THE
ADOPTION OF BYZANTINE EQUIPMENT AND CUSTOMS BY THE VARANGIAN GUARDS
by Steven Lowe
This article appeared originally in Varangian Voice 37, of November 1995,
and has been republished here with minor amendments. It owes its origin to a
discussion with Tim Dawson quite some time ago about the composition of the
original Varangian Guard, and the extent to which its members would have
adopted Byzantine arms and armour.
It has always been assumed in the
New Varangian Guard that the Varangians in the Empire would have adopted some
aspects of the Byzantine and other cultures they met there. The Vikings are
well known to have taken on the customs and apparel of the societies they
mingled with, whether Frankish (the Normans), Slavic (the Rus), or others.
Contact with the splendors and sophistication of Byzantine culture would have
been impressive and rather overwhelming.
But to what extent would the Varangians have taken on the Byzantine
lifestyle and accessories, and how would this influence have shown itself? The
Varangian Guard was a close-knit group with high esprit de corps,
and both sagas and Byzantine sources suggest that as a relatively small group
of ex-patriates they maintained their language, dress and customs to a pretty large
degree. The most obvious areas of difference would have been in those material
things which they either did not have on arrival, or replaced during their stay.
ARMS AND ARMOUR
Both the Viking and Anglo-Saxon armies had of a core of highly experienced
and well-equipped “professional” warriors, plus a larger group of
semi-professionals drawn from the landed class and petty nobility. There is now
debate over whether their armies also included the “rabble”; peasant levies
with no experience and little equipment. However, a sizable proportion of the
figures in contemporary illustrations of warfare, from England at the least,
are without armour or helmets, carrying only spear and shield.
In the English fyrd system of the 11th century,
using Berkshire as a typical example, a shire owed one warrior to the fyrd for
each 5 hides, a hide being the amount of land required to support a family, or
about 120 acres. There were approximately 70,000 hides in England, which would
have produced 14,000 warriors. (McLynn, p.148). McLynn believes that an
exhaustive conscription could have produced up to 60,000 (ibid. p.148).
On the other hand, Edge & Paddock, (pp 15-16) estimate that England’s
total defense force consisted of the following: 3000 in the king’s own huscarls
plus another 300 or so for each of the four great earls, 15-20,000 in the
“select” fyrd, and the balance from the Great Fyrd, who were peasant levies. If
this is true, the great majority of the army would have belonged to the last
category, who were ill-armed at best.
Level of Armament among the
Varangians’ “Personnel Pools”
Even in England, which was a wealthy country, a thegn may not have had a
mailshirt, or even a helmet.
In 1008, King Ethelred II ordered the production of ships and armour; “
. . . one warship from three hundred and 10 hides, and from 8 hides a helmet
and mailcoat” (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Peterborough Manuscript).
But this may have been intended only for the navy at a time of great military
need - it would provide 38 mailshirts and helmets per ship, which would
probably equip a major proportion of the crew. Additionally, it appears that
this was intended to be a one-off activity, and it is doubtful whether
production was continued after the original order was carried out, let alone
through the succeeding reigns, down to 1066.
On the death of a landowner, his successor paid a heriot to
the king to maintain the right to the lands – a sort of death duty. In 1020-23
Knut, the Danish king of England, laid down the heriot of each earl as 4
helmets, 4 coats of mail, 8 horses (of which 4 were to be provided with
saddles), 4 swords, 8 spears, 8 shields and 200 mancuses of gold. For a thegn
who was close to the king it was 2 horses (one with a saddle), one sword, 2
spears, 2 shields and 50 mancuses of gold. A lesser thegn was required to
provide a horse and its trappings and his weapons. (Edge and Paddock p. 29)
The heriot appears to have been a means by which the king supplied his
troops, presumably his personal huscarls, with the wherewithal for war. But as
a great earl didn’t die every day, there would still not be a great amount of
arms and armour available to the king. And what does this say about those lower
in the social structure? Even the heriot of a King’s thegn does not include a helmet
or mail shirt – is this because they did not have them themselves? If the
requirement for an earl was only four helmets and mailshirts each, what does
this tell us about the equipment of the average warrior? The battle scenes in
the Bayeux Tapestry show a large proportion of well-armoured warriors, but most
contemporary illustrations are more like the one below, showing an army in
which only the king wears a mail-shirt, and nobody has a helmet.
Anglo-Saxon, from the first half of
the 11th century (British Library, MS Cotton Claudius B. iv, fol 25r)
If the 6000 Vikings who appear to have founded the Varangian bodyguard of
Emperor Basil II circa 988 AD (Blöndal & Benedikz p.43) were of similar
proportions to the English army, most of them would have been pretty badly
equipped when they got to Miklagard. Even if a higher proportion than usual
were “professional” warriors and owned a helmet and armour on arrival, they
would still have been a relatively small fraction of the overall number. The
same would have been true for those in later contingents. By 1086, over 4000
English thegns had been dispossessed, according to the Domesday Book (Morgan p.
