an englishman in byzantium - political motivations for ethnic change in the varangian guard

7/25/2019 An Englishman in Byzantium - Political Motivations for Ethnic Change in the Varangian Guard

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Lecaque 1

An Englishman in Byzantium: Political Motivations for Ethnic Change in the Varangian Guar

!y

"homas Lecaque

#$% &&'()1 #istory of Englan

*ovem!er +', +))-

In the early twentieth century an Irish poet wrote:



Lecaque +

An aged man is but a paltry thing, / A tattered coat upon a stick, unless /Soul clap its hands and sing, and louder sing / For every tatter in its mortaldress, / Nor is there singing school but studying / Monuments o its ownmagni!cence" / And thereore I have sailed the seas and come / #o the holycity o $y%antium&'

( the many strange twists in $y%antine history, one that has particular interest to

students o )nglish history is the voyage to and presence o a substantial body o

)nglishmen in $y%antium& #hese )nglishmen served in the *arangian +uard, a uid

unit originally named or the -.ussian mercenaries who began to serve the empire

under $asil II 0123/'4526& #his Anglo7*arangian +uard cannot be understood,

however, in a vacuum" the history o the imperial bodyguard is a long one, a

tradition that stretched back to the 8raetorian +uard and evolved into a string o

ethnically7based bodyguards employed by the $y%antine emperors rom the eighth

to the thirteenth centuries& It is through this history that the reasons or )nglish

involvement in $y%antium become clear" they served as one maniestation o

shiting ethnic identities, including internal groups like +reek $y%antines and

Armenian minorities to nearby e9ternal groups like the .us& #he Anglo7*arangian

+uard was the !nest product o this ethnic shit, the end o a long chain o groups

poisoned by intrigue, betrayal and regional politics& #he emperors re;uired an

imperial guard that was completely loyal, unmoved by internal or e9ternal politics,

skilled in battle, and willing to ollow the )mperor blindly in all situations& #he

eventual establishment o the Anglo7*arangian +uard in $y%antium provided the

)mperor with such an ideal bodyguard& #he $y%antine military in the later Middle $y%antine period was in large part

made up o ethnic contingents both internal and e9ternal, mostly as paid

mercenaries in the central army& #hese mercenaries served within their own units

1 <illiam $utler =eats, -Sailing to $y%antium" available rom http://www&online7literature&com/yeats/>3'/" internet" accessed 5' November 5443&

http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/781/







Lecaque .

and as part o composite regiments& Arab and #urkish mercenaries originally played

a ma?or part in this military, but with the start o the Arab7$y%antine wars in the

eighth century and the later #urkish invasions, such mercenaries were ar too

unreliable to be used !ghting against their kinsmen, let alone as guards or the

sovereign& @nder ohn I #%imisces 01B1/>B6 a new $y%antine bodyguard was created,

called the Athanatoi, commonly known as -the Immortals&5 Contemporaries

regarded them as e9ceptionally good horsemen and archers, primarily composed o

the young sons o $y%antine noblemen, though oreigners who showed e9ceptional

loyalty and promise could ?oin, be they Slavs, Arabs, or Dha%ars&E #hey served as a

special -lie7guard to the )mperor, ollowing him in peace and in war& #his noble

bodyguard mirrored the rise o the aristocracy, apparent during the Macedonian

dynasty starting with .omanus ecapenus in 1'1, when the empire witnessed the

decline o small landowners and peasant communes, and the growth o a powerul

new land7owning class in their place&G #hese nobles ?ealously guarded their wealth

and power, and served the emperor as long as it was in their own interest& 2

)9cept or a brie revival under Michael *II, the -Immortals disappeared with

#%imisces death, but their creation had !lled an important voidHa bodyguard loyal

to the emperor and able to protect him&B #%imisces had been ully aware o this

+ Sigs $lJndal, The Varangians of Byzantium, trans&, revised, and rewritten by $enedikt S&$enedik% 0Cambridge: Cambridge @niversity 8ress, '1>36, '3&

. Ibid&

'A&A& *asiliev, History of the Byzantine Empire 324-1452, 5 vols& 0Madison: #he @niversity o<isconsin 8ress, '1236, EGB&

& Ibid&, EG>&

/ $lJndal, '3&



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need, because it was weakness and corruption in his predecessors bodyguards that

had enabled him to assume the throne& $ypassing the weak bodyguard, he had

surrounded and murdered his predecessor, Nikephoros 8hokas in 1B1, sneaking into

the palace with a group o conspirators aided by the empress& > As *arangian scholar

$enedikt S& $enedik% points out, -#he ease with which the conspirators eluded the

lie7guards is not unlikely to have been connected with the act that Nikephoros was

no longer the popular hero o the time o his ascent on the throneHeven with the

army&3 #he weakness o these bodyguards was apparent, in that the -Immortals

were local nobles, who had their own agendas and grudges& #he use o $y%antine

noblemen as the emperors bodyguard was too problematic as evidenced by the

number o baronial rebellions during the Macedonian dynasty" already by the year

134 it was clear that orces rom outside the ranks o the $y%antine elite were

preerable or the bodyguard& @nortunately or the emperor internal ethnic groups

rom the various rontier regions had their own problems& #hese ethnic groups were

used both as ront7line troops and the strong core o the themata program, that had

been rebuilding o the $y%antine administrative and military system in the seventh

and eighth centuries under the Keraclian dynasty&1 #he old .oman administrative

provinces were broken into new, smaller districts called thema, and provincial cities

0 eo the Leacon, The History of Leo the Deaon! Byzantine "i#itary E$pansion in the Tenth%entury , trans& with an introduction and annotations by Alice7Mary #albot et al& 0<ashington,LC: Lumbarton (aks .esearch ibrary and Collection, 54426, 'E1&

- $enedikt S& $enedik%, -#he (rigin and Levelopment o the *arangian .egiment in the$y%antine Army, Byzantinshes &eitshrifte B5 0'1B16: 5E&

A&8& Da%hdan and Ann <arton )pstein, %hange in Byzantine %u#ture in the E#e'enth an(T)e#fth %enturies, #he #ransormation o the Classical Keritage, ed& 8eter $rown, vol& >0$erkeley: @niversity o Caliornia 8ress, '1326, 1&



