Varangian Guard: Dark Age Byzantium's Special Forces | Ancient Black Ops

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ธ.ค. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 412

  • @KernowekTim
    @KernowekTim 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +43

    "Basil! Basil! Basil, what, do you thing you are doing rubbing shoulders with Vikings and Templar Knights?"......."Just a spot of, um, of...'hunting' Sybil dear".

  • @johnmark150
    @johnmark150 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +38

    “For nine centuries the great City (Byzantium/Constantinople) had been the capital of Christian civilization. It was filled with works of art that had survived from Ancient Greece and with the masterpieces of its own exquisite craftsmen.”
    - Sir Steven Runciman, pre-eminent British historian and author

    • @geoffreyrosadocertifiedbos3385
      @geoffreyrosadocertifiedbos3385 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yeah but what if I were to say constinapole wasn't truly Christian??

    • @texassteaks6172
      @texassteaks6172 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@geoffreyrosadocertifiedbos3385 it was most Christian then other claim to be Christian in Western Europe such as Paul the Apostle visit Athens and preach the gospel and on and on !! At the 4th crusade which it sacked Constantinople the barbarian uneducated European crusaders such as the Franks and their cousins the Germanic tribes. We’re looking for the true Christianity ✝️ in the Constantinople the Queen of cities and much more all their treasures and lute was carried away and scattered and it can found in private collections or in Rome which are plenty of stolen lute over there !! Nothing personal just the facts !!

  • @johnmark150
    @johnmark150 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +32

    "Far from being a moribund society..., it (Byzantium) was the greatest, most active and most enduring political organism that the world has yet seen..." - F.M. Powicke, English historian

  • @elvenkind6072
    @elvenkind6072 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

    A fun fact is that the ones that finally defeated the Varangian Guard in open battle was the Normans, themselves of the militaristic, Norse origin.

    • @rebellefleur2993
      @rebellefleur2993 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Normans have jewish ancestors. They changed everything

  • @kennethquinnies6023
    @kennethquinnies6023 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +13

    I like when Harald Hardraad had enough of the empress and took the Varangian gurd to the port, having to fight through several legions to do it, then took the ships necessary and sailed to norway. He then built an army large enough to invade england.

  • @Mjdeben
    @Mjdeben 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +63

    I'm pretty sure Andrew Gough just pre-records a bunch of vauge commentary in a room somewhere and then the editors compile it to match whatever the topic is.

    • @smurfy181
      @smurfy181 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +16

      haha thank you - I'm 15 minutes in and it's just a bunch of random clips of violence and 100 different ways of saying, "The Varangians liked fighting". Wow. Thanks. I've learned so much.

    • @Gspawt76
      @Gspawt76 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Yeah agreed. He's terribly off-putting.

    • @EstbXCIII
      @EstbXCIII 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I came to the comment section first about 3 seconds in the video. Ill pay attention to this and return with my own remarks lol..

  • @fredrikdahllof2636
    @fredrikdahllof2636 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    In what is now Sweden there was a law in the late viking Age made to prevent that to many of the young men went to Mikklagård and joined the Vangarian Guard. It was so popular to join that force for a while that the Swedish king had to do something to keep the best warriors for him self.

  • @AlphaSniperAcademy
    @AlphaSniperAcademy 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +20

    I would like to mention that Amon Amarth even has a song about them. "Varyags of Miklagaard."
    "Miklagaard has been our home for 20 years or more
    We've lent our axes, spears, and swords
    In service of the emperor
    We are loyal warriors
    That's the oath we gave
    To protect the emperor even to a violent grave"

  • @gregkientop559
    @gregkientop559 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +19

    Clearly, Harald Hardrada was an out-of-the-box thinker and charismatic leader. He believed in the power of the Skald, the Norse record-keeper/storytellers very much. Probably the main reason we have these tales. It is ironic though that after roaming the eastern Med, that his eventual undoing likely involved inclemently warm weather, former Roman roads (and the English longbow) at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. His force at Stamford Bridge in 1066 had left much of their armor at the boats due to the heat, and had underestimated the speed in which Harald Godwinson's army would arrive from the south via Roman-built roads. Even though Harald H. caught an arrow to the neck and perished with his army, they damaged Harald G.'s army bad enough that they lost their next crucial battle for control of England at Hastings. Even in death, Harald Hardrada's impacts on the western world are felt yet today via the Normans, another Norse-derived culture. The arrival of Haley's Comet in early 1066 was to portent a very eventful year-and did not disappoint.

    • @howwwwwyyyyy
      @howwwwwyyyyy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      He was quite a boy wasn't he, fighting for his half brother at 15& escaping afterwards,shows how rich Constantinople must have been that he used his loot to become king of Norway, love his escape from there too, just read a book about him but you get the feeling that there was so much more to tell

    • @howwwwwyyyyy
      @howwwwwyyyyy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Whoops, I really should watch until I comment

    • @BlackQback
      @BlackQback 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Not only did Harald Hardrada believe in the power of the Skald, but was reportedly a poet himself, and according to saga was making up poetry while fighting at Stamford Bridge. Tom Shippey in his book "Laughing shall I die" writes about that.

