"The Varangian Guard-The Vikings in Byzantium" Topic

"The Varangian Guard in Byzantium is one of the very few mercenary units whose history can be counted in centuries. The length of their service and the number of battles in which they fought is perhaps only surpassed by the Swiss in the pay of the French. But while the Swiss had only to journey into neighboring France, in times when there were already well-established and regular postal routes and diplomatic missions, the Norsemen had to travel far beyond the boundaries of their known world. From the point of view of the Byzantines, these Norsemen came from a distant land, Thule, told of only in myths and legends.

By the 9th Century, Swedish Vikings had travelled along the great rivers into modern-day Russia. They came as traders or as raiders, depending on how they calculated their chances of making profit. They quickly constructed their first fortified trading posts and began subduing the local population.

By 850 they had founded their own principalities in Novgorod and Kiev, and the small ruling elite which they managed to form intermarried with Slavic noble families to consolidate their power. The Slavs called the Norsemen "Rus" and soon the word became synonymous for the whole realm united under the leadership of Kiev. The name "Varangian" was also often used, which meant a stranger who had taken military service, or a man who belonged to a union of traders and warriors. Though sometimes both terms were used interchangeably, it became common to use "Rus" as a designation for the established Nordic Slavic nobility who reigned in eastern Europe, while "Varangian" was used for the foreign warriors still arriving from Scandinavia to trade, or offer their swords for hire to the Rus…"

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