03-01-2014, 12:00 AM
Another post, from my online friend, on Vikings...
there ARE at least three distinct groups of "Vikings":
The well known Vikings raiding and colonizing western Europe and the riverlandsaround the Meditterranian. Their origins were all the countries in Northern Europe, but mainly Norwegians and Danes.
Then vi have the Roz, a separate tribe(s) in eastern Sweden, who mainly traveled eastward, concentrating on slave trade from their conqered and colonized areas along the Russian(Rozian) rivers towards Constantinopel.
Warriors from all the northern countries partook in this special form of colonizing the countryside, but the Roz(Rus) of Sweden dominated this "trade".
According to legends, Russia was founded by a Swedish chieftain named Rurik, who was invited to Novgorod to rule and make peace among all the chieftain, earls and kings fighting in the area, and Russia is named after his Swedish ancestors.
(Rurik made peace, by inviting all the chieftains and kings to a peace-conference, where he killed them all, including their families, by burning them inside their magnificent guesthouse..)
Then we know about the Varangians, which means "band of warriors bonded by oath", which were full-time warririors in smaller bands, specializing in lucrative victims or assignment.
They came from everywhere, but here again the Scandinavians seems most numerous.
They won a reputation for all time, when 100 of these "Bonded by oath"-men took on the Imperial Guard of the Byzantine Emperor, and plowed through his immense army in the narrow alleys of Constantinopel, breaking into the palace and into the Emperors bedroom! Waking him up to discuss business with him! They wanted free trade and tax exempts, and right to bear arms inside the city walls!
From that day and nearly 700 years ahead, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the bodyguard of the Emperor was named The Varangian Guard!
And a lot of Scandinavian Vikings and Roz did service in this special security branch through the centuries, f.e. was Harald Hardråde, the last great Viking king who fell in battle of Hastings, commander of the Imperial Varangian Guard for 7 yrs. It was probably in this posistion he made the fortune that made it possible for him to raise the last big Viking-fleet, about 300 ships, for invading England.
In Haralds 7 yrs as Varangian guard, three emperors died, and in Byzants it was tradition, when the emperor died, his guard was allowed to sack the palace. Harald must have made a fortune every time, beside being astronomical well paid as commander of the bodyguard, but he surely also made lots of wealth in the 18 mayor battles he participated in around the Meditterarian and in the sacking of 80 cities he is contributed with.
there ARE at least three distinct groups of "Vikings":
The well known Vikings raiding and colonizing western Europe and the riverlandsaround the Meditterranian. Their origins were all the countries in Northern Europe, but mainly Norwegians and Danes.
Then vi have the Roz, a separate tribe(s) in eastern Sweden, who mainly traveled eastward, concentrating on slave trade from their conqered and colonized areas along the Russian(Rozian) rivers towards Constantinopel.
Warriors from all the northern countries partook in this special form of colonizing the countryside, but the Roz(Rus) of Sweden dominated this "trade".
According to legends, Russia was founded by a Swedish chieftain named Rurik, who was invited to Novgorod to rule and make peace among all the chieftain, earls and kings fighting in the area, and Russia is named after his Swedish ancestors.
(Rurik made peace, by inviting all the chieftains and kings to a peace-conference, where he killed them all, including their families, by burning them inside their magnificent guesthouse..)
Then we know about the Varangians, which means "band of warriors bonded by oath", which were full-time warririors in smaller bands, specializing in lucrative victims or assignment.
They came from everywhere, but here again the Scandinavians seems most numerous.
They won a reputation for all time, when 100 of these "Bonded by oath"-men took on the Imperial Guard of the Byzantine Emperor, and plowed through his immense army in the narrow alleys of Constantinopel, breaking into the palace and into the Emperors bedroom! Waking him up to discuss business with him! They wanted free trade and tax exempts, and right to bear arms inside the city walls!
From that day and nearly 700 years ahead, until the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the bodyguard of the Emperor was named The Varangian Guard!
And a lot of Scandinavian Vikings and Roz did service in this special security branch through the centuries, f.e. was Harald Hardråde, the last great Viking king who fell in battle of Hastings, commander of the Imperial Varangian Guard for 7 yrs. It was probably in this posistion he made the fortune that made it possible for him to raise the last big Viking-fleet, about 300 ships, for invading England.
In Haralds 7 yrs as Varangian guard, three emperors died, and in Byzants it was tradition, when the emperor died, his guard was allowed to sack the palace. Harald must have made a fortune every time, beside being astronomical well paid as commander of the bodyguard, but he surely also made lots of wealth in the 18 mayor battles he participated in around the Meditterarian and in the sacking of 80 cities he is contributed with.