  • @twirajuda
    @twirajuda 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    The Varangian Guard was not only the sole unit under the Emperor’s command that he could trust. They also could teach the rest of the Roman (read: ‘Byzantine’) army and establishment a thing or two about professionalism and integrity

  • @laifnow
    @laifnow 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +15

    I’m pretty sure Halfdan would’ve graffitied several different places, but none of the other buildings are still standing to this day.

  • @adamwee382
    @adamwee382 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +34

    12:55 There actually weren't that many Byzantine Emperors who were assassinated, The main purpose of an emperors "bodyguard' was not to prevent him from being assassinated, it was his private military force paid directly by himself, the emperor. If one of the emperor's vassals rebelled then that vassals soldiers would almost certainly remain loyal to him rather than the emperor. So the Varangian Guard did whatever the emperor required them to do, they did act as a literal bodyguard, even being trusted with the keys to the city while the emperor was away, but they also acted as law enforcement as well, but the main purpose was to act as loyal retainers ready to defend the emperor in case of rebellion which was incredibly common in the Eastern Roman Empire. They were his insurance against the scheming nobility, so they were very well paid and had their own special privileges.
    So while assassination was a threat, more emperors were deposed through military coups than assassination. That's the purpose of having a private army rather than lets say Game of Thrones Kings Guard.

    • @nebojsanesic5326
      @nebojsanesic5326 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Westerners and their "Academia" are trying to represent Orthodox leaders as they are Vatican leaders. Not a word about them destroying, or directly helping destruction of all 3 Orthodox Tzars.

    • @Valchrist1313
      @Valchrist1313 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      There are suspicions that Basil II's father was assassinated, having died at age 26.
      His father ruled for only 4 years.
      His father, Basil II's grandfather is suspected of having been assassinated.
      Basil was made co-emperor with his brother, both children. As such, their regent Nicephorus Phocas became emperor. He was assassinated.
      He was followed by John Tzimiskes, who was suspected of having been assassinated. Not to mention the civil war led by Phocas's relatives.
      After Basil II and his brother died, the next emperor was Romanos III..... who was assassinated after ruling for 6 years.
      So if assassinations of Byzantine Emperors was rare... it certainly wasn't in the time-period!

    • @adamwee382
      @adamwee382 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@Valchrist1313 in that time frame how many disloyal vassals tried to rebel? Read what i said more carefully. i didn't say that emperors weren't assassinated, I said that the point of the varangians was not primarily as a literal bodyguard, but his personal private army. So whats your point?
      An emperor didnt employ as many Varangians as he possibly could to stand outside his chambers. What about the Varangians of the sea? were they standing guard at night?
      Calling them "bodyguards" is not a great description. It may have been more prestigious than referring to them as retainers, but that's what they were. The elite standing/professional troops of the Byzantine Army, paid directly by the emperor, and recruited from outside the empire in order to ensure loyalty to the emperor rather than a noble family.

    • @Valchrist1313
      @Valchrist1313 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@adamwee382 You said 'there weren't that many' implying it was uncommon. Yet, the two predecessors and two successors were likely assassinated.
      The video actually does go over the other stuff too!

    • @adamwee382
      @adamwee382 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ​@@Valchrist1313 No, you're making the assumption and you're imposing it onto me. Read carefully the context of what i've said. I implied that rebellious factions leading armies were statistically more dangerous than assassinations. That does not mean that I said or even implied that assassinations didn't occur, or were even rare.
      I was merely stating that calling the Varangians "bodyguards" is misleading, even if that's how they were referred to at the time. No eastern Roman Emperor retained hundreds of Varangians to act as his literal bodyguard.
      Nothing you've said contradicts my original argument, which was "The main purpose of an emperors "bodyguard' was not to prevent him from being assassinated, it was his private military force paid directly by himself, the Emperor" So again, and for the last time, i really don't understand your point.

  • @ARK-77-u9e
    @ARK-77-u9e 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +48

    I like the way you name the Byzantium Empire the dark ages...
    The East never experienced dark ages like the west...
    It was only after the fall of Constantinople and the invasion of the "utman Turk" did the East experience dark ages
    Most of the elite and educated East had escaped to the west and Italy after the fall of Byzantium which began the revival or the renaissance of Europe

    • @VulcanM61
      @VulcanM61 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      Byzantine Dark Ages is a historiographical term for the period in the history of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, during the 7th and 8th centuries, which marks the transition between the late antique early Byzantine period and the "medieval" middle Byzantine era.

    • @maryamkim1281
      @maryamkim1281 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      It sounds as though you only have contempt for the Turks.

    • @maritimecaribe8094
      @maritimecaribe8094 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@maryamkim1281 I think that the dark ages (and the subsequent lost of independence ) of of the East started the 1204 ( (first sack of the Polis). The crusaders took the wealth and the light of the Empire starting the enlightenment of the West .

  • @zoetropo1
    @zoetropo1 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    In 1081 at Dyrrhachium, the Varangian Guard faced the same person whose feint and charge broke the English shield wall in the Battle of Hastings: Brian of Brittany. The result was very much the same. Although Brian was instrumental in that defeat of Alexios Comnenos, the Emperor's daughter Anna Comnene described Brian as "the most courageous and most honourable of all the Gauls".

