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.

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.