Lecaque &

were built to govern them& #o make sure these new divisions could unction, settlers

were orcibly resettled to the countryside around the new thematic capitals&A good e9ample o this new structure employed Armenians& @p to the ninth

century the Armenians were a well thought o and vital part o the $y%antine

establishment& #he Armenians contingent was one o the largest ethnic groups

resettled in this way, and as a result rontier themes were named ater them, being

reerred to either as -small themes or -Armenian themes, a clear sign o the

typical ethnic composition&'4 Furthermore, in the regular military, they had a distinct

unit&'' #he use o Armenians 0and other ethnic groups6 in the themata and

bodyguard worked as long as relations between $y%antium and Armenia were on

good terms& Luring the initial period o Armenian recruitment and relocation, the

goals o $y%antium and Armenia coincided, and so the system worked& $y the time

o Nikephoros 8hokas reign, however, tensions were emerging between the

$y%antines and Armenians& As eo records: -(n the east o the Ascension o the

Savior, when the emperor was in the usual manner taking part in a procession

outside the walls to the so7called 8ege 0where the very beautiul church was built in

honor o the *irgin6, a !ght broke out between some $y%antines and Armenians, in

which many o the townspeople were in?ured by the Armenians& '5 eos

contemporary, the historian Skylit%es, reported a clash the previous )aster that had

broken out between Armenians and a group o sailors&'E In all likelihood, these

1) eo the Leacon, G&

11 Ibid&, B>&

1+ Ibid&, ''E&

1. Ibid&



Lecaque /

Armenians were soldiers in Nikephoros 8hokas military, possibly even in his

bodyguard& #he date around the religious ceremonies was not a coincidence" the

turmoil between the two people was religious in nature as well as political& #he

Armenian orces in the military were beginning to show disloyalty and dissent&'G #he goals o Armenia and $y%antium ;uickly diverged rom there& In 11E/ 1G,

-the great .oman nation went orth and with many troops came against Armenia&

$ringing the sword and enslavement, the .omans mercilessly ell upon the Christian

aithul and passed through the land, killing savagely like a poisonous serpent, in

this manner being no dierent rom the in!del peoples, reinorcing the attitude o

Armenians towards their (rthodo9 neighbors&'2 #he use o Armenians in sensitive

positions, including the imperial bodyguard, was no longer wise, and the Armenian

contingent in the $y%antine military decreased dramatically in the wake o the !rst

assaults on Armenia& #he use o local ethnic groups or internal orces as the basis o

the imperial bodyguard had its limits&Conse;uently $asil II took a new approach to !nding guardsmen& #he nobles

?ealously guarded their wealth and power, and a series o rebellions ensured that

the $y%antine emperors could not trust the aristocracy&'B $asil II had the urther

e9ample o Nikephoros 8hokas murderH$y%antine nobles led the conspiracy that

killed him and the $y%antine citi%enry ailed to react& As eo the Leacon wrote, -At

times o great changes in government, usually a lot o unrest and tumult ares up,

1' #his dissent was most likely caused by $y%antine religious pressure" the Armenian Churchwas non7Chalcedonian, and Armenia prided itsel on being the !rst nation to acceptChristianity in E4' A&L& Much like the Coptic and Nestorian Churches, religious tensionseventually ared up and served to peel Armenia away rom $y%antium&

1& Matthew o )dessa, Armenia an( the %rusa(es Tenth to T)e#fth %enturies! The %hroni#eof "atthe) of E(essa, trans& with an introduction and commentary by Ara )dmondLostourian and a oreword by Drikor K& Maksoudian 0anham, ML: @niversity 8ress oAmerica, '11E6, G'&

1/ *asiliev, EG>&



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but at that time, I dont know how, it so happened that good order and deep ;uiet

prevailed over the people, and only the emperor Nikephoros and one o his

bodyguards were killed, no one else receiving so much as a slap in the ace& '> #his

would not inspire con!dence in $asil that the common people would deend him in a

time o need& #he ounding o the original *arangian +uard, in the orm o a levy o .us

rom Diev, provided $asil II with protectors truly e9ternal to $y%antine power

politics& #he use o .us in the wider $y%antine military had a long history, and the

earliest evidence o links between $y%antium and Dievan .us appears in the

Anna#es Bertiniani o 8rudentius in 3E3/E1&'3 #heir !rst mention o .us under

imperial employ is in 322, when Michael III was implicated in the murder o St&

#heoctistus& <hen describing this event the contemporary histories use the

Kerodotean term -#auroscythian to describe the men who did the deed&'1 $enedik%

claimed that, these men, -that kind o conscienceless and utterly loyal 0so long as

his pay was large and punctual6 mercenary would be e9actly what the $y%antine

administration needed to carry out skullduggery o this sort, where there must be

no danger o divided loyalties&54 #his precedent is one that inuenced later

)mperors and the proo o $y%antine and Armenian disloyalty made the .us a

natural and sae choice& #he search or this type o loyalty in the imperial guard

10 eo the Leacon, 'G>&

1- $enedik%, 5475'&

1 Ibid&, 5'&

+) Ibid&



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would continue or the remainder o the empire& $y the end o the ''th century the

Anglo7Sa9ons would prove to have it& #he .us ;uickly lost the aade o this kind o loyalty& <ithin thirty years o

the !rst recorded contact between the two nations, two .us boyars named Askold

and Lir assaulted Constantinople: -during the ourteenth year o the reign o the

)mperor Michael& <hen the emperor had set orth against the Saracens and had

arrived at the $lack .iver, the eparch sent him word that the .ussians were

approaching Constantinople, and the emperor turned back& @pon arriving inside the

strait, the .ussians made a great massacre o the Christians, and attacked

Constantinople in two hundred boats&5' Lespite a peace treaty signed in the

atermath o the assault, war broke out again in 14B/>, led by (leg o Diev, and

during the reign o .omanus ecapenus Constantinople was twice more attacked by

.ussians under 8rince Igor&55 Lespite the history o wars with the .us, the late Macedonian dynasty was

too weak to turn down aid rom any ;uarter& $asil IIs treaty with 8rince *ladimir o

Diev provided a orce o si9 thousand soldiers to serve under $asil in perpetuity, in

e9change or the hand o $asils sister Anna&5E #he historian Michael 8sellus wrote

that -#he )mperor $asil knew the treacherous disposition o the .omans, and, since

he had recently received into his service a great company o e9cellent #auro7

Scythians, he gathered them together and set them apart with the other mercenary

troops and so sent them against the enemy&5G #he key to that phrase is

+1 Serge A& Oenkovsky, ed& and trans& with an introduction, "e(ie'a# *ussia+s Epis,

%hroni#es an( Ta#es 0New =ork: Meridian $ooks, '1>G6, 24&

++*asiliev, E55&

+. Ibid&, E5E&

+' Michael 8sellus, %hronographia, vol& ', ed& )& agrand 08aris, '1526, 1, ;uoted in $enedik%,5E&



