1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910427041103321

Autore

Sverrir Jakobsson <1970->

Titolo

The Varangians : in God's holy fire / / Sverrir Jakobsson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cham, Switzerland : , : Palgrave Macmillan, , [2020]

©2020

ISBN

3-030-53797-8

Edizione

[1st ed. 2020.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (XVIII, 212 p. 10 illus.)

Collana

New approaches to Byzantine history and culture

Disciplina

948.01

Soggetti

Varangians - History

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

1. Incursion -- 2. Attack -- 3. Accommodation -- 4. Engagement -- 5. Adaptation -- 6. Adventurer -- Intermission: History becomes Legend -- 7. Armed Pilgrims -- 8. Mercenaries -- 9. Varangians in Cultural Memory -- 10. Missionaries -- 11. The Emperor in the Holy City -- 12. The End of the Line -- Conclusion: The Cultural Significance of the Varangians.

Sommario/riassunto

This book is the history of the Eastern Vikings, the Rus and the Varangians, from their earliest mentions in the narrative sources to the late medieval period, when the Eastern Vikings had become stock figures in Old Norse Romances. A comparison is made between sources emanating from different cultures, such as the Roman Empire, the Abbasid Caliphate and its successor states, the early kingdoms of the Rus and the high medieval Scandinavian kingdoms. A key element in the history of the Rus and the Varangians is the fashioning of identities and how different cultures define themselves in comparison and contrast with the other. This book offers a fresh and engaging view of these medieval sources, and a thorough reassessment of established historiographical grand narratives on Scandinavian peoples in the East. Sverrir Jakobsson is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Iceland.