    • @ilijas3041
      @ilijas3041 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Wasnt that her impression of Bohemond?

    • @howwwwwyyyyy
      @howwwwwyyyyy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Where did you find out about that?-I always thought that the main information about Hastings was from the tapestry.

    • @zoetropo1
      @zoetropo1 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@ilijas3041 No, her impression of Bohemond was that he was handsome, not that he was a decent human being.

    • @zoetropo1
      @zoetropo1 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@howwwwwyyyyy The BT is a primary source, and its principal narrator was Brian's brother Alan Rufus, captain of Duke/King William's household knights.
      The longest scene on the BT shows the Breton second-in-command (presumably Brian) assailing the English frontlines (led by Earls Leofwine and Gyrth) from the left (West) while Alan led an assault from the right (East) over water traps.

  • @Wenvolt
    @Wenvolt 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    This video production and sound is epic!! No dull or boring parts!!

  • @sunlightpictures8367
    @sunlightpictures8367 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Great documentary. Harold was a very interesting person.

  • @johnmark150
    @johnmark150 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +185

    Byzantium did not have a Dark Age. As the late Merle E. Severy, Editor, National Geographic, wrote: "The Dark Ages are only dark if you look at Western Europe, for long centuries a back-water: decaying towns, isolated manors, scattered monasteries, squabbling robber barons. In the East blazed the light of Byzantium, studded with cities such as Thessalonica, Antioch, and Alexandria, more cosmopolitan than any Western society before the modern age."

    • @VulcanM61
      @VulcanM61 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

      Byzantine Dark Ages is a historiographical term for the period in the history of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, during the 7th and 8th centuries, which marks the transition between the late antique early Byzantine period and the "medieval" middle Byzantine era.

    • @texassteaks6172
      @texassteaks6172 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      That’s right and true !!

    • @stanbatakarata6081
      @stanbatakarata6081 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      True Only Bulgarian Empire Capital Great Preslav is Seccond Constantinople

    • @texassteaks6172
      @texassteaks6172 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

      @@stanbatakarata6081 were and how you come up with that statement ? Really ??

    • @roberttravers5286
      @roberttravers5286 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Western Europe suffered the consequences of the Roman Empire and, later, the Catholic Church.

  • @johnking6252
    @johnking6252 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    Just a bunch of good ole boys out looking for fun . Ya gotta luv the Vikings. 👍

    • @sebastienloyer9471
      @sebastienloyer9471 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      And theyr woman's 😊

    • @SIBquake
      @SIBquake 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Yeah they were Vikings but they were Russian

    • @aephos.overwatch
      @aephos.overwatch 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Except when they pillage

  • @JulieCaptivatedinFl
    @JulieCaptivatedinFl 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    Andrew Gough- The man of a thousand titles.

  • @jonomasonILoveU
    @jonomasonILoveU 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

    I`ve heard of flaming arrows but not flaming sparrows -brilliant-, my neighbours better be nice I got seagulls🤣.

  • @johnmark150
    @johnmark150 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    There was no "Dark Age Byzantium". Read what the famous Medieval French crusader wrote about Byzantium: "One could not believe there was so rich a city in all the world. All those who had never seen Constantinople before gazed with astonishment at the city. They had never imagined that anywhere in the world there could be a city like this. They gazed with wonder at its rich palaces and mighty churches, for it was difficult for them to believe that there were indeed so many of them. As they gazed at the length and breadth of that superb city there was not a man, however brave and daring, who did not feel a shudder down his spine." - Geoffrey de Villehardouin

    • @VulcanM61
      @VulcanM61 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Byzantine Dark Ages is a historiographical term for the period in the history of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, during the 7th and 8th centuries, which marks the transition between the late antique early Byzantine period and the "medieval" middle Byzantine era.

    • @stanbatakarata6081
      @stanbatakarata6081 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Yep in Bulgaria have Seecor Constantinopol.Bulgarian Empire capitals Great Preslav.Seecond Europe Capital in 9-10 century

    • @MurManParKer-l5c
      @MurManParKer-l5c หลายเดือนก่อน

      ❤MKM
      FANTASTIC RETORT OF KNOWLEDGE ON TOPIC ❤ BRILLIANT AND SOO INFORMATIVE❤

  • @tomasabrahamsson
    @tomasabrahamsson 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Constantinople was called Miklagard by the Varangians and Vikings.

  • @BrianLevine-q7e
    @BrianLevine-q7e 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    I am a second generation Swedish American. My Mom's parents came from Sweden. I grew up listening to my grandfather tell stories about our ancestors and their travels. I was lucky enough to go to Sweden with my grandfather. Met my relatives in the village thats been home for generations. Got to be tough to survive a place where bears roam around trying to fstten up for winter.

    • @benparrish672
      @benparrish672 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      You should leave Merica & visit Sweden permanently. We'd appreciate it.

    • @BrianLevine-q7e
      @BrianLevine-q7e 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@benparrish672 Why would you tell me to leave the country I am a citizen of?. I love my heritage. My ancestors traveled through the Russians to the Middle East. Fought in the Crusades. My ancestors raised an army to restore Gustav Vasa as King of Sweden. I've traveled all over Europe several times. I love being an American.