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treaherous (isposition of the *omans" as the .omans could not be trusted, the

.ussians became an important unit because o their perceived loyalty& <ith

numerous e9amples o *arangians !ghting Armenians, $ulgarians and Arabs, it is

relatively certain that by the end o $asil IIs reign this .us corps had become an

established service unit, evolving into what modern readers call the *arangians&52 #he incorporation o the .us into a separate bodyguard did not mean that

they were trusted any more than they were ater (legs attacks, as the ollowing

incident shows clearly:Cedrenos tells us that a kinsman o *ladimir the +reat, whom he names%hrysoheir , gathered a orce o 344 men ater the death o *ladimir andAnna& #hey took ships and sailed to Constantinople, and pretended to wantto ?oin the Imperial mercenaries& #he )mperor thereon bade them lay down

their weapons, saying that they could apply to ?oin when they had done so,but they would not disarm, and went instead through the 8ropontis, thence toAbydos, where they had trouble with the general in charge o coastaldeences, whom they deeated easily, and moved on to emnos& #here theywere met by a eet o Cibirriotes and by Lavid o Achrida, the militarygovernor o Samos and Nicephorous Cabasilas, the Luke o #hessalonica&

#hese made a truce with Chrysocheir, betrayed him and killed him and all hismen&5B

#he .ussians, though useul, had proven too many times that their own interests

came !rst, and while they would !ght or pro!t and glory, continued incidents o

this nature cast aspersions on their loyalty& Further incidents, such as the rout o the

+uard during .omanus IIIs siege o Antioch in the '4E4s, the *arangians ?oining

rioters against )mperor Michael * Calaphates in '4G', and the assault on

Constantinople by *ladimir o Diev in '4GE during the reign o Constantine IP

Monomachus, urther ;uestioned the +uards reliability&5> #he imperial response to

+& $enedik%, 5G&

+/ $lJndal, G1&

+0 8sellus, trans& Sewter, GE" $lJndal, 14" *asiliev, E5E&



Lecaque 11

Asia Minor, and ater his death in '4>E one o his companions rom Sicily, (urselios,

took it over&E5

Anna Domnena records the other ma?or Norman rebellion, led by .oussel de

$ailleul& It took place during Michael Lukas reign, and her ather Ale9ius was the

general assigned to deeat the rebels& .oussel was a genuine threat to imperial

stability, even allowing or the type o rhetorical ination Anna uses to make her

athers victories appear more impressive:EE

.oussel was a Delt and had previously ?oined the .oman army& Kis goodortune made him conceited and he gathered an army o his own, aconsiderable orce made up partly o his own countrymen and partly o othernationalities& Ke was a ormidable rebel& Kis attack on the .oman )mpirewas launched at a moment when its leadership had received many setbacksand the #urks had established their superiority& .oman prestige had allen"

the ground was giving way, as it were, beneath their eet& .oussel was in anycase an e9tremely ambitious man, but at this crisis, when the condition o the)mpire was so desperate, he was even more tempted to rebel openly& Keplundered almost all the eastern provinces&EG

Ale9ius deeated him, and it was the last o the signi!cant Norman rebellions

because the Domnenian dynasty learned not to trust the troops o those nations

most intent on doing them harm& <hat options did this leave themR As noted

$y%antine military historian ohn Kaldon put it, -From the strategic point o view, the

$y%antine empire was surrounded by potential enemies and actual aggressors

throughout its history&E2 Constance Kead, another noted scholar o $y%antine7

.+Ibid&, 33&

.. <hile Anna Domnena was an e9cellent historian, her book is a eulogy to her ather and istainted by her admiration or him as a man and an emperor&

.' Anna Comnena, The A#e$ia(, trans& )&.&A& Sewter 0ondon: 8enguin $ooks, '1B16, E5& #heuse o the word Delt to describe .oussel should be discounted" Anna, like many $y%antinehistorians, used Kerodotean terms or all ethnic groups rom outside o the )mpire& Delt wasgenerally used to reer to Normans rom either Normandy or Italy, but could also be used todescribe any group rom what is modern7day France&

.& ohn Kaldon, -$lood and Ink: Some (bservations on $y%antine Attitudes #owards <arareand Liplomacy, in Byzantine Dip#omay! apers from the T)enty-fourth /pring /ymposiumof Byzantine /tu(ies, %amri(ge, "arh 1, ed& onathan Shepard and Simon Franklin



Lecaque 1+

)nglish relations, suggests that as a result o Ale9ius time as a general under both

Michael Lukas and Nikephorus $otaneiates he -had ample occasion to learn o the

unreliability o certain <estern mercenaries in imperial service, particularly

Normans and Scandinavians& It has been suggested that these e9periences made

Ale9ius as )mperor more inclined than ever to seek help rom another group and

that the people he chose to avor in this way were the )nglish& EB #here are many theories about the arrival o the )nglish in $y%antium, as well

as to the e9tent o pre7Con;uest relations between the two&E> <hile many scholars

have theori%ed that regular contacts between )ngland and $y%antium e9isted

during the reign o )dward the Conessor, rom a military standpoint pre7'4BB is a

voidHthere are no records o )nglish soldiers in the $y%antine army until ater that

time&E3 As early as '4>', however, there are ambiguous reerences to *arangians

rom unknown lands who might be Anglo7Sa9ons& Matthew o )dessa records that

beore the battle o Man%ikert .omanus I* Liogenes sent envoys throughout the

<est to recruit mercenaries, and that among his *arangians were -inhabitants o

the ar distant islands&E1 #he plural orm, as long as it is not a scribal error,

0Aldershot, @D: *ariorum, '1156, 535&

./ Constance Kead, -Ale9ios Comnenos and the )nglish, Byzantion G> 0'1>>6: '14&

.0 #he debate as to the origins o )nglish involvement in the $y%antine military is, orgivethe pun, $y%antine in comple9ity& #he ma?or camps are those who argue or direct relationsbetween the court o Ding )dward and $y%antium in the early eleventh century and thosewho argue that )nglish involvement was post7Con;uest only& Added to this is a smallminority o scholars who argue the predominance o .usso7Norse elements throughout the

history o the *arangian +uard 0$lJndal being the chie proponent o this theory6& SuQce tosay, there is much disagreement and interpretation about all o this, and I am going by myown belies supported by the evidence gathered in this research&

.- Ciggaar, 3>&

. Ibid&



Lecaque 1.

