålhamra, and at the request of the latter's father.[44]

  • Piraeus Lion drawing of curved lindworm. The runes on the lion tell of Swedish warriors, likely Varangians, mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor.
    Swedish
    warriors, likely Varangians, mercenaries in the service of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Emperor.
  • The Byzantine cross, on U 161, a cross which is today the coat of arms of the municipality of Täby, Sweden
    The Byzantine cross, on U 161, a cross which is today the coat of arms of the municipality of Täby, Sweden
  • One of the runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia, probably carved by members of the Varangian Guard
    One of the runic inscriptions in Hagia Sophia, probably carved by members of the Varangian Guard

Norse sagas

According to the

Laxdœla saga, the Icelander Bolli Bollason (born c. 1006) was the first known Icelander in the Varangian Guard.[45] Travelling to Constantinople via Denmark, he spent many years in the Varangian Guard, "and was thought to be the most valiant in all deeds that try a man, and always went next to those in the forefront."[46]
The saga also records the finery his followers received from the Emperor, and the influence he held after his return to Iceland:

Bolli rode from the ship with twelve men, and all his followers were dressed in scarlet, and rode on gilt saddles, and all were they a trusty band, though Bolli was peerless among them. He had on the clothes of fur which the Garth-king had given him, he had over all a scarlet cape; and he had Footbiter girt on him, the hilt of which was dight with gold, and the grip woven with gold, he had a gilded helmet on his head, and a red shield on his flank, with a knight painted on it in gold. He had a dagger in his hand, as is the custom in foreign lands; and whenever they took quarters the women paid heed to nothing but gazing at Bolli and his grandeur, and that of his followers.[47]

The Varangian Guard is mentioned also in

Holmgard (Novgorod) and then on to Miklagard (Constantinople), where he entered the Emperor's service. "The last that was heard of him was, that he had wedded a wife there, and was captain over the Varangians, and stayed there till his death day."[48]

One of the members of the Varangian Guard was the future king

fought against Arabs in Anatolia and Sicily under General George Maniakes, as well as in southern Italy and Bulgaria. An extensive account of Harald Sigurdsson's journeys is found in Harald Sigurdsson's Saga
.

During his time in the Varangian Guard Harald earned the titles of

Studion
Monastery and clung to the altar.

Harald then sought to leave his post, but was denied this. He eventually escaped and returned home in 1043, becoming King of Norway before eventually dying at the Battle of Stamford Bridge while invading England in 1066.

The Varangian Guard regained some of its old Scandinavian flavour when Harald Hardråde's grandson,

Holy land. After fighting battles against the Muslims
, King Sigurd in 1110 let the rest of his force, who originally numbered 6,000 men, join the Varangian Guard. King Sigurd returned home with fewer than a hundred of his personal Guard.

Most of the Old Norse narratives which deals with Norwegians or Icelanders in the Varangian Guard are from the 13th century, and bear witness to a continued interest and generally positive views towards Byzantium within the West Norse cultural area.[50]

