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TheVarangian Guard (Greek:Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων,romanized: Tágma tōn Varángōn) was an elite unit of theByzantine army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to theByzantine emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from Northern Europe, including mainlyNorsemen from Scandinavia but alsoAnglo-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]
TheRus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard.[3] They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under EmperorBasil II in 988, following theChristianization of Kievan Rus' byVladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently taken control ofKiev with an army ofVarangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military assistance agreement.[4][5][6] Basil's distrust of the nativeByzantine 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 fromScandinavia (predominantly immigrants from Sweden,[7] but also elements from Denmark and Norway)[8] kept an almost entirely Norse cast to the organization until the late 11th century. During these years,Swedish men left to enlist in the Byzantine Varangian Guard in such numbers that a medieval Swedish law,Västgötalagen, fromVästergötland declared no one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—then the Scandinavian term for theByzantine Empire—to stop the emigration,[9] especially as two other European courts simultaneously also recruited Scandinavians:[10]Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1013–1051 (theÞingalið).[10]
Composed primarily of Norsemen and Rus' for the first 100 years, the Guard began to see increased numbers of Anglo-Saxons after theNorman conquest of England. By the time of the EmperorAlexios Komnenos in the late 11th century, the Varangian Guard was largely recruited from Anglo-Saxons and "others who had suffered at the hands of theVikings and their cousins theNormans".[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 theByzantine Greeks, though the Guard remained in existence until at least mid-14th century. In 1400, there were still some people identifying themselves as "Varangians" inConstantinople.[11]
The earliest members of the Varangian Guard came fromKievan Rus'. A treaty between Rus' and the Byzantine empire underBasil 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.[13]
The scholarly consensus[14] is that theRus' people originated in what is currently coastaleastern Sweden around the eighth century and that their name has the same origin asRoslagen in Sweden (with the older name beingRoden).[15][16][17] According to the prevalent theory, the nameRus', like the Proto-Finnic name for Sweden (*Roocci), is derived from anOld Norse term for "the men who row" (rods-) as rowing was the main method of navigating the rivers of Eastern Europe.[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 theEmirate of Crete in 902 and a force of 629 returned to Crete underConstantine 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 theGreat Companions (Gk.Μεγάλη Εταιρεία).
In 988,Basil II requested military assistance fromVladimir I of Kiev to help defend his throne. In compliance with the treaty made by his father after theSiege of Dorostolon (971), Vladimir sent 6,000 men to Basil. Vladimir took the opportunity to rid himself of his most unruly warriors who in any case he was unable to pay.[20] This is the presumptive date for the formal, permanent institution of an elite guard.[21] In exchange for the warriors, Vladimir was given Basil's sister,Anna, in marriage. Vladimir also agreed to convert to Christianity and tobring his people into the Christian faith.
In 989, these Varangians, led by Basil II himself, landed at Chrysopolis to defeat the rebel generalBardas 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 insouthern Italy in the eleventh century, as theNormans andLombards worked to extinguish Byzantine authority there. In 1018, Basil II received a request from hiscatepan of Italy,Basil Boioannes, for reinforcements to put down theLombard revolt ofMelus of Bari. A detachment of the Varangian Guard was sent and in theBattle of Cannae, the Byzantines achieved a decisive victory.
The Varangians also participated in the partial reconquest ofSicily from the Arabs underGeorge Maniakes in 1038. Here, they fought alongside Normans recently arrived in Italy seeking adventure and Lombards from Byzantine-heldApulia. A prominent member of the Guard at this time wasHarald Hardrada, laterKing 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 catepanMichael Doukeianos had a force of Varangians stationed atBari. On 16 March 1041, they were called up to fight the Normans nearVenosa; many drowned in the subsequent retreat across theOfanto. 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,John Raphael was sent to Bari with a contingent of Varangians, but the Bariots refused to receive his troops and he spent his term atOtranto. Twenty years later, in 1067, the last Byzantine catepan in southern Italy,Mabrica, arrived with Varangian auxiliaries and tookBrindisi andTaranto. At the disastrousBattle of Manzikert in 1071, virtually all the Emperor's Guards fell around him.[22]
Composed primarily of Scandinavians for the first 100 years, the guard began to see increasing numbers ofAnglo-Saxons after the successful invasion of England by the Normans. In 1088, a large number of Anglo-Saxons and Danes emigrated to theByzantine Empire by way of the Mediterranean.[23] One source has more than 5,000 of them arriving in 235 ships. Those who did not enter imperial service settled on the Black Sea coast, building and garrisoning the town ofHelenopolis forAlexios I.[24] Those who did became so vital to the Varangians that the Guard was commonly called theEnglinbarrangoi (Anglo-Varangians) from that point. In this capacity, they fought in Sicily against the Normans underRobert Guiscard, who unsuccessfully sought to invade the lower Balkans as well.
