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…
U104 is one of the so-called 'Greklandsstenarna' which refer to Norse activities in the Byzantine Empire. This rune stone was donated to the Ashmolean Museum by Charles XI of Sweden in 1687 (along with the Ändersta Rune Stone (U 1160). It was…
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…