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The Varangian Guard (Greek: Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, Tágma tōn Varángōn) was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army, from the 10th to the 14th centuries, whose members served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors. They are known for being primarily composed of Germanic peoples, specifically Norsemen from modern day Sweden (the Guard was formed approximately 200 years into the Viking Age) and Anglo-Saxons (after the Norman Conquest of England created an Anglo-Saxon diaspora, part of which found employment in Constantinople). The Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard. They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor Basil II in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently usurped power in Kiev with an army of Varangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military assistance agreement. 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 Sweden, Denmark , Norway and Iceland kept a predominantly Norse cast to the organization until the late 11th century. According to the late Swedish historian Alf Henrikson in his book Svensk Historia (History of Sweden), the Scandinavian Varangian guardsmen were recognized by long hair, a red ruby set in the left ear and ornamented dragons sewn on their chainmail shirts. In these years, Scandinavian men left to enlist in the Byzantine Varangian Guard in such numbers that a medieval Swedish law, Västergötlagen, from Västergötland declared no one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—the then Scandinavian term for the Byzantine Empire—to stop the emigration, especially as two other European courts simultaneously also recruited Scandinavians: Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1018–1066 (the Þingalið). 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". 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.
References
- Wortley, John, ed. (2010), John Skylitzes: A Synopsis of Byzantine History, 811-1057, Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, p. 372, ISBN 978-0-521-76705-7, https://books.google.com/books?id=vGE8Xq832A0C
- D'Amato, pp. 4, 6
- D'Amato, pp. 6-7
- D'Amato, p.4
- Stephen Lowe, Battle Honours of the Varangian Guard https://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/egfrothos/BattleHonours.html&date=2009-10-25+21:41:06
- Stephen Turnbull, The Walls of Constantinople, AD 324–1453, pages 35-36, Osprey Publishing, ISBN:1-84176-759-X.
- Buckler, p. 366.
- Anna Comnena, The Alexiad (London: Penguin, 2003), p. 95.
- John Kinnamos, "The Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenos" (Charles M. Brand, trans). New York, Columbia University Press, 1976, p. 16.
- Timothy Dawson (May 1992). "The Varangian Rhomphaia: a Cautionary tale". Varangian Voice 22: 24–26. http://www.levantia.com.au/theory/rhomfaia.html.
- Ian Heath and Angus McBride, Byzantine Armies 886–1118, 1979, p. 38: "Psellus however claims that every Varangian without exception was armed with shield and 'Rhomphaia'...a mixture of Byzantine and Scandinavian gear was in use...",
- Deno J. Geanakoplos, Emperor Michael Palaeologus and the West (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), p. 43 and note
- Mark Bartusis, The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453 (Philadelphia 1992), pp. 272–275.
- 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.
- Enoksen, Lars Magnar. (1998). Runor : historia, tydning, tolkning. Historiska Media, Falun. ISBN:91-88930-32-7 p. 135
- Anna Comnena, The Alexiad (London: Penguin, 2003), p. 97.
- Norwich, John J. (1997). A Short History of Byzantium. Viking. ISBN 0-679-77269-3. .
- Buckler, p. 367.
- Larsson, Mats G (2002). Götarnas Riken : Upptäcktsfärder Till Sveriges Enande. Bokförlaget Atlantis AB ISBN:978-91-7486-641-4 p. 143–144.
- Runriket Täby-Vallentuna – en handledning, by Rune Edberg gives the start date 985, but the Rundata project includes also Iron Age and earlier Viking Age runestones in the style RAK. http://stockholms.lans.museum/runriket/runriket.pdf
- The dating is provided by the Rundata project in a freely downloadable database.
- The article 5. Runriket - Risbyle on the website of the Stockholm County Museum, retrieved July 7, 2007. http://www.lansmuseum.a.se/runriket/risbyle.html
- Sagas of the Icelanders, Penguin Group http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141000039,00.html
- The Laxdaela Saga: Chapter 73 http://mcllibrary.org/Laxdaela/chapter73.html
- The Story of Burnt Njal http://mcllibrary.org/Njal/
- Philip Dixon, Barbarian Europe, Salem House Publishing (October 1976), 978-0525701606
- Jakobsson, Sverrir (2008). "The Schism that never was: Old Norse views on Byzantium and Russia". Byzantinoslavica. Slovanský ústav Akademie věd ČR, v. v. i. and Euroslavica. pp. 173–88. http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/issuedetails.aspx?issueid=6dc4b3e4-2331-407b-ba71-6d3bc9529315&articleId=e10144e4-f07f-4f3d-9913-032cad3cc791
