Vikings in the East: Essays on Contacts along the Road to Byzantium (800-1100) 9155488153, 9789155488154

Table of contents :
Acknowledgements v
Introduction 1
Sources, methodology and terminology 2
1. Vikings in the East – A General Outline 11
Vikings in the south-eastern Baltic area: Grobiņa and Wiskiauten 11
Geographical distribution of Scandinavian artefacts in Eastern Europe 16
The River Volchov and Lake Ladoga region 16
Rjurikovo Gorodišče 20
Other Russian towns in north-western Russia 21
The Volga–Oka region 21
The region of the Desna River (Šestovycja and Černihiv) 25
The River Dnieper area (Gnëzdovo and Kiev) 29
Crimea 32
Modern reserach on Scandinavian activity in the East 33
Material culture and identity 38
2. Identifying Northmen in Southern Rus' 45
Rus' as a people and a territory in written sources 45
Rus' identity as manifested in material culture 51
Rus' as a state: some indications in the material culture 57
The origin of Rus' 58
State formation and material culture 60
3. The role of Dereva and Volhynia in contacts between Northmen and Slavs in the 9th–11th centuries 65
Written sources about Iskorosten' 67
The archaeology of Iskorosten' 69
Sources and resources of the land of the Derevlians 73
Territorial structure of the Derevlian principality 74
Owners and governors in the land of the Derevlians 79
4. Byzantium and the Viking World – Archaeological Evidence for Contacts (9th–10th c.) 91
Traces of the first contacts 93
Archaeological evidence for contacts in the 10th century 96
Reliquary crosses 96
Finger rings 97
Buckles 99
Pottery 100
Glass 104
Silk 107
Weapons 108
Lead seals 110
Coins 113
"The route from the Varangians to the Greeks" – archaeological and textual record 117
The dissemination of Byzantine culture into the Viking world – how and why? 125
5. Rituals of Power: Great Mounds and "Mound-Sitting" in Rus' and Scandinavia 131
6. Contacts between Sweden and Southern Rus' (11th–12th c.) 145
The "Scandinavian antiquity" of Ukraine: a general outline 154
Weapons 158
Silver hoards 161
7. Symbols of Faith or Symbols of Status? Christian Objects in Viking Rus' Contexts 169
8. Cemeteries and the Shaping of an Early Christian Urban Landscape in Scandinavia and Rus' 187
Christian cemeteries at Birka and Sigtuna 189
Northmen and the early Christian cemeteries in Kiev 193
Some Final Remarks:
Vikings in the East – Cultural Adaptation and Shaping Identities 213
Bibliography 229
Abbreviations 229
Sources 229
Secondary literature 232
List of Illustrations 265
Index 269

Citation preview

Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia 14

Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia

Editor Ingela Nilsson Editorial committee Geoffrey Greatrix (Ottawa) Michael Grünbart (Münster) Karin Hult (Göteborg) Paul Stephenson (Nijmegen) Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia is a peer reviewed series that publishes monographs, anthologies, editions and translations in the field of Byzantine Studies. The initiative for the series was taken by Lennart Rydén (1931–2002) and the first volume was published in 1986. Rydén’s keen interest in hagiography soon came to characterize the series, but it was his intention also to include other branches of Byzantine research. In accordance with this aspiration, an expansion of the scope of Studia Byzantina Upsaliensia has been undertaken in recent years. The series thus aims at including all aspects of Byzantine Studies, ranging from textual criticism and codicology to literary studies, art history, and material culture. Recent titles Britt Dahlman, Saint Daniel of Sketis. A group of hagiographic texts edited with introduction, translation, and commentary (2007) Eva Nyström, Containing Multitudes: Codex Upsaliensis Graecus 8 in Perspective (2009) Dōron rhodopoikilon: Studies in honour of Jan Olof Rosenqvist. Edited by Denis Searby, Ewa Balicka Witakowska and Johan Heldt (2012) Byzantine Gardens and Beyond. Edited by Helena Bodin and Ragnar Hedlund (2013)

VIKINGS IN THE EAST Essays on Contacts along the Road to Byzantium (800−1100) Fedir Androshchuk

ISSN: 0283-1244 ISBN: 978-91-554-8815-4 © Fedir Androshchuk 2013 Cover illustration: Istanbul-Constantinople, the wall along the Marmara Sea, tower with Emperor Theophilos’ inscription (reign c. 829–842): +ΠΥΡΓΟC ΘЄΟΦΙΛΟΥ ΠΙCΤΟΥ ЄΝ ΧW ΜЄΓΑΛΟΥ ΒΑCΙΛЄWC ΑΥΤΟΚΡΑΤΟΡΟC “Tower of Theophilus, faithful and great basileus autokrator” (photo by the author) Distributed by Uppsala University Library, Box 510, 751 20 Uppsala, Sweden, [email protected]

Contents Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sources, methodology and terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

v 1 2

1 Vikings in the East – A General Outline . . . . . . . . . . . Vikings in the south-eastern Baltic area: Grobiņa and Wiskiauten. . . Geographical distribution of Scandinavian artefacts in Eastern Europe . The River Volchov and Lake Ladoga region . . . . . . . . . . Rjurikovo Gorodišče . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other Russian towns in north-western Russia . . . . . . . . . The Volga–Oka region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The region of the Desna River (Šestovycja and Černihiv) . . . . . The River Dnieper area (Gnëzdovo and Kiev) . . . . . . . . . Crimea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modern reserach on Scandinavian activity in the East . . . . . . . Material culture and identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

11 11 16 16 20 21 21 25 29 32 33 38

2 Identifying Northmen in Southern Rus´ . . . . . . Rus´ as a people and a territory in written sources . . . . Rus´ identity as manifested in material culture . . . . . Rus´ as a state: some indications in the material culture . . The origin of Rus´ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State formation and material culture . . . . . . . .

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45 45 51 57 58 60

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3 The role of Dereva and Volhynia in contacts between Northmen and Slavs in the 9th –11th centuries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Written sources about Iskorosten´ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The archaeology of Iskorosten´ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sources and resources of the land of the Derevlians . . . . . . . . . Territorial structure of the Derevlian principality . . . . . . . . . . Owners and governors in the land of the Derevlians . . . . . . . . .

65 67 69 73 74 79

4 Byzantium and the Viking World – Archaeological Contacts (9th–10th c.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Traces of the first contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archaeological evidence for contacts in the 10th century. .

91 93 96

vii

Evidence for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .



Vikings in the East

Reliquary crosses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Finger rings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buckles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pottery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Weapons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lead seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Coins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “The route from the Varangians to the Greeks” – archaeological and textual record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The dissemination of Byzantine culture into the Viking world – how and why? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

96 97 99 100 104 107 108 110 113 117 125

5 Rituals of Power: Great Mounds and “Mound-Sitting” in Rus´ and Scandinavia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 6 Contacts between Sweden and Southern Rus´ (11th–12th c.) The “Scandinavian antiquity” of Ukraine: a general outline . . . . Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silver hoards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

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145 154 158 161

7 Symbols of Faith or Symbols of Status? Christian Objects in Viking Rus´ Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 8 Cemeteries and the Shaping of an Early Christian Urban Landscape in Scandinavia and Rus´ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 Christian cemeteries at Birka and Sigtuna . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Northmen and the early Christian cemeteries in Kiev . . . . . . . . 193 Some Final Remarks: Vikings in the East – Cultural Adaptation and Shaping Identities . .

213

Bibliography . . . . . Abbreviations . . . . Sources . . . . . . Secondary literature . .

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229 229 229 232

List of Illustrations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

265 269

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