Bluegrass : Where Creativity Meets Performance
Who were the Jomsvikings ?
The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would fight for any lord who could pay their substantial fees, even if they may be Christian.
The institution of the Jomsvikings would itself foreshadow those of the later religious and chivalric orders of knights of the Middle Ages. They were very selective in deciding whom to admit to their order within the walls of their fortress of Jomsborg.
The Varangians, from Old Norse vaering - ‘one who has taken an oath of allegiance’ or var- ‘oath, sworn fidelity’, were Nordic warrior-traders who established themselves in Rus’ after first appearing there in the early 9th century arriving principally from Rusland in Sweden. Known as Normans or Vikings in other parts of Europe, those adventurers were called Varangians in Eastern Europe and the Byzantine Empire. In the 9th to 11th centuries Varangians served as key mercenary troops for princes and kings and hired themselves out to Byzantine emperors as the legendary Varangian Guard. They occupied key administrative positions in Kyivan Rus and engaged in trade in the towns. The Varangians are associated particularly with the use of the Varangian Route, which provided an eastern access for traders from Scandinavia through Kyivan Rus’ to the Byzantine Empire, and further East to the Abbasid Caliphate and to Imperial China.
The Varangians assumed a leading role in the running of the Rus’ state; the Rurik Dynasty, in fact, is descended from a Varangian. Cities that were founded by the Norsement include Kyiv (Kænugarðr), Rostov (Rostofa), Smolensk (Smaleskja) and Novgorod (Hólmgarðr) among many others in what is today Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
The Norse warriors, the Vikings, eventually became in-demand bodyguards of kings and nobility throughout Europe culminating with the elite Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Emperors and made their home in Constantinople.
With the fall of Constantinople in 1453 to the Ottomans, the torch was passed to the new elite corps of warriors, the Ottoman Janissaries. With the end of the Varangian Guard a chapter in history was closed. One that began with the Jomsvikings, continued with their descendants, the Anglo-Saxon Huscarls, and came to fruition in the Varangian Guard. For 500 years, these elite warriors of the North were the most feared infantry in Europe, if not in the entire world.
Join Our Order!
We are looking for talented and committed people to join the Order of the Jómsvíkings. If you have a passion for history, martial arts and performance and are perhaps a singer, musician, or artist want to be part of a supportive and collaborative community, we would love to hear from you.
We are in the planning stages so what talents you bring will help shape the Varangians!
Contact Jarl Kveldúlfur Northern-axe today today!
We will begin interviews/auditions soon.
We hope to have our performance prepared for a Spring 2024 debut for the Renaissance Festivals around the Tri-State.
Email: bluegrassvarangians@gmail.com
Phone: (859) 415-0194 at our fortress in Elsmir (Blue Lantern Martial Arts landline)
Historic Varangians
The Hagby Runestone had been crushed and used as a foundation in a farmstead in Sweden. It was recovered and reassembled in 1931, however the upper portion was lost and never found. It tells of Geirbjorn and his brothers who died in Garðaríki "Eastern realms".