eectively eliminates Iceland 0a typical source o previous mercenaries6 as the place

o origin, and or northern mercenaries $ritain is the only other logical choice& <hile

this does not guarantee that these mercenaries were Anglo7Sa9on, the lack o any

later mention o Scottish, <elsh, Irish, or other such inhabitants o the $ritish Isles

in the $y%antine military suggests that )nglishmen are the likely culprit&G4 #he other

'4>' description given comes rom the history o Nicephorus $ryennius, Anna

Domnenas husband, and a historian in his own right& Ke records the transition o

power post7Man%ikert:So the Caesar, earing that he himsel and his nephews should suer somemisortune, i Liogenes took power, reconciled themselves immediately withthe guards o the court& #hese men come rom the barbarian land ne9t to

the (cean and are loyal to the )mperor o the .omans rom the beginning" allcarry a shield and on their shoulder a type o a9e&G'

#he most likely place o origin, especially since the original +reek or the phrase

-land ne9t to the (cean typically signi!es an island, is $ritain, the island that was

once ruled by .ome&Small smatterings o )nglish mercenaries are thus to be e9pected within the

+uard, but the changing o the ethnic composition rom overwhelming .ussian and

Norse to overwhelmingly )nglish re;uired something more& #he Norman Con;uest

') #he other entry, cited below, makes it clear that another inhabitant o the $ritish Isles isunlikely, as the Scots and Irish never served the .oman )mpire" the act that the Anglo7Sa9ons did not do so either is almost irrelevant given that $y%antine historians time andagain betray a very rudimentary knowledge o the greater world, relying on .oman accountsand Kerodotus or their depictions o the arther corners o the world& #he term -a9e7bearing barbarian really only !ts with the Anglo7Sa9on !ghting style, and later use o theterms -Ingles is various imperial crysobulls makes this a airly reasonable assumption& #helack o the word -Delt or -Frank precludes Anglo7Normans, because $y%antine historians othis time became very good at identiying Norman contingents rom France and Italy in such

terms&

'1 Nicephorus $ryennius, History , ed& 8& +autier 0$russels, '1>26, '5575E, ;uoted in Ciggaar,3>" original te9t is: -Alors le cTsar, craignant ;ue lui7mUme et ses neveu9 ne subissent;uel;ue malheur, si LiogVne reprenait le pouvoir, se concilia aussitWt les gardes de la cour&Ces hommes viennent de la terre barbare voisine de l(cTan et sont !dVles au9 basileis des.omains depuis lorigine" tous portent le bouclier et sur lTpaule une sorte de hache,0translation mine6&



Lecaque 1'

in '4BB provided a reason to leave )ngland, and records show that some sort o

mass migration rom $ritain occurred&G5 #his is supported by an interesting story,

repeated in (rderic *italis and the 0e#an(i /aga of E()ar( the %onfessor that

comes rom the %hronion Lau(unensis, completed in '5'1 by an )nglish

8remonstratensian in aon& #he story goes something like this: Ater the Con;uest,

many )nglishmen did not lose hope o driving out the Normans and restoring sel7

rule& In the Lanelaw, especially, some nobles migrated to Lenmark and Norway, but

those who stayed e9pected help rom Lenmark to come to them& Ater several

years o waiting, the ailure o a number o rebellions 0including Kerewards

resistance in '4>' and the $reton plot o '4>26, and Ding Sweyns death without

sending aid in '4>2, a large body o those who had hoped or Lanish intervention

decided the cause was lost&GE #hey let the country under the leadership o

Stanardus, though the 0e#an(i /aga of E()ar( the %onfessor calls him Sigurd,

-?arl o +loucester&GG .egardless o the leader, several Anglo7Sa9ons o noble rank

let as wellHtwelve barons in the atin version, eight in the IcelandicHtaking a large

eet with themH5E2 in the atin, E24 in the 0e#an(i /aga&G2 #he )nglish eet went through the Straits o +ibraltar and spent a period o

time pirating around the Mediterranean& #he atin version says they got to

$y%antium in '4>2, but ohn +odrey, one o the ma?or scholars on this topic, says

that this is too early, and that the Anglo7Sa9ons probably spent three to our years

'+ #hough only vaguely alluded to in most o my sources, +odrey and other scholars o thismigration say that Norman and Anglo7Sa9on census records and chronicles talk about amigration out o )ngland by groups o Anglo7Sa9ons and Anglo7Lanes&

'. +odrey, B3&

'' Ibid&

'& Ibid&



Lecaque 1&

as Mediterranean reebooters&GB #hey heard -Micklegarth 0Constantinople6 was

under siege by heathens, probably the siege by the Sel?uks during Michael *IIs

reign 0'4>'7>36, and destroyed the besieging army, so impressing the emperor that

he oered to let them ?oin his service&G> #he atin and Icelandic version both say it

was Ale9ius I who welcomed them, but Christine Fell, another scholar who

speciali%es in Anglo7$y%antine relations, maintains it was probably Michael *II&G3

onathan Shepard, another historian o Anglo7$y%antine relations, argues or a much

later date, '41', when Constantinople was besieged by the 8etchenegs, but this

seems too ar removed rom the collapse o other )nglish resistance to the Normans

to make much sense&G1

#he )nglish arrival and the associated salvation o Constantinople clearly

made an impression, and while the historical records do not make it clear which

emperor they entered under or how the initial meeting transpired, the )nglish

;uickly became an integral part o the $y%antine military& #heir prowess and loyalty

was tested by the Norman invasion o the )mpire at the battle o Lyrrachium in

'/ Ibid&, B1& #he atin te9t chronicles a raid in Morocco and attacks on a number o islands inthe Mediterranean, including the $alearic Islands and Sardinia& +odreys belie that '4>2 istoo early is based on his view that it was a Sel?uk siege at the end o Michaels reign that theAnglo7Sa9ons broke up" obviously, this view is contested by some, but given that mostreports have a later Anglo7Sa9on presence, it seems air to use his idea o a later arrival than'4>2&

'0 Ibid&

'- Ibid& Ale9ius I is much later on, and while the Anglo7Sa9on component becomesprominent under his rule, there are records o )nglishmen under his predecessorsH

chrysobulls granting monasteries immunity rom housing )nglish mercenaries, reerences to)nglishmen at battles like Man%ikert, things o that nature& #he Sel?uk invasion makes themost sense to Fell because o a certain vagueness in $y%antine records as to how the siegewas broken" there are records o the enemy eet being smashed and the army retreating,but no record o what orces did this& #he timing !ts&