    • @dinarusso3320
      @dinarusso3320 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      You're very lucky to visit Sweden, it's probably beautiful. That's amazing your relatives have been in the same village for generations.

    • @chuckblackwell3860
      @chuckblackwell3860 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      What a jerk

  • @Marcelocostache
    @Marcelocostache 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Vikings/norseman+Roman training and equipment = Varangian Guard.

  • @tadficuscactus
    @tadficuscactus 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    Europeans, we need the Varangian Guard once again, but this time to defend our homelands, Europa.

    • @trondeaf
      @trondeaf 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Watch Europa the last battle and awaken your mind my friend

    • @dinarusso3320
      @dinarusso3320 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Exactly, I'm American and I know Europe needs to defend your culture and countries! It's ridiculous what's going on!

    • @rebellefleur2993
      @rebellefleur2993 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      J*ws replaced you. It's too late lol

    • @chehughes13
      @chehughes13 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@dinarusso3320 Your a European too.😅😅😅

    • @blasterofmuppets4754
      @blasterofmuppets4754 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      How old are you? Twelve?

  • @NiclasHorn
    @NiclasHorn 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    40:00 Only a Scandinavian Viking would come up with that brave plan 😄

  • @morganfreeaimthebountyhunt7682
    @morganfreeaimthebountyhunt7682 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    "The Brutal Special Forces of Early Medieval Eastern Rome"
    Fixed.

  • @rickhughesprints
    @rickhughesprints 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    That one guy seemed a bit happy when he described the torture.

  • @charlesmartel6103
    @charlesmartel6103 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    Were there also joyfull moments in History? Or was there only slaughter end disease?

    • @RickR69
      @RickR69 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

      A child once laughed in what is now the Czech Republic but was then beaten.

    • @timw6928
      @timw6928 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      😅 that's a question I've often thought about, seems like all doom and gloom .

    • @irishgrl
      @irishgrl 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@timw6928
      Well it WAS the Dark Ages after all

    • @letsdothis9063
      @letsdothis9063 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Monty Python says it was all bad.

    • @irishgrl
      @irishgrl 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@letsdothis9063
      Bring out yer dead 💀

  • @Theodoros_Kolokotronis
    @Theodoros_Kolokotronis 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Some monumental works regarding the Greek Byzantine Empire by two experts of Byzantine History, include;
    Warren Treadgold
    “A Concise History of Byzantium”,
    “A History of the Byzantine State and Society”,
    “Byzantium and Its Army, 284-1081”,
    “The Byzantine Revival, 780-842”.
    Sir Steven Runciman
    “Byzantine Civilization”,
    “The Fall of Constantinople 1453”,
    “The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence”,
    “Byzantine Style and Civilization”,
    “The Last Byzantine Renaissance”.
    All epic. Truly, an academic treasure.

  • @philippekogler
    @philippekogler 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    The vikings called Konstantinopel "Mikklegard" (the Big City)

    • @dis_f30
      @dis_f30 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

      It's Miklagard = Great City

    • @AlphaSniperAcademy
      @AlphaSniperAcademy 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      There's a song by a band called Amon Amarth, titled "Varyags of Miklagaard" thats about them haha

  • @terryyakamoto3488
    @terryyakamoto3488 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The fact that the people in this documentary are demonstrating how they inflict wounds with these weapons, rather than expressing the perspective of being butchered by them, pretty much sums up why we still have wars today. They don't like it up em

  • @ragnarok6521
    @ragnarok6521 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    The ploy of faking death was not an homage to the Greek Trojan horse. It is far more likely that he remembered one of many famed tales of Ragnar Lothbrok and his sons, as Ragnar did the exact same ploy many years prior to this. Even Netflix managed to put this ploy into the show before leaving the source material very early on and goes full Hollywood. To bad we never got to see any of the very clever ploys of Ivar the boneless in the show.
    Interesting how he used the ploy of setting birds on fire several hundred years before Ghengis Khan got the same idea, which might indicate that it probably happened more often than its written down.

    • @dinarusso3320
      @dinarusso3320 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      😊 that's exactly what I thought, he probably heard about Ragnar doing the same thing!

    • @havareriksen3395
      @havareriksen3395 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Using the local birds to burn down the city was a ploy used by St. Olga of Kyiv to finish off the drevlinians. It is most likely while Harald stayed in Kyiv he heard that story and later used the same tactic. Though with any of these tales we can never be certain of what really happened.

  • @paulsmyth3580
    @paulsmyth3580 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    we need them on the coasts now

    • @aephos.overwatch
      @aephos.overwatch 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      to do, what?

    • @dinarusso3320
      @dinarusso3320 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Scandanavia needs them on the coast now!!

  • @mickvonbornemann3824
    @mickvonbornemann3824 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +12

    “Lush tropical climate” - WTF, it get’s below freezing in Istanbul in winter.

    • @sebastienloyer9471
      @sebastienloyer9471 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      IT gets in the -40 to -50
      In Alberta Canada

    • @sebastienloyer9471
      @sebastienloyer9471 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      -5°© to -15°©
      Am still in t-shirt outside.

