Eilif Thorgilsson and the Mercenary Wends in the Byzantine Army in the Second Half of the 1020s

2024

Античная древность и средние века, Vol 52, Iss 0 (2024)

This article attempts to define the ethnic background of the mercenary troop of certain “Vandals,” who, according to the Annales Barenses, were a part of the Byzantine army under the command of Orestes who acted in Southern Italy in the second half of the 1020s. The chronology of sources suggests the identification of these “Vandals” as Wends, or Polabian Slavs. The author assumes that this troop probably originated from the Obodritic tribal union, which established close military and political ties with Denmark. Wends were active in piracy and robbery on the Baltic Sea, they participated in the military campaigns of the Danish kings. It is therefore likely that an Obodritic troop joined a group of Danish adventurers, who travelled to the Byzantine Empire to became mercenaries. According to the article’s author, their leader was Danish warlord Eilif Thorgilsson, one of the leaders of the Jomsvikings. In August 1009, Eilif invaded Southern England, in 1013–1014, he led one of the Danish mercenary troops (þingamannalið) in London. In 1017–1020, he was titled ealdorman, and in 1021, he plundered south-western Wales. Ca 1025, Eilif and his brother, Jarl Ulf Thorgilsson, together with the Swedes and Norwegians, opposed Konung Cnut and defeated him in the battle of the “Holy River.” When the Thorgilsson brothers reconciled with Konung Cnut, Eilif probably gone to Wendland and then to Byzantium. The author has suggested to date Jarl Eilif Thorgilsson’s journey to Byzantium to 1025–1028.

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Ural Federal University, 2024.

византия, византийская армия, вандалы, венды, полабские славяне, викинги, эйлив торгильссон, наемничество, Ancient history, D51-90, Medieval history, D111-203