' onathan Shepard, -Another New )nglandRHAnglo7Sa9on Settlement on the $lack Sea,Byzantine /tu(ies ', no& ' 0'1>G6: '1



Lecaque 1/

(ctober '43': -onging to avenge themselves on the detested Normans, swinging

their huge two7handed battle7a9es round their heads and then slamming them into

horses and riders alike, they struck terror in the hearts o the Apulian knights& 24

Lespite their eorts, the battle was a colossal ailureHthe Anglo7*arangian

contingent at the battle was surrounded and killed almost to a man& Still, their

display on the battle!eld proved their competence, their hatred or the Normans

proved useul in a number o battles, and their willingness to die rather than

surrender was an ideal trait or a royal bodyguard& #heir commander, Nampites,

survived the battle, and by the time the 8echenegs invaded he was one o Ale9ius

si9 personal bodyguards, separate rom the *arangian corps&2' #he other !ve were

all long7term amily riends or people dynastically linked to the Domnenians&(rderic *italis account o the Anglo7Sa9on migration gives other clues to how

the Anglo7*arangian +uard was used once they arrived:the )nglish e9iles were warmly welcomed by the +reeks and were sent intobattle against the Norman orces, which were too powerul or the +reeksalone& #he )mperor Ale9ius laid the oundations o a town called Civitot orthe )nglish, some distance rom $y%antium" but later when the Normanthreat became too great he called them back to the imperial city and setthem to guard his chie palace and royal treasures& #his is the reason or theAnglo7Sa9on e9odus to Ionia" the emigrants and their heirs aithully servedthe holy empire, and are still honored among the +reeks by )mperor, nobilityand people alike&25

#he use o the )nglish as garrison troops is standard enough, but their being moved

to his principal palace and treasury in the atermath o Lyrrachium is a mark o

&) ohn ulius Norwich, A /hort History of Byzantium 0New =ork: *intage $ooks, '1116, 525&Shepard argues that this is still a Norse component at Lyrrachium, but his emphasis on '41'

is not well7supported by e9isting records, and seems to be based on his desire to identiy theleader o the Anglo7Sa9ons with a man known to have been in prison until the late '434s&

&1 Anna Comnena, 55G&

&+ (rdericus *italis, The E#esiastia# History , ed& Mar?orie Chibnall, vol& 5 0(9ord '1>26,54572, ;uoted in Lonald M& Nicol, -$y%antium and )ngland, $alkan /tu(ies '2 0'1>G6: '32&



Lecaque 10

great honor& It would also e9plain their relative scarcity in the historical recordsHas

palace7guards, they would not have been worthy o note or most contemporary

chroniclers, as they saw little combat and, as long as they did their ?ob,

e9citement&2E Shepard strongly believes that this was the case, saying -#he silence

o the sources is deceptive: the )nglish played an important part in maintaining the

calm at court, and they were almost on the ooting o amily riends o the

Comneni&2G Ke proposes two very good reasons or this level o trust: they were

e9ceptionally good warriors, as they proved at Lyrrachium, in their garrison duties

at Civitot and Dastoria, and on campaign against the 8echenegs in '43>, and they

were eminently trustworthy&22

#his last argument is the core o why the transition to )nglishmen in the

*arangian +uard was so vital& #hough geography was not the only actor, it helped"

Shepard points out that -@nlike the Norman mercenaries in $y%antiums army, they

had no kinsmen near at hand with whom they could rebel& Nor did they have any

homeland to return to, even i they ound the emperors pay inade;uate&2B #his was

true, and it gave the )nglish an advantage over all the other ethnicities that had

previously populated the imperial bodyguard& #he lack o pro9imity meant that the

)nglish who served under the emperor literally had nowhere to turn i they ailed to

please the sovereign" no allies, no kinsmen, no country to retreat to& +roups like the

.ussians, Armenians, and Norse had hostile kinsmen at the gates o $y%antium to

&. onathan Shepard, -#he )nglish and $y%antium: A Study o #heir .ole in the $y%antineArmy in the ater )leventh Century, Tra(itio 1 0'1>E6: 3G&

&' Ibid&

&& Ibid&

&/ Ibid&



Lecaque 1-

whom they could deect, and they could retreat to their homelands anytime they

wished" the $y%antines had their own kin groups to shelter them& #he )nglish relied

on the emperor or all o their material bene!ts, and conse;uently had a vested

interest in keeping him alive and happy& #he other part o this trustworthiness was more cultural than material&

+odrey posits that $y%antine emperors kept recruiting mercenaries rom the north

not because o their vaunted martial prowess but -that the northerners had an

e9ceptionally strong sense o the sanctity o an oath&2> Anglo7Sa9on warriors who

took an oath to guard the king were called hearth)eru or hearth7guard, the kings

bodyguard&23 #he code o honor that bound them to their lord allowed no kind o

dissension or treason" it did not even provide or lie ater the lord: -For a member

o the hearth)eru to survive ater allowing their leader to be slain was the ultimate

shame& #he bonds o ellowship were stronger than lie itsel& <ithout his lord and

the society o the long hall, the thegn was condemned to an aimless and rootless

e9istence& $etter to avenge his allen lord, or to die in the attempt&21 Luring the

entire period o Anglo7Sa9on domination o $ritain, evidence o treason by a royal

bodyguard is e9ceedingly rare, with only two clear e9amplesHthe assassination o

the Mercian king Aethelbald in >2> at #amworth and that o (swul, king o

Northumbria, the ollowing year&B4

&0 +odrey, B>&

&- Mark Karrison and +erry )mbleton, Ang#o-/a$on Thegn 44-166 AD, <arrior Series, ed&ee ohnson, vol& 2 0ondon: (sprey Military, '11E6, >&

& Ibid&, GB& See the Anglo7Sa9on poem -#he <anderer or an e9cellent e9ample o thisethos&

/) +odrey, >'&



Lecaque 1

#he migrating group o Anglo7Sa9ons who served Ale9ius would have been

only a temporary stopgap, however, i they had been unable to !nd a source o new

recruits& $oth the atin %hroni#e and the 0e#an(i /aga oer a solution to this

dilemma& According to both sources, not all o the Anglo7Sa9ons wished to enter the

)mperors service, and some asked instead or land to live on& B' Ale9ius had no land

in the )mpire to give them, but according to both sources he gave them permission

to go north7eastwards across the $lack Sea to what is most likely the Crimea and

sei%e it back rom the #urks who had occupied it, promising to relieve them o ta9es

i they did so&B5 #hey succeeded, and named their land -nova anglia, giving their

settlements names like ondon and =ork, suggesting a large Anglo7Lanish

contingent&BE Most historians do not give credence to this story, to the e9tent that .&