    • @Marcelocostache
      @Marcelocostache 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      For us Norseman is summertime!. 😂

    • @FranciscoHernandez-lt1mo
      @FranciscoHernandez-lt1mo 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Sweden and other counties around can get -40c and lower so yeah it’s tropical for them

  • @eddiemartin1671
    @eddiemartin1671 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Great 👍

  • @damonreitmeier4539
    @damonreitmeier4539 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Bob was here.
    Thousands of years and bad boys are still children.

  • @TihetrisWeathersby
    @TihetrisWeathersby 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +11

    Funny enough I've been watching Vikings Valhalla, I think Harald is well portrayed

    • @poohtisdispenser7106
      @poohtisdispenser7106 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      The real Harald journey was much more insane. He began his lifelong journey to avenge his brother and reclaim the throne of Norway since he was only 15 years old. His journey was filled with war and battle in many foreign lands. His life was literally one of those protagonist story you would only think existed in movies. He began as a young inexperienced second son return to where his journey began as one of the most battle hardened warriors with cunning political skills.

    • @domsmithsen
      @domsmithsen 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      The last kingdom as well lol

  • @manofgod321
    @manofgod321 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Many of the Varangian Guard later consisted of Anglo-Saxons, who had fled England after the defeat at Hastings by William the Conqueror and the Normans. Around 15 years or so later, Robert Guiscard, his son Bohemond and the Norman army did battle against the Byzantines and the Anglo-Saxon Varangian Guard at the Battle of Dyrrhachiu and gave them a humiliating defeat.

  • @zeljko612
    @zeljko612 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

    Seems we are at that point where making a history documentary can be what ever you want as long as you can present it skilfully. What a sad time we live in

    • @keenannorris3309
      @keenannorris3309 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      What's skillful about this crap? The soundtrack is disruptive. The commentary is bullshit.

    • @zeljko612
      @zeljko612 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@keenannorris3309 If you know how to sell garbage (this video) in a decorative box and people wants to buy it, that's skilful on my list.

    • @keenannorris3309
      @keenannorris3309 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@zeljko612 good point

  • @KushKing42O
    @KushKing42O 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    16:29 😂😂😂😂 hold on what🤯🤯 no you lost me after that. I know for a fact they didn’t have electricity let alone neon signs and tv🤔🤨🤨

  • @auraledgereal
    @auraledgereal 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +9

    So The ruling class of the Kievan Rus were actually Vikings? 😮

    • @deborahdauray8933
      @deborahdauray8933 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      yes

    • @Marcelocostache
      @Marcelocostache 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

      Yes Rurick was a Viking noble called by the Slavic nobility to rule over them hence the formation of the Kievan Rus the ancestors of modern Say Russians and Ukrainians.

    • @leonidbochev7122
      @leonidbochev7122 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@Marcelocostache Belorussians as well....lol

    • @leonidbochev7122
      @leonidbochev7122 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Did everyone miss the part where he says The Grand Prince of Kiev in WHERE????? Ukraine?????? Hey England PHD and so on.....Stop it with these cheap shots they are quiet sad.......for someone of your status.

    • @guycalabrese4040
      @guycalabrese4040 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      This means that the Ucranians should rule russia, right?

  • @richardparnell992
    @richardparnell992 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    the birds were like modern day missiles

  • @xSAINTPERKx
    @xSAINTPERKx 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    The Roman vikings aptly describe them. God bless all the northmen who converted and protected our blessed emperors. ☦️

  • @A.P.1821
    @A.P.1821 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Dark age existed only in western medieval Era. The Greco-roman kingdom falsely called Byzantium had been THE beacon of high culture for 11 centuries!

  • @Cebuano_Edc
    @Cebuano_Edc 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I learned more from the expert historians in the comment section than tha actual documentary itself.

  • @mikbanzai1
    @mikbanzai1 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    a great movie! I was particularly impressed by the fact that the authors of the film understand well the difference between Kievan Rus - Ukraine and Mordor, which called itself Russia.

  • @MrWolftamer
    @MrWolftamer 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    My ancestors were all vikings!!! It's awesome to have viking blood going thru my veins!

    • @Americanviking82
      @Americanviking82 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Im proud of my scandinavian heritage as well.

    • @mk.4x785
      @mk.4x785 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      Your ancestors were probably farmers. And that's just cholesterol in your veins.

    • @derricklarsen2919
      @derricklarsen2919 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Sailing around causing mischief in little boats 😊

    • @frankezane583
      @frankezane583 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@mk.4x785or prescription drugs and alcohol 😂

    • @dinarusso3320
      @dinarusso3320 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@mk.4x785duh, Vikings were farmers! What's your point other than trying to be insulting

  • @Valchrist1313
    @Valchrist1313 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    16:28 lmao, wtf. The Varangian guard were touring around the Red Light district, were they? Apparently they were big fans of the 10th/11th century neon lights!

  • @gman509
    @gman509 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Fun fact after the Norman invasion of Anglo Saxons England 300 ships fled from the country and headed to join byzantines vrangian guard. It is said that after this soon the majority of their men were Anglo Saxons. Unfortunately thjs is undermined and not acknowledged to the same extent as the viking culture despite contributing just as much.