See also

Citations

  1. ^ Alvarez, Sandra (23 June 2014), "English Refugees in the Byzantine Armed Forces: The Varangian Guard and Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Consciousness", De Re Militari, The Society for Medieval Military History, archived from the original on 6 August 2017, retrieved 22 November 2018
  2. ISBN 978-07637-5190-6
    .
  3. ISBN 9781849081795
    . Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  4. ISBN 9781444308426
    . Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  5. ISBN 9781616734329
    . Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  6. ISBN 0-521-82992-5. Archived
    from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  7. ^ Marika Mägi, In Austrvegr: The Role of the Eastern Baltic in Viking Age Communication Across the Baltic Sea, The Northern World, 84 (Leiden: Brill, 2018), p. 195, citing Alf Thulin, 'The Rus' of Nestor's Chronicle', Mediaeval Scandinavia, 13 (2000), 70–96.
  8. ^ Jansson 1980:22
  9. ^ a b Pritsak 1981:386
  10. ^ a b Mark Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453 (Philadelphia 1992), pp. 272–275.
  11. ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7, archived
    from the original on 14 April 2023, retrieved 13 December 2015
  12. ^ D'Amato, pp. 4, 6
  13. ^ "The Vikings at home". HistoryExtra. Archived from the original on 4 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Kievan Rus". World History Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  15. ^ "The Vikings (780–1100)". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  16. ^ "Viking Tours Stockholm, 20 Historical Cultural Transported Tours". Sweden History Tours. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  17. ISBN 9780521035521. Archived
    from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  18. ^ a b Stefan Brink (2008), "Who were the Vikings?", in Stefan Brink and Neil Price (eds.), The Viking World Archived 14 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 4–10 (pp. 6–7).
  19. ^ "Russ, adj. and n." Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, June 2018. Accessed 25 July 2018.
  20. ^ D'Amato, pp. 6–7
  21. ^ D'Amato, p.4
  22. ^ Stephen Lowe, "Battle Honours of the Varangian Guard"
  23. ^
    ISBN 1-84176-759-X
    .
  24. ^ Buckler, p. 366.
  25. ^ Anna Comnena, The Alexiad (London: Penguin, 2003), p. 95.
  26. ^ a b John Kinnamos, "The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenos" (Charles M. Brand, trans.). New York: Columbia University Press, 1976, p. 16.
  27. ISBN 978-82-430-0844-1
  28. ^ a b Timothy Dawson (May 1992). "The Varangian Rhomphaia: a Cautionary tale". Varangian Voice. 22: 24–26. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  29. Byzantine
    and Scandinavian gear was in use ..."
  30. ^ Deno J. Geanakoplos, Emperor Michael Palaeologus and the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), p. 43 and note
  31. Germani corporis custodes, to protect himself from the native Praetorians
    . This guard was revived by Tiberius and continued until Nero.
  32. ^
    ISBN 91-88930-32-7
    p. 135
  33. ^ Anna Comnena, The Alexiad (London: Penguin, 2003), p. 97.
  34. ISBN 0-679-77269-3
    ..
  35. ^ Buckler, p. 367.
  36. ^ a b Olstad, Lisa (16 December 2002). "Ein minnestein for å hedre seg sjølv". forskning.no. Archived from the original on 29 August 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2008.
  37. ^ Zilmer 2005:38
  38. ^ a b Harrison & Svensson 2007:192
  39. ^ "Runestones: Words from the Viking Age". 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  40. ^ Nikel, David. "The Stunning Viking Runestones Of Scandinavia". Forbes. Archived from the original on 23 May 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  41. ISBN 978-91-7486-641-4
    p. 143–144.
  42. ^ Runriket Täby-Vallentuna – en handledning, by Rune Edberg Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine gives the start date 985, but the Rundata project includes also Iron Age and earlier Viking Age runestones in the style RAK.
  43. ^ a b c The dating is provided by the Rundata project in a freely downloadable database.
  44. ^ a b The article 5. Runriket – Risbyle Archived 13 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine on the website of the Stockholm County Museum, retrieved 7 July 2007.
  45. ^ Sagas of the Icelanders Archived 16 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Penguin Group
  46. ^ "OMACL: The Laxdaela Saga: Chapter 73". mcllibrary.org. Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  47. ^ "OMACL: The Laxdaela Saga: Chapter 77". mcllibrary.org. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  48. ^ "OMACL: The Story of Burnt Njal". mcllibrary.org. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  49. ^ Philip Dixon, Barbarian Europe, Salem House Publishing (October 1976), 978-0525701606
  50. ^ Jakobsson, Sverrir (2008). "The Schism that never was: Old Norse views on Byzantium and Russia Archived 20 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine". Byzantinoslavica. Slovanský ústav Akademie věd ČR, v. v. i. and Euroslavica. pp. 173–88.

General bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary sources

External links

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