M& Lawkins, writing in the late '1G4s, claimed that the writers o both te9ts were

mistaking the Crimean +oths or Anglo7Sa9ons&BG Shepard disagrees though, citing

three ma?or pieces o evidence that suggest an Anglo7Sa9on presence in the Crimea

during this period& #he !rst piece o evidence is that $y%antine inuence in the

Crimea was reestablished around ''44, the time when the 0e#an(i /aga records

the Anglo7Sa9on movement to their new lands& #he $y%antine writers #heophylact

o (chrida and Manuel Straboromanus both make mention o the Lanishmend

emirs reversals in that area and the $y%antine resurgence, though they make no

/1 Ibid&, >4&

/+ Ibid&

/. Ibid& #he use o Anglo7Lanish here is a reerence to Anglo7Sa9ons who lived in the areacalled the Lanelaw and intermarried with their *iking overlords& ondon and =ork were bothin the Lanelaw&

/' Ibid&



Lecaque +)

mention o the cause&B2 #he second piece o evidence he cites is a list o toponyms

used by Italian and Catalan navigators in the ourteenth through si9teenth centuries

in that region& A number o settlements in the region near the Sea o A%ov either

have )nglish or *arangian namesH*arangolimen, *agropoli, *arangido agaria,

ondina, and Susaco&BB ( these, the most signi!cant is ondina, given that the

0e#an(i /aga speci!cally mentions the settlement o a new city called ondon by

the Anglo7Sa9ons& #hese settlements are all in the area known as the -Cimmerian

$osporus, the main region o $y%antine revival, and Shepard suggests that since it

is known that Anglo7Sa9ons were used as garrisons or towns 0Civitot or e9ample6,

it is not unlikely they might have been used in a similar capacity in the Crimea& #he

third piece o evidence comes rom Franciscan missionary records in the thirteenth

century, which call an area o the Crimea -terra Sa9orum" the use o Sa9on in this

area is unusual, and since the term or +oth is used in other sections o the records

there is some kind o dierentiation between groups&B> #hese -Sa9i are recorded

as Christians, not Muslim or pagan, and so are dierent rom their +othic and

steppe nomad neighbors&

Shepard may or may not be correct in his assertions, but the presence o an

Anglo7Sa9on colony would e9plain how the Anglo7*arangian +uard managed to

survive the rigors o war& )ven i they were not all members o the $y%antine army,

/& Shepard, -Another New )ngland, 5'& #he )mirate o Lanishmend was a #urkish kingdomalong the southern coast o the $lack Sea in Asia Minor&

// Ibid&, 5B&

/0 Ibid&, EE&



Lecaque +1

they could have acted as an ethnic base, too small to survive without aid, but large

enough to keep contributing troops& #his is really Shepards entire point:

It may well be that they had long remained in contact with Constantinople

and had acted as a kind o reservoir or recruits to the $y%antine army& #hee9istence o such a reservoir e9plains how the *arangians survived or solong as a !ghting unit at $y%antium: the *arangians were still identi!able as-)nglishmen and -Lanes at the time o the all o Constantinople to theatins in '54G& It might be e9pected that, as they retained their identity,they lived somewhere recogni%ably apart rom the rest o $y%antine society&$ut no such district is recorded or the city o Constantinople& It may bethat the *arangians only had living ;uarters in Constantinople, and that theirmain dwelling places lay over the sea to the north&B3

<hether or not they established a new homeland, or i the warriors intermarried

with +oth or $y%antine women and simply passed on their traditions, an Anglo7

Sa9on tradition survived or over a century in the Crimea& It is because that cultural

legacy survived that the $y%antine emperors could maintain bonds o trust and

absolute loyalty& #hose bonds certainly did not ade during Ale9ius lietime, even ater the

First Crusade alerted him to the dangers o <estern orces& #he act that -he still elt

he could rely on the )nglish to urnish him with loyal troops indicates that the Anglo7

Sa9ons who served him were a class unto themselves, men who could be trusted

where the vast ma?ority o <esterners could not be&B1 <hen he died, the )nglish

chronicler <illiam o Malmesbury, who nursed an intense dislike o Ale9ius

Domnenos and had almost nothing good to say o him, wrote that -he venerated the

!delity o the )nglishXand transmitted his esteem or them to his son&>4 *ery little

/- Ibid&, E1&

/ Kead, '12&

0) <illiam o Malmesbury, De 7esta *egum Ang#orum, ed& <illiam Stubbs, .olls Series, 140ondon: '33>7316, 5>B, ;uoted in Kead, '12&



Lecaque ++

is said about the )nglish during ohns reign, but he did employ them in his

campaign against the 8echenegs in ''5'/55& ohn Dinnamos, the twelth7century

historian, records that during the winter campaign: #he 8etchenegs treated the carts like a ortress and wrought great harm to

the .omans& 8erceiving this, the emperor desired to dismount rom his horseand continue the struggle on oot with the soldiers& <hen the .omans didnot agree to this, he ordered the a97bearers around him 0this is the $ritishnation, which has been in the service to the .omans emperors rom a longtime back6 to cut apart with their a9es the opposing YwagonsZ& Since they atonce entered the conict, the emperor thus became master o the8etchenegs camp&>'

Clearly the Anglo7*arangian +uard was still in avor with the new )mperor&Manuel I employed the )nglish as much i not more than his grandather

Ale9ius& #he %hronion Lau(unensis has an entry in ''>4 recording an embassy

rom Manuel Domnenos to Kenry II 8lantagenet proposing that 8rince ohn marry

Manuels daughter and live in Constantinople&>5 #he relationship remained strong

despite Kenrys reusal, and ater the disastrous deeat at Myriokephalon in ''>B,

Manuel composed a detailed letter to Kenry recounting the outcome o the battle&

#owards the end, he writes: #hence Ythe #urkZ went back into his own region that had passed out o ourpower, having not inconsiderable distress concerning the two who he hadlost, his kinsmen, nevertheless giving the greatest thanks to +od, whobecause o his own goodness even now had honored him& $ut we havegratitude, because it happened that certain princes o your nobility aided us,who will tell all the things which happened in order to your nobility& $ut as orthe rest, it is lawul that we be grieved because o those who ell,nevertheless we consider it appropriate to declare to you concerning all thethings which happened, that we love our riend and that it is because o ourmuch ?oined power because o the intimate consanguinity o our children&>E

01 ohn Dinnamos, Dee(s of 8ohn an( "anue# %omnenus, trans& Charles M& $rand 0New =ork:Columbia @niversity 8ress, '1>B6, 'B& $rand translates the phrase -this is the $ritish nationor ease o modern understanding" while he may mean modern $ritain, the original +reek is

a description o the region& As e9plained earlier, there is no evidence o other $ritishIslanders 0<elsh, Scots, Irish, etc&6 in the +uard during this period&

0+ *asiliev, -Manuel Comnenus and Kenry 8lantagenet, Byzantinishe &eitshrift 51 0'1517E46: 5EG&

0. Manuel Comnenos to Kenry II 8lantagenet, ''>B, ;uoted in .ogeri de Kouedene, %hroniamagisteri, vol& 5, .erum $ritannicarum medii aevi scriptores, ed& <illiam Stubbs, vol& 2'



Lecaque +.