  • @joelamthach5812
    @joelamthach5812 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    What a good documentary

  • @enriquehartmann8642
    @enriquehartmann8642 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    I think if I was a Veringian , id use my earnings to build a city and make myself nobility

    • @howwwwwyyyyy
      @howwwwwyyyyy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Or king like Hardrada did

  • @magnusjonsson7714
    @magnusjonsson7714 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    We were known to be big and fearsome. And loyal, bec we are and were.

  • @Kim-br5yj
    @Kim-br5yj 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The history is written by the winners, Im not sure I believe my anchestors were that barbaric😂 like more than other people living in Europe at the time. These kind of
    documentaries always exaggerate stuff. Greatings from Norway

  • @podsmpsg1
    @podsmpsg1 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    The Vikings in the 13th Warrior were Varangians I think.

    • @dis_f30
      @dis_f30 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      They weren't Varangians, they were Geats and Danes.

    • @podsmpsg1
      @podsmpsg1 หลายเดือนก่อน

      ​@@dis_f30I thought they were Swedes.

  • @jchiblitz9238
    @jchiblitz9238 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Lots of Anglo Saxons fled to Constantinople and joined the Varangian Guard after William The Conqueror won the Battle of Hastings. It's worth a Google.

    • @AlphaSniperAcademy
      @AlphaSniperAcademy 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thanks for this! Will check it out

  • @Celtopia
    @Celtopia 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Fascinating subject,thank you.

  • @peterjorgensen1086
    @peterjorgensen1086 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +48

    If anyone's interested in serially hardcore Medieval Scandinavian warfare including the Varangian Guard I strongly recommend Schwerpunkt's relative playlist

    • @bine35
      @bine35 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +10

      u spam this on every vid with ur fake accounts

    • @MethodMobile
      @MethodMobile 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

      @@bine35 I know.. I tried watching a couple of his vids and quickly realized he doesn’t actually say anything. Yet makes 2hr long vids on everything

    • @Ariapeithes_
      @Ariapeithes_ 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      ​@@MethodMobile
      Yeah. I'm starting to get the same impression about his content.
      He makes long winded videos and doesn't really explain anything.

    • @grymmgaming7035
      @grymmgaming7035 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      Report these bots for spam every chance you have

    • @bawsack69
      @bawsack69 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Give it up man!!!!! Nobody likes your channel.

  • @TheRealFeechLaManna
    @TheRealFeechLaManna 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Come now, the story of the burning sparrows is just ridiculous.

  • @JoshSnowden0
    @JoshSnowden0 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    the white flashes, the modern footage makes this less as good as it could have been

  • @cadderley100
    @cadderley100 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Basil? Basil Fawlty? The name Harald Hardrada rings a bell. Didn't we defeat him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)? No Sparrows (or Magpies) were harmed in the making of this video.

  • @JoeSmith-vs5sy
    @JoeSmith-vs5sy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Well Done!

  • @hannibalbarca4372
    @hannibalbarca4372 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    His fortune left him when he tried to invade England, he was defeated and killed by the Anglo-Saxon in the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066, the Englo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson was defeated and killed by the Duc of Normandy William the conqueror in the battle of Hastings ....

  • @ckdub1888
    @ckdub1888 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    It’s crazy to me how people have the nerve to cast judgement upon people in history.. like applying modern standards and ideals back then is ridiculous

  • @frankieshankly5368
    @frankieshankly5368 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    As an Norwegian I detest these alliegations! ;)

  • @SandyRiverBlue
    @SandyRiverBlue 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    A Greek emperor called Basil, sounds like a longshoreman from Kent. You'd almost be forgiven for thinking that his real name was Basileus. Also it's Hardrada, not Hadrada.

  • @toddfallon179
    @toddfallon179 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Your 'historical experts' would be outclassed in a grade 5 history lesson...
    Very dramatic use of actors and cos-players, though, I give it a 3

  • @brianbushfamily1814
    @brianbushfamily1814 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    They got this wrong they didn't gust kill to kill they killed wishing to be killed in battle. Glory to Valhalla.

  • @richardparnell992
    @richardparnell992 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I think it would have been better to fight and take as many of the enemy with you as you can. Never surrender. It'll just get you killed.

  • @mk.4x785
    @mk.4x785 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    The guy playing Harald looks corny as hell lol.

  • @zimsonh4332
    @zimsonh4332 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Pretty sure Halfdan was the first memelord.

  • @64fairlane305
    @64fairlane305 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    Hardraade = strongheaded. Brits has never ever understood or known much about their northern neighbours. They have their own silly version of history. The illustrations here is wery naive, wery few are capable of recreating the vikings skill level. But if you want to get a glimse, take a closer look at Gannicus in "Spartacus" (2010). Notice how this skilled fighter prefer to move light carrying one sword in each hand, fighting bare wearing no armour or "serk". This fearless fighting-style was later known as "going berserk". Even the "story" about the battle at stamford bridge in 1066 is not correct. the norwegians met an army of normanners first and won the battle. Then when they were on their way back to they`re ships, tired and unprepeared the english king saw his chanse and attacked them when they were tired and not wearing their armour.

