Item #2: The Funeral of Emperor Leo V. Illustrated 1100.

This illustration from a twelfth-century manuscript depicts the funeral of the Byzantine Emperor Leo V in 820 CE. In the picture, the Emperor is depicted as surrounded by men who are members of the Varangian guard, Norse warriors who guarded the Byzantine Emperor. Interestingly, the Emperor depicted here had died before the Varangian Guard was established.¹ This is probably because the illustration dates from around three hundred years after the actual event, circa 1100 CE. Medieval art was often anachronistic. In depicting events of the past, manuscripts artists would take inspiration from the objects and people around them.²

The main importance of this item is it provides confirmation of the fact that Vikings often served in the guard of Byzantine emperors. This fact was well-established by the Norse peoples, who often noted their service to the Byzantines in runic inscriptions. Several commemorative runestones honor those who died in “Greece,” which referred to the Byzantine Empire.³ One runestone is even dedicated to a man that was the captain of the guard in Constantinople.⁴ Another Norse warrior carved a runic message onto a lion in the city of Piraeus in Greece.⁵ These carvings alone would have been important as proof that the Norse had visited the Byzantine Empire. Still, this is important evidence for the importance of the Varangian Guard in the eyes of the Byzantines themselves. As mentioned, it was a common tradition during the Byzantine period to use fixtures of their own society to represent the past. The fact that the Varangian Guard is depicted here near the dead Emperor indicates their position at least at the time of the illustration.

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