105). Graeme Walker proposes in Varangian Voice 35 (The English Varangians)
that post-Conquest Anglo-Saxons of the thegnly class formed a large proportion
of the later Varangian Guard. (For further information on this issue, see my
article Byzantium: The English Connection. However, as mentioned
above, they may still have been relatively poorly equipped. Arms and armour
were very expensive, a sword costing as much as 120 oxen or 15 slaves (Edge
& Paddock p. 26), and a thegn might own no more than 5 hides of land.
(Morgan p. 98-100).
Varangian Equipment
As the Emperor’s bodyguard, the Varangian Guards would be expected to have
helmet, armour, shield and a good weapon as a bare minimum, and those without
them would have been supplied from the Imperial Armoury. And those who had
their own gear would have gradually replaced it as equipment broke or wore out.
Most would probably have been supplied with basic Byzantine issue. Only
their leaders would have been given expensive, decorated equipment. Favorite
weapons would have been kept – particularly their two-handed axes; the
Varangian Guards were known in Byzantium as the pelekephoroi, or
Axe-bearers – and only replaced if they were damaged or lost.
Soldiers in various types of Byzantine armour - from left; lamellar, padded kabadion, scale and mail; from a portrayal of the Betrayal of Jesus in a church in Cyprus
In the only contemporary illustrations of the Varangian Guard, from a copy
of the Skylitzes Chronicle held in Madrid, they are shown with typical
Byzantine helmets and shields, but they have two-handed axes and what appear to
be mail corselets, not lamellar. On the other hand, the artist in question
routinely puts Byzantine soldiers in the same armour, so there is very little
to be concluded from this.
An
illustration taken to be of Varangian Guards from the Madrid Skylitzes
Chronicle (fol. 26v-a)
The Sagas
There is corroborative information from the sagas, but it must be treated
with caution; not only were they written down as much as 250 years after the
events they describe, but many of them are heavily embroidered, or perhaps
wholly invented. However, they can sometimes provide useful information.
(Another issue is translation; I am using the version in Blöndal and Benedikz,
and hoping the word “sax”, for example, in the extracts below is not just a
blanket term for all types of dagger. Some confirmation is given by the fact
that when Bolli Bollasson carries what is presumably a “foreign” dagger it is
described as “a short sword as is common abroad”.)
In The Varangians of Byzantium, we encounter mention in the Heidarviga saga
of Thorstein Viga-Styrrson among the Varangian Guard in Constantinople
concealing a sax under his cloak to take revenge on Gestr Thorhallason (Blöndal
& Benedikz p.200) and in the Grettirs saga of the Varangians about to
embark on an expedition having an arms parade;
“at which every member of the unit is to produce his weapons.
Thorbjorn produces the sax which he took from the dead Grettir, and explains
the dent in the edge, how it was caused when he struck the dead man on the head
with it.” (Blöndal & Benedikz p.203).
Shields also do not last long in
combat, and anyone who saw action would soon replace his own with a
Byzantine one.
According to the Laxdaela saga, when Bolli Bollasson returned to Iceland
from his service in the Guard in about 1030-1040,
At his side he bore his sword Fotbitr [lit. “footbiter”] ; its hilt was
inlaid with gold, and so was the blade; he wore a golden helmet and had a red
shield at his side on which was drawn a knight in gold (which he had brought
from Byzantium); he carried a short sword in his hand, as is common abroad . .
.” (Blöndal & Benedikz p.207).
here
or
CLOTHING
The Laxdaela saga also says that on his return Bolli
“brought with him much money, and many precious things the great lords
had given him; he was so nice (i.e. fastidious) in his dress when he came back
from his journey that he would wear no clothes except those made of with fine
stuff (skarlat) or velvet (pell*), and his weapons were all inlaid with gold .
. . all his attendants wore clothes of fine stuff . . . he wore clothes of velvet which the Emperor had given him,
and over them a cloak of fine red cloth;” (Blöndal &
Benedikz p.206-7).
here
It would be a matter of some prestige to adopt the trappings of such an obviously wealthy and successful
society, and something to flaunt when one went home. [By the way, a
mis-translation of this passage to mean that the colour of their
clothes was scarlet is probably the original of the traditional N.V.G. Red
Tunic].
It must be kept in mind that Bolli is described as having been “many years
in Byzantium” (Blöndal & Benedikz p.206), and it is likely he would have been heavily
influenced by Byzantine lifestyle. Also, though Blöndal and Benedikz believe
the account of his magnificence to be exaggerated, it is fairly clear that
Bolli had risen fairly high in the Guard (Heath claims he had reached the rank
of Manglabites, on the evidence of his “gold-hilted” sword (p.38).
