Varangians

The Varangians (Russian: Variags, Варяги) were Scandinavians who travelled eastwards, mainly from the northeastern parts of Scandinavia, in what are now Norway and Sweden.

Promoting trade, piracy and mercenary militarism, they roamed the river systems and portages of what later became Russia, reaching the Caspian Sea and Constantinople.

The East Slavs and the Byzantines, however, did not distinguish Scandinavians from other Germanic peoples when they used this term. In the Russian Primary Chronicle, this term also includes the people of Denmark and England (Англяне).

The Varangian Rus

The Varangians (Varyags, in Old East Slavic language) are first mentioned by the Russian Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes (cf. the Danegeld) in 859. In 862, the Finnic and Slavic tribes rebelled against the Varangians, but started making war on each other. The disorder led the tribes to invite the Varangians to come and rule them and bring peace to the region. Led by Rurik and his brothers Truvor and Sineus, the invited Varangians (called Rus) settled around the town of Novgorod.

Though many historians view these 9th century Varangians as legendary, the real settlement of Aldeigjuborg (now Staraya Ladoga) was associated with the name of Rurik, and established around Lake Ladoga in the 8th century. Western history has it that these Scandinavians founded Kievan Rus' and gave their name to the land, 'Russia'. Many Slavic scholars are opposed to this theory of Northern influence and have suggested alternative theories for this part of Russian history. For an overview, see Rus.

An approximative map of the non-Varangian cultures in European Russia, in the 9th century

In contrast to the intense Scandinavian influence in Normandy and the British Isles, Varangian culture did not survive to a great extent in the East. Instead, the Varangian ruling classes of the two powerful city-states of Novgorod and Kiev were eventually Slavicized, but Old Norse was spoken in Novgorod until the 13th century, and a Varangian mercenary force continued in the service of the Byzantine Emperors.

The Varangian Guard

Varangians first appear in the Byzantine world in 839, when the emperor Theophilus negotiated with the Varangians, whom he called Rhos, to provide a few mercenaries for his army. Although the Varangians often had peaceful trading relations with the Byzantines, they sometimes led attacks against Constantinople. Such attacks came in 860, 907, 911, 941, 945, 971, and finally 1043. These raids were successful only in causing the Byzantines to re-arrange their trading arrangements; militarily, the Varangians were always defeated by the superior Byzantine forces, especially by the use of Greek fire.

The Varangians served with Dalmatians as marines in naval expeditions against Crete in 902 and again in 949 under Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Further, they were employed in a land campaign in Syria in 955. This service elevated their rank from members of the Great Companions (Gr. Μεγαλη Εταιρειαι) of mercenaries to the Imperial Guard.

Under Basil II, these were separated into a new force known as the Varangian Guard (Gr. tagma ton baraggion) in 988 upon the conversion of the Kievan prince Vladimir to Orthodox Christianity. In exchange for marriage with Basil's sister Anna, Vladimir gave the emperor 6,000 men recently arrived from the North to use as his personal bodyguard. These men gave Basil II the power to end Bardas Phocas's uprising against which he had been losing ground. After securing his throne the Varangians became the life-guards of the emperor. Over the years, new recruits from as far abroad as Sweden, Denmark, and Norway gave a predominently Scandinavian cast to the organization until the late 11th century.

Runic graffiti inscribed in a column in Constantinople (now Istanbul) by members of the Varangian Guard.

After the successful invasion of England by the Normans, however, a large number of Anglo-Saxons and Danes immigrated to the Byzantine Empire by way of the Mediterranean. One source has more than 5,000 of them arriving in 235 ships. Those who did not enter imperial service were settled on the Black Sea, but those who did became so vital to the Varangians that it was commonly called the Englinbarrangoi from that point. In this capacity they were able to war against the Normans under Robert Guiscard in Sicily, who unsuccessfully sought to invade the lower Balkans as well.

The duties and purpose of the Varangian Guard was similar to - if not identical - to the services provided by the Kievan druzhina, the Scandinavian vikinge-lag, and the Anglo-Saxon and Danish huscarls. The Varangians served as the personal lifeguard^[1] of the emperor, swearing an oath of loyalty to him; they had ceremonial duties as retainers and acclaimers and performed some police duties, especially with regard to cases of treason and conspiracy.

While the Varangians are represented in Walter Scott's novel "Count Robert of Paris" as being the fiercest and most loyal element of the Byzantine forces, this is probably exaggerated. However, the exaggeration was begun not by English romantics but by Byzantine writers themselves, who applied a "noble savage" identity to the Varangians. Many Byzantine writers referred to them as "axe-bearing barbarians," or pelekuphoroi barbaroi, rather than Varangians. While many writers praised their loyalty to the emperors (and ascribed their loyalty to their race), the Byzantine rule was marred by usurpations, which indicates that the Guard was either less loyal or less effective than the sources would lead us to believe.

Similar to their distant brethren, the Varangians' main weapon was a long axe, although they were often skilled swordsmen or archers as well. In some sources they are described as mounted. The guard was stationed primarily around Constantinople, and may have been barracked in the Bucoleon palace complex. The guard also accompanied armies into the field, and Byzantine chroniclers (as well as several notable Western European and Arab chroniclers) often note their battlefield prowess, especially in comparison to the local barbarian peoples. They were the only element of the army to successfully defend part of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Although the Guard was apparently disbanded after the city's capture in 1204, there are some indications that it was revived either by the Empire of Nicaea or the Palaeologid emperors themselves.

One of the most famous members of the Varangian Guard was the future king Harald III of Norway, known as Harald Hardraada ("Hardreign"), who arrived in Constantinople in 1035. He participated in eighteen battles and became the Akolythos ("Acolyte," the title of the commander of the guard) before returning home in 1043. The exiled English prince Edgar Ætheling may also have served with the Guard around 1098.

Primary Sources

Russian Primary Chronicle
The Strategikon by Kekaumenos
The Alexiad by Anna Komnene
The Historia ecclesiatica by Ordericus Vitalis
The Chronicon universale anonymi Laudunensis
The Jatvardar saga
The Heimskringla

Sources

Sigfus Blondal. Varangians of Byzantium: An Aspect of Byzantine Military History. Trans. by Benedikt S. Benedikz, Cambridge: 1978. ISBN 0521217458
H.R. Ellis Davidson. The Viking Road to Byzantium. London: 1976. ISBN 0049400495

External links

Who Were the Varangians?
English Refugees in the Byzantine Armed Forces: The Varangian Guard and Anglo-Saxon Ethnic Consciousness by Nicholas C.J. Pappas for De Re Militari.org
In the 1990’s group of medieval re-enactors in Australia organized an association known as the New Varangian Guard, which works toward recreating elements of Varangian history. It publishes a quarterly journal entitled Varangian Voice, which includes historical information, as well as news regarding the activities of the association and practical information on reproducing armor, costume and weaponry.

Notes

^ It is neither unusual nor particularly Byzantine that a foreign unit would gain such access and prestige. Augustus himself had a personal guard of Germans, the Collegium Custodum Corporis or Germani Corporis Custodes, to protect himself from the native Praetorians. This guard was revived by Tiberius and continued until Nero.