    • @peterlandbo2726
      @peterlandbo2726 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hårderåde "ruthless ruler" or "tough ruler". Take it from a Dane

    • @64fairlane305
      @64fairlane305 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@peterlandbo2726 wrong, from a norwegian

    • @adventussaxonum448
      @adventussaxonum448 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      300 ships invaded and 24 went home...😅
      I bet they weren't as tired as the English were at Hastings, having marched the length of England in a couple of weeks, after Stamford Bridge.

  • @NorwayT
    @NorwayT 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It took a 🇳🇴 Norwegian 🇳🇴 King! This documentary gets five stars for getting ALMOST everything right. But it's a load of nonsense that, at least Norwegian and Danish Vikings didn't know how to fight disciplined! They had to have an extreme degree of discipline, because they almost always fought vastly outnumbered abroad. You don't win such battles by running around like headless, leaderless chickens. You needed Brawns AND Brains!
    Take it from a descendant of Harald Fairhair!

    • @VulcanM61
      @VulcanM61 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

      De prøver å si vi var blodtørstige idioter som springer rundt som hodeløse kyllinger. De vet ingenting om vår historie. Hadde vi hadd samhold og ikke kriget med hverandre hadde vi tatt over Europa.

  • @destonlee2838
    @destonlee2838 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Special forces, no, skilled pirate goons, yes.

  • @Mma-basement-215
    @Mma-basement-215 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    Now were talking i can't wait to watch this one

  • @ava.artemis
    @ava.artemis 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Geez the over dramatization of documentaries is just silly. 😂😂 I can’t take it.

  • @Старийкінь
    @Старийкінь 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    There is no significant evidence of the origin of the Kievan princes from the Scandinavian dynasties. The name of the first historically known ancestor of Vladimir is Igor. Some claim that this name comes from the Scandinavian Ingvar but maybe also from the West Slavic Igar/Jegar, which translates as hunter. The name of the next prince Svyatoslav has no analogues among the Scandinavians at all. You will agree that there is no such precedent in the world for conquerors to call their royal descendants in the second generation by the names of the conquered peoples. And the name Vladimir itself is of Gothic origin. Among the Scandinavians, the name Vladimir would appear many centuries later. The myth of the Danish origin of the Kievan princes was created by the princes of Moscow in order to correct their genealogy and separate from the Tatar origin. And then in Europe, Moscow grants were used to create myths, distorting the history of Eastern Europe.

    • @Старийкінь
      @Старийкінь 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      PS: The second historical absurdity is that the number of soldiers sent by Vladimir to Constantinople was 6000 men. Think about it, SIX thousand without much damage to his own safety. For the Scandinavian peoples of the IX-X centuries, this is an unthinkable number. And this was at a time when the Vikings did not have enough strength to cope with England where were rich, but weak Christian states.
      Almost a century later, Norman's army, reinforced by the French and Britons in the number of 7,500 to 10,000, defeated 8,000 English troops of Harold II. This is, so, for a comparison of forces.
      By the way, Harold's II daughter, Gytha of Wessex, became the wife of Vladimir's great-grandson

    • @Старийкінь
      @Старийкінь 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Another myth about the path of the "Varangians to the Greeks" does not stand up to criticism. From the nearest river of the Baltic water basin to the Dnieper is about 40 kilometers.I would like to look at the fools driving sea drakars FORTY kilometers through swamps and forest thickets

    • @Старийкінь
      @Старийкінь 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I am not trying to prove that the Scandinavian warriors did not serve in the imperial guard. At different times, representatives of different peoples served there. But, has anyone wondered about the origin of the word varang? Var in one of the dialects of the ancient Slavic meant a blade, and varang meant a swordsman

  • @urseliusurgel4365
    @urseliusurgel4365 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Known in Byzantium as, 'The Emperor's wine bags'.

  • @orionxtc1119
    @orionxtc1119 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    "Dark Age" is a misnomer...

  • @danichicago9140
    @danichicago9140 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Their cousins the Normans ran them out.

  • @Michael_the_Drunkard
    @Michael_the_Drunkard 2 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    3:06 There was no Ukraine in the 11th century.

  • @Staerkebombe
    @Staerkebombe 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    *he was not Vladimir, and his father not Sviatoslav, but his father was Sveinald Ingvarsson, and his mother was Helga and not Olga, read the Viking Sagas, and you will see your Russian rulers over there, with their original, non slavic, germanic names, thank you ver, much!* ❤

  • @jasonlauritsen5587
    @jasonlauritsen5587 2 วันที่ผ่านมา

    It didn't hurt that the norse were much larger people than the Mediterraneans, Arabs, Kurds, etc.

  • @karlheinzvonkroemann2217
    @karlheinzvonkroemann2217 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

    How can this man be so certain that the Vikings were Tatooed? There very little to no proof that they all had tatoos. It makes good TV that's all.

  • @jacquelinevanderkooij4301
    @jacquelinevanderkooij4301 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    😂 So who were the inventers of the shieldwall?
    English or Scandinavians?

    • @spacewater7
      @spacewater7 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Greeks? Romans? Hopelites?

