Byzantine political cultureByzantine-Scandinavian relationsOrthodox emperorsRus’Varangian mercenaries
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Abstract (AI)
The chapter provides a multifaceted picture of Byzantine-Scandinavian relations, discussing actual contacts as well as patterns of description and cultural influences. Three phases can be distinguished. The first was when Scandinavians reached Byzantium from the 9th century as part of the Rus’, groups of multiethnic warrior-merchants who traded and fought with and against the Byzantines in the Black Sea region. Then from the mid-10th century, the Rus’ were Christianized and developed a predominantly Slavonic culture, while in Scandinavia larger Christian communities also arose. These northerners were no longer neighbours of the Byzantines, but far-off strangers. Nonetheless, Scandinavian traders, mercenaries, and pilgrims continued to travel to Byzantium, and from c.1080, a very special relationship evolved. Scandinavian mercenaries, termed “Varangians”, played a crucial role in Byzantine political culture, symbolizing a barbarian other which could be tamed by the universal power of the Orthodox emperors. For the Scandinavians, their connection to Byzantium brought the possibility to emancipate ideologically from the hegemonic powers of Latin Europe. After 1204, actual contacts largely broke off, but both discourses proved so strong that they survived in their respective cultures.
Key Findings
1
After 1204, direct contacts largely ceased, but Byzantine and Scandinavian narratives about their relationship continued within both cultures.
2
After the mid-tenth-century Christianization of the Rus’ and the growth of Scandinavian Christianity, Scandinavians became distant outsiders, although traders, mercenaries, and pilgrims continued visiting Byzantium.
3
Byzantine-Scandinavian relations developed through three phases, combining direct contact with enduring cultural representations and influences.
4
From approximately 1080, Varangian mercenaries became central to Byzantine political culture, embodying a barbarian other supposedly assimilable through Orthodox imperial power.
5
From the ninth century, Scandinavians reached Byzantium through the Rus’, participating as multiethnic warrior-merchants in Black Sea trade and warfare.
Research Object
Byzantine-Scandinavian relations
Research Subject
Historical contacts, cultural influences, and enduring Byzantine and Scandinavian representations of each other from the 9th century onward
Publication Details
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2021-12-01
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