#here is evidence that at the end o Manuels reign that relations between the two

sovereigns became very riendly, and in the last years $y%antine envoys may have

appeared at <estminster" an )nglishman, +eorey de Kaie 0+alridus de Kaia6 was

entrusted by Kenry II with the entertainment o the +reek ambassadors and was

sent in return to Constantinople&>G Kenry also sent Manuel a pack o hunting dogs on

a vessel sailing rom $remen&>2

<ith the end o the Domnenian dynasty, the *arangian +uard rapidly

declined& #hey played a crucial role in deending Constantinople during the Fourth

Crusade, and both o the ma?or <estern chroniclers, .obert de Clari and +eoroi de

*illehardouin, record )nglishmen on the walls& .obert records that during one

assault on the walls, when the *enetians managed to get up, -the soldiers who were

on that section, there were )nglishmen, Lanes and +reeks, looked, saw them, ran

to them with swords and a9es, and decapitated them all& >B +eoroi de

*illehardouin encountered them during an assault on a gate, recounting that the

-+riQn, as he called the )mperor, -put )nglishmen and Lanes all with a9es at the

gate, three times as many as at the palace o $lachernae&>> Niketas Choniates

0ondon: ongman, '3B37>'" r&p&: <iesbaden: Draus .eprint, '1BG6, '4G72& I would like tothank Lr& Molly Kerbert or her translation o this te9t&

0' *asiliev, History of Byzantium, GE'&

0& Ibid&

0/ .obert de Clari, La %on9u:te (e %onstantinop#e, in Historiens et %hroni9ueurs (e "oyan Age, $ibliothU;ue de la 8lTiade Moyen, ed& and annotated by Albert 8auphilet, vol& ' 08aris:[ditions +allimard, '1256, 2>& #he original te9t reads: -)t li ser?ans ;ui estoient en celsestage, )ngles, Lanois et +rieus ;uil y avoit, si regardent, si le voient, si li courent sus \haches et \ espTes, si le decouperent tout 0translation mine6&

00 +eoroi de *illehardouin, La %on9u:te (e %onstantinop#e, in Historiens et %hroni9ueurs,'5E& #he original te9t reads: -)t li +rion orent mis d)nglois et de Lanois \ totes les haches\ la porte, tres ci ;ue al palais de $la;uerne 0translation mine6&



Lecaque +'

records that they deended the ortress o 8etria, saying -#he horrendous battle that

ollowed was raught with groaning on all sides& #he heavy7armed troops who

surrounded the battering ram broke through the wall and gained access to a

passageway within which led down to the sea to a place called the )mperors

+angway, although they were bravely repulsed by the .oman allies, the 8isans and

the a97bearing barbarians, and the ma?ority returned wounded&>3 @nortunately, despite what could be called their !nest hour, deending their

adopted city almost single7handedly rom the incoming Crusaders, the problems in

the )mpire were too great or the *arangians to overcome& <hen Ale9ios II Angelos

began contemplating surrendering the city, the *arangians threw their support

behind the usurper Ale9ios Lukas Murt%uphlos, who promised to keep !ghting&

#hey allowed him to kidnap and murder the emperor&>1 <hen Mourt%ouphlos ed the

city, the last deenders, under askaris, begged the *arangians to remain loyal& It

was too much& #hey had served three emperors in a handul o years, and were

being asked to serve another rom a dierent lineage& #hey had already betrayed

one to his death, watched the man they supported ee, and were charged with the

hopeless task o deending a practically deenseless city&It is possibly the saddest end to a glorious career& Choniates enters the last

record o the *arangian +uard with contempt:.eceiving the supreme oQce by lot, askaris reused the imperial insignia"escorted by the patriarch to the Milion, he continuously e9horted theassembled populace, ca?oling them to put up a resistance& Ke pressed thosewho lit rom the shoulder and brandish the deadly iron a9, sending them o

0- Niketas Choniates, ; %ity of Byzantium, Anna#s of .i<etas %honiates, trans& Karry &Magoulias, $y%antine #e9ts in #ranslation 0Letroit: <ayne @niversity 8ress, '13G6, 513&

0 Ibid&, E43& <hile this o course violates their code o loyalty, it should be noted thatAle9ios II had helped the Crusaders e9ecute the ormer emperor and depose his ather,whom the *arangians had previously served" the ties o loyalty binding the *arangians toAle9ios II were tenuous at best, and connected only to the title, not the man& #he Anglo7Sa9on oath o loyalty was a deeply personal one, and this kind o rapid transition o emperorto emperor would not have allowed them to build the kind o personal connection that madetheir loyalty so absolute&



Lecaque +&

to the imminent struggle, reminding them that they should not eardestruction any less than the .omans should the .oman empire all toanother nation: no longer would they be paid the ample wages omercenaries or receive the ar7amed gits o honor o the imperial guard, andtheir pay in the uture would be counted at a hairs worth& #hus did askaris,but not a single person rom the populace would respond to his

blandishments& #he a97bearers agreed to !ght or wages, deceitully andcunningly e9ploiting the height o the danger or monetary gain, and whenthe atin battalions clad in ull armor made their appearance, they took ightto save themselves Yearly morning o 'E April '54GZ&34

