The Varangians : In God’s Holy Fire / by Sverrir Jakobsson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sverrir Jakobsson, 1970- author.

Series:

New Approaches to Byzantine History and Culture, 2730-9371

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Europe--History--476-1492.

Europe.

Civilization--History.

Civilization.

Social history.

History of Medieval Europe.

Cultural History.

Social History.

Local Subjects:

History of Medieval Europe.

Cultural History.

Social History.

Physical Description:

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

Edition:

1st ed. 2020.

Place of Publication:

Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020.

Summary:

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.

Contents:

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9783030537975

3030537978