Writing about the unit as it was in 1080, the chronicler and princessAnna Komnene refers to these "axe-bearing barbarians" as being "from Thule", likely a reference to the British Isles or Scandinavia.[25] Likewise, theByzantine civil-servant, soldier and historianJohn 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 theNorwegian Crusade led by the Norwegian KingSigurd I Magnusson, the guard had an influx of Norwegian Warriors. The Norwegian King sold his ships inConstantinople and returned to Norway with only 100 men, out of an original army of around 6,000.[27]
The Varangians relied on the broad-bladedDane axe as their main weapon, although they were often also skilled swordsmen or archers. In some sources, such as Anna Komnene'sThe Alexiad, they are described as mounted; both Vikings and elite Anglo-Saxon warriors routinely used horses for strategic mobility even though they normally fought on foot. The guard was stationed primarily around Constantinople, and may have been barracked in theBucoleon 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 vital to the Byzantine victory under the emperorJohn II Komnenos at theBattle of Beroia in 1122. The Varangians hacked their way through the enemy's circle ofPecheneg wagons, collapsing the Pecheneg position and causing a general rout in their camp.[26]
The Varangians were described by 11th-century Byzantine historianMichael 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 arhomphaia,[29] which most likely occurred as a product ofAtticism in Byzantine literature.[28]
They were prominent in the defence ofConstantinople during theFourth 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 theChronicle of the Morea, which states that this unit escorted the Prince of Achaia away to prison after theBattle of Pelagonia in 1259; historian D. J. Geanakoplos suggests they were reconstituted byTheodore I Laskaris to strengthen his claim as the rightful Emperor.[30] People identified as Varangians were to be found in Constantinople around 1400.[11]
The duties and purpose of the Varangian Guard were similar—if not identical—to the services provided by the Kievandruzhina, the Swedish/Norwegianhird, and the Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxonhousecarls. The Varangians served as the personalbodyguard[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, theakolouthos, 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 toberserkers, 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 inOld Norse aspolutasvarf ("palace pillaging").[32] This privilege enabled many Varangians to return home as wealthy men, which encouraged even more Scandinavians to enlist in the Guard inMiklagarðr (Swedish = Miklagård = 'The Great City', i.e. Constantinople).[32]
The loyalty of the Varangians became a trope of Byzantine writers. Writing about her fatherAlexius's seizing of the Imperial throne in 1081,Anna Komnene notes that he was advised not to attack the Varangians who still guarded the EmperorNikephoros for the Varangians "regard loyalty to the emperors and the protection of their persons as a family tradition, a kind of sacred trust". This allegiance, she noted, "they preserve inviolate, and will never brook the slighted hint of betrayal".[33] Unlike the native Byzantine guards so mistrusted by Basil II, the Varangian guards' loyalties lay with the position of Emperor, not the man who sat on the throne. This was made clear in 969 when the guards failed to avenge the death by assassination of EmperorNikephoros 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 beforeJohn 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 EmperorRomanos IV Diogenes was defeated by Sultan Alp Arslan, a palace coup was staged before he could return to Constantinople. CaesarJohn Doukas used the Varangian guard to depose the absent emperor, arrest Empress Eudoxia, and proclaim his nephew, stepson of DiogenesMichael 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 historianJoannes Zonaras reports the guard revolting againstNikephoros III Botaneiates after the blinding of the generalNikephoros Bryennios in 1078, "planning to kill him" but being suppressed by loyal troops. They subsequently asked for and received a pardon.[35]
There are a number of raised stone memorials calledrunestones 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 ofUppland has the highest concentration with as many as 1,196 inscriptions in stone, whereasSödermanland is second with 391.[38] Many date to theViking Age, and there are many associated with the Varangian Guards.[39][40]
TheseVarangian runestones commemorate various fallen warriors through carvedrunes, and mention voyages to the East (Austr) or the Eastern route (Austrvegr), or to more specific eastern locations such asGarðaríki (what is today Russia and Ukraine). The losses that the Varangian Guard suffered are reflected by the largest group of runestones that talk of foreign voyages, such as those termed theGreece Runestones.[41] These were raised by former members of the Varangian Guard, or in their memory. A smaller group consists of the fourItaly 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 thestyle RAK, a style which is dated to the period before 1015 AD.[42] The group consists ofSkepptuna runestone U 358,Västra Ledinge runestone U 518,Nälberga runestone Sö 170 andEriksstad runestone Sm 46.[43]
One of the more notable of the later runestones in thestyle Pr4 isEd 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 thestyle Pr5, such asEd runestone U 104 (presently in theAshmolean Museum inOxford), 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 theByzantine cross carved on the early eleventh centuryRisbyle runestone U 161, and which today is thecoat-of-arms ofTäby, a trimunicipal locality and the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden.[44] The runes were made by theVikingUlf of Borresta, seeOrkesta runestone U 344, in memory of another Ulf, in Skålhamra, and at the request of the latter's father.[44]
According to thesagas, theWest Norse entered the service of the Guard considerably later than theEast Norse. According to theLaxdœla saga, the IcelanderBolli 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 inNjal's Saga in reference to Kolskegg—an Icelander said to have come first toHolmgard (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 kingHarald Sigurdsson III of Norway, known as Harald Hardråde ("Hard-ruler").[49] Having fled his homeland, Harald went first toGardariki and then on to Constantinople, where he arrived in 1035. He participated in eighteen battles and during his servicefought against Arabs in Anatolia and Sicily under GeneralGeorge Maniakes, as well as in southern Italy and Bulgaria. An extensive account of Harald Sigurdsson's journeys is found inHarald Sigurdsson's Saga.
During his time in the Varangian Guard Harald earned the titles ofmanglavites andspatharokandidatos. But his service ended with his imprisonment for misappropriation of imperial plunder taken during his command. He was released upon the dethronement of the EmperorMichael V, and saga sources suggest he was the one sent to blind the Emperor when he and his uncle fled to the church of theStoudios 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, becomingKing of Norway before eventually dying at theBattle of Stamford Bridge while invading England in 1066.
The Varangian Guard regained some of its old Scandinavian flavour when Harald Hardråde's grandson,Sigurd I of Norway, went on theNorwegian Crusade to theHoly Land. After fighting battles against theMuslims, 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]
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