    • @jacquelinevanderkooij4301
      @jacquelinevanderkooij4301 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@spacewater7
      Round shields?

    • @christopherwiles543
      @christopherwiles543 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Angle and Saxon origins are Scandinavian

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      ​@@christopherwiles543 the Angols, Saxons, Jutes, and Geats(Goths) were Germanic peoples. Scandinavians are also Germanic. They originated from Germania, not Scandinavia.

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      ​@@jacquelinevanderkooij4301it depends on the form of shield wall you're referring to. The Greco-Roman Phalanx was created by the Myceneans, was perfected by the Spartan hoplites, and subsequently spread to the rest of the Helenic world, where it was adopted by the Romans.
      The shield wall you're likely referring to was created by the Jutes and Geats, and perfected by the Norse and Danes. It spread to the British Isles by way of Norse invasion, and was adopted by English armies to combat the invading Norse vikingr. The Norse eventually assimilated into English society, becoming knights and soldiers, meaning their tactics and strategies were folded into the English way of doing battle. It was very much the same everywhere that the Norse landed.

  • @antonkwanton5620
    @antonkwanton5620 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    dark age byzantium - macedonian reneissance 😐

    • @Marcelocostache
      @Marcelocostache 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Best Roman recovery in over 500 years The Macedonian Dinasty manage to double the size of the Eastern Roman Empire, at that time the Empire was at its peak an army of over 125000 strong powerful economy and stretching from Italy to Syria!.

  • @ravenhill_the_crusader_1968
    @ravenhill_the_crusader_1968 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +7

    hmm, not keen on the idea of incorporating modern terms like 'black ops' into medieval history videos.

    • @RickR69
      @RickR69 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Nobody asked. Make your own documentary then.

    • @bine35
      @bine35 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

      its an old show that did same with samurai etc describing the similarities, u've always had mass troops and then individual highly specialized roles

    • @thornil2231
      @thornil2231 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Putting a thumb down is not enough, remember to click "don't recommend channel"

    • @SkunkApe407
      @SkunkApe407 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Where do you think the concept of black ops units comes from?😂 Modern militaries didn't just magically get inspired to create small groups of highly-skilled, highly trained, covert operatives. Ancient armies had recon scouts, demolitions specialists called sappers, assassins, spies, espionage experts, and even small units.of shovk troops that were the ancient version of SEAL teams. Using modern common parlance to convey a thought or concept isn't new, nor is it inappropriate. It is, however, pretentious as hell, to think you have the authority to judge everyday common vernacular. Hop on out of the saddle, and give the high horse a break.

    • @thornil2231
      @thornil2231 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@RickR69 How can you tell you are about to watch a stupid useless video about some elite military unit? They use the term "special forces" in the first 2 minutes. Because as we all know "special forces" operate in the palace and charge in the hundreds, riding horses.

  • @roryhayes9756
    @roryhayes9756 7 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Vlad was Kievan Rus not Ukrainian

    • @CA-jz9bm
      @CA-jz9bm 6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Not even Kievan
      It was called just Rus

  • @timtim1650
    @timtim1650 3 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Vaeringi old norse means to pledge , or to take an oath , , this is where the word varangian comes from,...

  • @Otoyeptho
    @Otoyeptho 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Not TRUE I have experiment myself the last part..

  • @magnusjonsson7714
    @magnusjonsson7714 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    We will protect the Emperor of the south :D.

  • @misaghkhosravi4541
    @misaghkhosravi4541 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

    NICKWELL :)

  • @justinplaysguitar
    @justinplaysguitar 8 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Without any antibiotics how did they survive any wound

    • @seansimmons73
      @seansimmons73 8 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      They typically burned the wound with a red hot piece of iron. Stop the bleeding & disinfect the wound

  • @userer4579
    @userer4579 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +5

    Very, ... _Discovery Channel,_ by which I mean complete shite.

    • @thornil2231
      @thornil2231 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Putting a thumb down is not enough, remember to click "don't recommend channel"

  • @loganus9114
    @loganus9114 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +3

    Meager evidence for their existence. They were kept as oddities and a Greek Woman defeated one of them in hand to hand combat.

    • @howwwwwyyyyy
      @howwwwwyyyyy 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Where did you read about that? genuinely interested

    • @loganus9114
      @loganus9114 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

      @@howwwwwyyyyy I read about the fact that they were never used in actual warfare. the same as Arabs kept Sub Saharan guards.
      Also, one of the Varangians tried to rape a Greek Woman and the Hellen woman handed his Varangian Buttocks back to him.
      do a basic Google search and informed yourself.

  • @Brett.on.a.buffalo
    @Brett.on.a.buffalo 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    So.....am I the one confused about the definition of prototypical?

  • @michaelhendricks9462
    @michaelhendricks9462 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Less than 7 minutes in, and you're already historically fictional.
    Not wasting my time.

  • @gullybull5568
    @gullybull5568 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    6:00 i farted.

  • @Staerkebombe
    @Staerkebombe 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    *SS Varangia of the Dark ages, if we can say so, the notorious war raged berserkers...lol*

  • @na7973
    @na7973 4 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I'm warrior and soldier boy 😎 I'm strong 😂 we will stan and battle fight and death and honour