#he *arangians were gone, and their like was not seen again& It is perhaps most

telling that in 'G2E it is Italians who are guarding the walls o Constantinople rom

the (ttomans, not -a9e7bearing barbarians& #he imperial bodyguard rarely ul!lled its vows, and the re;uent ethnic shits

reected a very real need to distance the emperor rom peoples who had proven

disloyal or dangerous& #he eventual settling by the Domnenians on the )nglish

created a system in which the emperor could totally rely on his guardsHmen who

were bound by honor to be loyal to their lord, and who by circumstance had no

chance o survival without the mutual loyalty o their lord to his men& #he political

motivations that led to constant ethnic shits were resolved by this absolute trust,

and it was not until the emperors themselves betrayed the *arangians that the

)nglish ceased their vigil& In another world, the Anglo7$y%antine relationship would

never have ended" as it is, the tale is one that a poet could, -set upon a golden

bough to sing / #o lords and ladies o $y%antium / ( what is past, or passing, or to

come&3'

$I$I(+.A8K=

8.IMA.=

-) Ibid&, E'G&

-1 =eats&



Lecaque +/

$ryennius, Nicephorus& History & )d& 8& +autier& $russels, '1>2& ]uoted in Dri?nieCiggaar, -)ngland and

$y%antium on the )ve o the Norman Con;uest& In Ang#o-.orman /tu(ies Vroee(ings of the Batt#e %onferene, ed& .& Allen $rown, >371B&<oodbridge, @D: #he $oydell 8ress, '13E&

Choniates, Niketas& ; %ity of Byzantium, Anna#s of .i<etas %honiates& #rans& Karry & Magoulias&

$y%antine #e9ts in #ranslation, ed& Karry & Magoulias& Letroit: <ayne State@niversity 8ress, '13G&

de Clari, .obert& La %on9u:te (e %onstantinop#e& In Historiens et %hroni9ueurs (e"oyen Age,

$ibliothU;ue de la 8lTiade Moyen Age, ed& and annotated by Albert 8auphilet,vol& '& 8aris: [ditions +allimard, '125&

Comnena, Anna& The A#e$ia(& #rans& )& .& A& Sewter& ondon: 8enguin $ooks, '1B1&

Comnenos, Manuel, Constantinople, to Kenry II 8lantagenet, ''>B& ]uoted in .ogeride Kouedene,

%hronia magisteri, vol& 5, .erum $ritannicarum medii aevi scriptores , ed&<illiam Stubbs, vol& 2'& ondon: ongman, '3B37>'& .eprint, <iesbaden:Draus .eprint, '1BG&

Dinnamos, ohn& Dee(s of 8ohn an( "anue# %omnenus& #rans& Charles M& $rand&New =ork: Columbia @niversity 8ress, '1>B&

eo the Leacon& The History of Leo the Deaon! Byzantine "i#itary E$pansion in theTenth

%entury & Intro&, trans&, and annotations by Alice7Mary #albot and Lenis F&Sullivan with the assistance o +eorge #& Lennis and Stamatina Mc+rath&<ashington, LC: Lumbarton (aks .esearch ibrary and Collection, 5442&

Matthew o )dessa& Armenia an( the %rusa(es Tenth to T)e#fth %enturies! The%hroni#e of

"atthe) of E(essa& #rans& with a commentary and intro& by Ara )dmondLostourian& Foreward by Drikor K& Maksoudian& anham, ML: @niversity8ress o America, '11E&

8sellus, Michael& %hronographia& *ol& '& )d& )& agrand& 8aris: '152& ]uoted in$enedikt S& $enedik%,

-#he (rigin and Levelopment o the *arangian .egiment in the $y%antineArmy, Byzantinshes &eitshrifte B5 0'1B16: 5475G&

de *illehardouin, +eoroi& La %on9u:te (e %onstantinop#e& In Historiens et%hroni9ueurs (e "oyen Age,

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Lecaque +0

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Nicol, -$y%antium and )ngland, Ba#<an /tu(ies '2 0'1>G6: '>1754E&

<illiam o Malmesbury& De 7esta *egnum Ang#orum& )d& <illiam Stubbs& .ollSeries& ondon: '33>7

31& ]uoted in Constance Kead, -Ale9ios Comnenos and the )nglish,Byzantion G> 0'1>>6: '3B713&

=eats, <illiam $utler& -Sailing to $y%antium& Available romhttp://www&online7literature&com/yeats/>3'/ & Internet& Accessed 5'

November 5443&

Oenkovsky, Serge A&, ed& and trans& with an introduction& "e(ie'a# *ussia+s Epis,%hroni#es an( Ta#es&

New =ork: Meridian $ooks, '1>G&

S)C(NLA.=$enedik%, $enedikt S& -#he (rigin and Levelopment o the *arangian .egiment inthe $y%antine

Army& Byzantinshes &eitshrifte B5 0'1B16: 5475G&

$lJndal, Sigs& The Varangians of Byzantium& #rans&, rev&, and rewritten by$enedikt S& $enedik%&

Cambridge: Cambridge @niversity 8ress, '1>3&

Ciggaar, Dri?nie& -)ngland and $y%antium on the )ve o the Norman Con;uest& In Ang#o-.orman /tu(ies V roee(ings of the Batt#e %onferene, ed& .& Allen $rown,>371B& <oodbridge, @D: #he $oydell 8ress, '13E&

+odrey, ohn& -#he Leeated Anglo7Sa9ons #ake Service with the )astern)mperor& In roee(ings of

the Batt#e %onferene on Ang#o-.orman /tu(ies 0-1, ed& .& Allen $rown,BE7>G& Ipswich, @D: #he $oydell 8ress, '1>1&

Kaldon, ohn& -$lood and ink: Some (bservations on $y%antine Attitudes #owards<arare and

Liplomacy& In Byzantine Dip#omay! apers from the T)enty-fourth /pring/ymposium of Byzantine /tu(ies, %amri(ge, "arh 1, ed& onathanShepard and Simon Franklin, 53'71G& Aldershot, @D: *ariorum, '115&

Karrison, Mark, and +erry )mbleton& Ang#o-/a$on Thegn 44-166 AD& <arriorSeries, ed& ee

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Lecaque +-

Kermans, os& -#he $y%antine *iew o the NormansHAnother Norman MythR Inroee(ings of the

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E#e'enth an( T)e#fth%enturies& #he #ransormation o the Classical Keritage, ed& 8eter $rown, >&$erkeley: @niversity o Caliornia 8ress, '132&

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in the ater )leventh Century& Tra(itio 1 0'1>E6: 2E715&

*asiliev, A& A& History of the Byzantine Empire 324-1453= 5 vols& Madison: #he@niversity o <isconsin

8ress, '123&

*asiliev, A& A& -Manuel Comnenus and Kenry 8lantagenet& Byzantinshes &eitshrifte 51 0'1517E46:

5EE7GG&

an englishman in byzantium - political motivations for ethnic change in the varangian guard

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