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Discussion of the runes in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul from Nytt om runer 14 (1999), 26-27

Photograph of a Viking inscription in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul. The Norse personal name -alftan (Halvdan) can be read here, but the rest of the runes are illegible. It is likely that they originally spelled out the Norse equivalent of 'Halvdan woz…

One section of the Skylitzes manuscript illustrates how the Varangian Guard, an elite mercenary unit mainly consisting of Scandinavians in Byzantine service, dealt with the death of one of their number. The deceased had attempted to rape a woman, so…