Varangians Archives - Medievalists.net

Varangian: Norse Influences Within the Elite Guard of Byzantium

March 2, 2014 By Medievalists.net

Varangian Guardsmen, an illumination from the 11th century chronicle of John Skylitzes.

Constantinople maintained hundreds of years of dutiful employment of what has been often referred to by scholars as a mercenary force. The elite of which was charged with the primary duty of defending the seat of the Byzantine Emperor and defense of the realm at the emperor’s order.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Byzantium, Military History, Varangians

“The English Exodus to Ionia”: The Identity of the Anglo-Saxon Varangians in the Service of Alexios Comnenos I (1081-1118)

November 20, 2012 By Medievalists.net

Most historians who focus on this period have examined the effects of the Norman invasion and its aftermath on the island itself, but few have studied the journeys of those who left England in search for new opportunities in foreign lands.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Alexius I Comnenus, Anglo-Saxon, Byzantium, Eleventh Century, Military History, Norman Conquest, Twelfth Century, Varangians