On the other hand it is less certain that all, or even most Varangians
adopted Byzantine costume. Many of them may have maintained their Scandinavian,
English or Russian dress – cosmopolitan Byzantium was accustomed to a great
variety of races and clothing styles. However, as the Empire was often hotter
than their homeland, the average Varangian might have replaced his woollen
garment with others made of lighter Byzantine fabrics – linen, perhaps cotton,
and the cheaper grades of silk (the Varangian Guard were very well paid). If he
did, his new clothes would probably have been made by a Byzantine tailor, and
this influence should also be taken into account. When his boots or shoes wore
out, they would have been replaced locally. Tailoring and boot making were
becoming specialized trades in the
Guard’s period, and there is no reason to suppose they would have made their
own clothes or footwear when high quality items were available in the markets.
Whether they would have regarded Byzantine fashions as something to be
emulated, or dismissed them as effete and decadent, is uncertain. Although
Vikings enjoyed displaying their wealth, what appeared luxurious to a Viking
barbarian would probably have been sneered at by the Byzantine nobility. In
addition, Byzantium had quite strict sumptuary laws, as mentioned in John
Sultana’s letter in Varangian Voice No. 34 of February 1995. The> Skylitzes
Chronicle (fol. 208) shows them in what could be described as “generic”
mediaeval outfits, certainly without the gold decorations so fashionable among
Byzantines, at least of the upper classes.
“The men are either all
barelegged or wearing purple-brown hose, as there is no sign of footwear.”
click here to see the full article
FOOD & TABLEWARE
Crockery wears out or breaks, and is difficult or impossible to repair, so
it is likely that it would gradually be replaced with what was available in the
City; this would have included not only Byzantine, but also Arab, Persian and
Turkish wares. A Varangian would probably have held on to a particularly good
table knife or spoon, but quality cutlery would have been widely available in
the markets, and he could well have added these to his equipment.
here
Finally, cooking gear would almost certainly be Byzantine. A point made by
Tim Dawson is that the Varangian Guard would not have cooked for themselves, as
combat units in the Byzantine army were assigned local servants – the Byzantine
equivalent of the transport and catering corps – to do such menial tasks. And
the Varangians would probably have eaten Byzantine food. Even though they would
not have been served gourmet fare as described in Varangian Voice No. 36
(Jeanselme & Oeconomos), the reaction of a Viking accustomed to boiled pork
and cabbage, to meals liberally smothered in garum, doesn’t bear
thinking about!
RELIGION
The assimilation of Byzantine ideas about the world, particularly religion,
is problematic. The Anglo-Saxons and the later Vikings were Christians, and
though they were Western (Catholic) rite, it is possible that they were
influenced by Byzantine ideas on religion. However, given that Orthodox
services were conducted in a language foreign to most Varangians, and that the
average Western mediaeval man’s Christianity was at best rudimentary and
interlarded with superstition, it would be difficult to gauge what influence,
if any, Greek thought had on the Vikings who served there.
PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE
So what does this mean to us as re-enactors? Firstly, if we want to
accurately represent the Varangian Guard as they were, we should keep in mind
that many of the rank and file would probably have worn Byzantine
equipment. (The fact that we don’t
accurately know what equipment the Byzantines wore is another
matter again). Secondly their dress, tableware and other accessories would have
become increasingly influenced by Byzantine and other cultures the longer they
stayed in the Empire.
With the wider scope adopted by the N.V.G. nowadays, this obviously does not
apply to those of us who wish to represent other societies and cultures than
the Varangian Guard. However, as long as it is made clear that it is, say, Irish Vikings who are being
portrayed, there should be no cause for confusion.
REFERENCES:
- Beatson, P. Another
Illustration of Varangian from the Skylitzes Manuscript, Madrid Varangian
Voice No. 23, July 1992
- Blöndal, S & Benedikz,
B. The Varangians of Byzantium, Cambridge University Press,
1978
- Edge, D. & Paddock,
J.M. Arms and Armour of the Mediaeval Knight, Bison, London
1988
- Heath, I. Byzantine
Armies, 886-1118 Osprey, London 1979
- Jeanselme, E. &
Oeconomos, Food and Culinary Recipes of the Byzantines.
Proceedings of the Third International Congress of the History of Medicine
(1922) pp. 155-168
- McLynn, F. 1066 The
Year of Three Battles.
Jonathan Cape, London 1998.
- Morgan, K.O. The
Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, Oxford University press 1984
- Sultana, J. On the
Wearing of Purple. Varangian Voice No. 34, February 1995
- Swanton, M. (trans.) The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Phoenix Press, London 1996
- Walker, G. The
English Varangians, Varangian Voice No. 35, May 1995