The Varangians - Epic Music

The Varangians were the Vikings (Scandinavian traders and raiders) who specifically operated in Eastern Europe, and would become a foundational turning point in the history of nations such as Russia and Ukraine in their early days. They would make their way to Constantinople where they would become the Varangian Guard, which was an an elite section of the Eastern Roman Emperor’s forces, serving as its bodyguards. They were originally Rus, then mostly Scandinavian Norsemen who effectively fought as mercenaries and later as the Emperor’s personal bodyguards—trusted both for their lack of local political ambitions due to their remote origins, and their strong sense of oath-based loyalty typical of Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. The Varangians would later also be comprised of other ethnicities like the Anglo-Saxons, but for a good part of its history, the institution was almost exclusively Norse.

The music utilises elements of both Scandinavian and Greek music; both Medieval and modern. The Scandinavian part uses a modern fiddle, a nyckelharpa which appeared in the 14th century, and a jaw-harp, which was utilised by the Viking-age Norse. The Greek part uses a lauto, byzantine lyra and an oud; the latter two did exist during the Byzantine era, at least from the 800’s onwards.

Lyrics in Old Norse and Greek:
Ek man jötna ár um borna,
þá er forðum mik fœdda höfðu;
níu man ek heima, níu íviði,
mjötvið mœran fyr mold neðan.

Χαίρε, αδελφέ,
Βορέα, Χειμόνα,
Έρχεται χειμώνας στην Ρωμανία,
Χαίρε, Βάραγγε!

English translation:
I remember yet the giants of yore,
Who gave me bread in the days gone by;
Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
With mighty roots beneath the mold.

Hail, Brother,
Ye Boreas, ye Winter,
Winter has come upon the land of Rome,
Hail, Varangian!

[faryafaraji]

The Varangians were the Vikings (Scandinavian traders and raiders) who specifically operated in Eastern Europe, and would become a foundational turning point in the history of nations such as Russia and Ukraine in their early days. They would make their way to Constantinople where they would become the Varangian Guard, which was an an elite section of the Eastern Roman Emperor’s forces, serving as its bodyguards. They were originally Rus, then mostly Scandinavian Norsemen who effectively fought as mercenaries and later as the Emperor’s personal bodyguards—trusted both for their lack of local political ambitions due to their remote origins, and their strong sense of oath-based loyalty typical of Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. The Varangians would later also be comprised of other ethnicities like the Anglo-Saxons, but for a good part of its history, the institution was almost exclusively Norse.

The music utilises elements of both Scandinavian and Greek music; both Medieval and modern. The Scandinavian part uses a modern fiddle, a nyckelharpa which appeared in the 14th century, and a jaw-harp, which was utilised by the Viking-age Norse. The Greek part uses a lauto, byzantine lyra and an oud; the latter two did exist during the Byzantine era, at least from the 800’s onwards.


Lyrics in Old Norse and Greek:
Ek man jötna ár um borna,
þá er forðum mik fœdda höfðu;
níu man ek heima, níu íviði,
mjötvið mœran fyr mold neðan.

Χαίρε, αδελφέ,
Βορέα, Χειμόνα,
Έρχεται χειμώνας στην Ρωμανία,
Χαίρε, Βάραγγε!

English translation:
I remember yet the giants of yore,
Who gave me bread in the days gone by;
Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree
With mighty roots beneath the mold.

Hail, Brother,
Ye Boreas, ye Winter,
Winter has come upon the land of Rome,
Hail, Varangian!

[justinian]

Fun fact: A Varangian vandalised the Hagia Sophia saying "Halfdan was here"

[aarengraves]

Fun Fact: The last name *Varangopoulos* exists today in Greece.
It literally translates to: Son of the Varangian (Varangian's Son)

[stoneheart]

Imagine being a young adventurous norseman, having just traversed the rivers and roads of eastern Europe, and beholding the splendor of Constantinople for the first time.

[ianellenson]

One of the kings of Scandinavia was himself a captain of the Varangian guard. His saga traveled from the sands of the Middle East to the shores of England, as he was the great warrior king of Norway. His name was Harold Sigurdson, but many remember him as Harold Hardrada, “Harold the hard ruler.”

[NDeGeorge]

I’m Greco Norwegian and this is just amazing. Well done as always

[Lopate]

I've never imagined a norse-byzantine/mediteran mix...
Excellent work as always! Another addition to my "Eastern Roman games playlist"

[Marcus]

I find the fact that literal vikings defended the Roman Empire, and also served as a backbone of their military for a time, to be fascinating.

[FoakHome]

As a Norwegian lover of Roman history, I'll always be proud that my people were in the ranks of the Emperor's best protectors. (:
Going to learn Greek and Latin, and then make the journey they did to Italy and Greece.
🇳🇴 ❤🇬🇷

[thulios]

Never did I expect to hear Greek and Norse in the same song, Truly remarkable!

[alessandrolivi]

A Masterpiece. Norse Warriors who meet the Greco-Roman and Christian Orthodox Civilization for the first time, and are shocked by the greatness of Constantinople (Miklagard)

[evil_historian]

Now I want 1. HBO series about Eastern Roman Empire 2. All Farya Byzantine tracks in them.

[yllejord]

As a Pontian Greek who adopted Sweden as her second homeland, this makes me extremely happy.

[ΧαρίλαοςΤρικούπης-σρ]

We haven't forgotten Thank you to all Norsemen and Anglo-Saxons whose ancestors defended the empire
🇬🇷❤️🇧🇻🇸🇪🇩🇰🇮🇸🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[sebastianfries]

0:35 how bro looks at me after I find the time traveler’s pogo stick (we’re supposed to be guarding the emperor)

[miastupid]

Kudos!

On a side note: to this day, there is a very upscale historic furniture store in Greece, by a family named Varangis.

[goshlike]

Another masterpiece. Mind-blowing use of instruments to mix mediterranean and nordic music.

[Boss]

Sweden, the country with the most runestones in the whole world, have many stones with inscriptions of men who died in the east, in ‘Miklagård’. The are also inscriptions telling of men who died as Vikings in Estonia and other Baltic nations.
One famous example is Ingvar the Far-Travelled, a Swedish Viking who led an expedition to the east during the 11th century. There were many ships and they came all the way to ’Särkland’, which was the Norse name for the lands around the Caspian Sea, so they came all the way to the Middle East. There are at least 26 runestones in Sweden telling of men who joined Ingvar on his expedition, and how they died.

[alexanderboukas]

I am half Greek and half Swedish, this felt very topical for me
Great job as always!

[kalleswediboyy]

Im swedish and i haved always loved history especially the roman empire and knowning my ancestors protected the emperor is almost like a dream for me!