What Did the Varangian Guard Really Wear?

Comments · 71

• ST

  @SteveWray · 2 weeks ago

  Harald Hardrada, probably the most famous Varangian guard.

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• JC

  @JCOwens-369 · 2 weeks ago (edited)

  Nicely done my brother. The Varangian Guard, like the Cossacks, are a particularly pet topic of mine. That said I am especially happy about your explanation of just how heavily the Varangians adapted to Byzantine military standards. As an official Imperial regiment, the guard was frequently outfitted with the absolute best in high-quality Eastern Roman equipment, meaning they regularly utilized traditional Byzantine lamellar armor, spears, &amp; round shields alongside their Northern gear. They were not just a displaced band of traditional Vikings, but a highly standardized, regular army unit that wore a unique blend of Scandinavian &amp; Roman protection on the battlefield. They were even given the unique privilege of &quot;polutasvarf&quot; or &quot;palace pillaging&quot;. Once the reigning Byzantine Emperor died, the Varangians were granted the extraordinarily unique privilege to enter the imperial treasury, living quarters, &amp; palaces to take as much gold, gems, valuables, &amp; high-tier equipment (like gilded swords &amp; elite armor) as they could physically carry out in their arms. No native Byzantine citizens or regular soldiers were EVER permitted to do this. Contributing to many of them being armed like high nobility. <br><br>Plus unlike most, you also touched on their demographic shifts. Most people these days, tend treat the unit as a fairly homogenous block of Norsemen, but it&apos;s composition shifted dramatically after the year 1066 AD. Following the Norman Conquest, a massive wave of displaced Anglo-Saxon warriors from the British Isles, fled &amp; traveled South to enlist. By the late 11th &amp; 12th centuries, the Varangian Guard was actually heavily dominated by British Anglo Saxons fighting under the exact same oath.

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• MK

  @mkismkismk · 2 weeks ago

  Amazing video. I’m Slav and what fascinates me is how familiar the Varangian military world influenced our history. Novgorod and wider northern Rus lands had extremely close Scandinavian ties.<br><br>It’s especially interesting how much of that can be seen in military material culture. Scandinavian style swords and fighting axes (one handed and great), round shields, mail, cloaks, belts and fittings, lamellar armour, conical helmets with aventails, greaves and later kite shields. Even Scandinavian style brooches, ornaments and dress fittings were being produced locally in Rus.<br><br>I don’t want to sound like “my ancestor” meme guy, but I genuinely like that Scandinavian/Varangian culture was one of the formative influences on early Rus. Obviously Rus was never purely Scandinavian, but there is something strangely familiar and not that exotic haha <br><br>I am glad that history took this path, unlike in Balkan Slavic world (I will refrain from explaining more)

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• JU

  @justintesterman2516 · 2 weeks ago

  Varg has raised a knowledgeable young man. Hail Wotan!

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• VI

  @victord4662 · 2 weeks ago

  &quot;The Varangians, too, who carried their axes on their shoulders, regarded their loyalty to the Emperors and their protection of the imperial persons as a pledge and ancestral tradition, handed down from father to son, which they keep inviolate and will certainly not listen to even the slightest word about treachery&quot; - The Alexiad of Anna Komnene, Book II<br><br>Got to love the Varangian Guard, one of my favourite military units throughout all of history. Some sources say that after the Varangians replaced the Excubitors as the personal bodyguard of the Emperors, they inherited from them the draco standard which would have been carried by draconarii (the draco would have likely been carried solely during ceremonies and parades, whereas on the battlefield their banners would have followed the standard bandon structure based on surviving sources). The draco, along with their long hair, a red ruby set in their left ear and ornamented dragons set on their hauberks would have been the most distinctive signs of the Varangians.

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• CO

  @constable117 · 12 days ago

  My favorite factoid about the Varangians is that by the 1300s the Varangians were almost entirely Anglo/Scott and greeted the Emperor in English and not Greek. Total Anglo W.

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• KN

  @KnightBlade1998 · 2 weeks ago

  The Varangians are so cool

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• GI

  @Giggityskull · 9 days ago

  Omg here is the video that i requested!!😭😭😭 thank you for this!! You are a rare gem in youtube!

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• MI

  @michaelpeters6659 · 11 days ago

  Really enjoyed the video! The Glade being on a spear shaft sounds a lot like a Glaive to me, and that is one of the polearms that does especially have a sword on a stick. Food for thought maybe

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• BE

  @Beorneofmercia449 · 2 weeks ago

  Skaldic bard on youtube does really good music on the varangians

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• ER

  @ErikEldrtich · 2 weeks ago

  The word &quot;rhomphaia&quot; came to mean two-handed swords or especially large swords in the Hellenic language. &nbsp;If you look up the modern Greek ρομφαία you&apos;ll see swords that look like typical Eastern European sabers (among other things, I think it&apos;s also a surname). &nbsp;There&apos;s also a rare type of axe-head with a very angular bearded axe on one side and a long chisel blade on the opposite side, which is possibly associated with the Varangian guard or Kievan Rus or possibly somewhere really obscure like the Crimean Goths. &nbsp;Unfortunately, I&apos;ve never seen a trustworthy source give them a concrete definition, but there are a couple of them out there.

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• SA

  @samuelleask1132 · 7 days ago

  Really enjoyed this video mate! Thanks for making it!