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The Coffee Shop

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Barbaria1 said:
Yep ... Vikings trading, looting, slaving, pillaging and raping on the rivers of Russia
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Comes from Old Norse Væringjar (sworn companion). And most famously forming an elite mercenary bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperors. Renowned for their bravery and ferocious fighting, the saved Constantinople from one Ottoman siege and won several battles for Empire. OK @Barbaria1 , who was the most famous individual Varangian of them all. Known from Constantinople to Albion?
 
Barbaria1 said:
Harald Hardrada
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Smart Lady! After being defeated in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson, he spent 16 years in Exile in Russia and Byzantium as a mercenary. In 1047 became sole King of Norway, until 1066 when he was killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge by Harold Godwinson who shortly after was defeated and Killed by William the Conqueror. Just as the death of Harold ended the Anglo-Saxon Rulers in England, Harald's death is marked as the end of the Viking age.
 
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Praefectus Praetorio said:
Smart Lady! After being defeated in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson, he spent 16 years in Exile in Russia and Byzantium as a mercenary. In 1047 became sole King of Norway, until 1066 when he was killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge by Harold Godwinson who shortly after was defeated and Killed by William the Conqueror. Just as the death of Harold ended the Anglo-Saxon Rulers in England, Harald's death is marked as the end of the Viking age.
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See now, this is why I keep coming back here. Educational, innit!
 
Praefectus Praetorio said:
Another of his works (unfortunately less erotic) is the Burial of a Varangian Chieftain, 1883
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I wonder how many here know who the Varangians were? @Barbaria1 , you should.
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It's evidently based on Ibn Fadlan's famous account of the funeral of a Rus Viking chieftain on the Volga,
but hasn't got quite the gutsy sexuality of Delacroix's Death of Sardanapalus - here's Ibn Fadlan:

The dead chieftain was put in a temporary grave which was covered for ten days until they had sewn new clothes for him. One of his thrall women volunteered to join him in the afterlife and she was guarded day and night, being given a great amount of intoxicating drinks while she sang happily. When the time had arrived for cremation, they pulled his longship ashore and put it on a platform of wood, and they made a bed for the dead chieftain on the ship. Thereafter, an old woman referred to as the “Angel of Death” put cushions on the bed. She was responsible for the ritual. Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument. The chieftain was put into his bed with all his weapons and grave offerings around him. Then they had two horses run themselves sweaty, cut them to pieces, and threw the meat into the ship. Finally, they sacrificed a hen and a cock.

Meanwhile, the thrall girl went from one tent to the other and had sexual intercourse with the men. Every man told her “tell your master that I did this because of my love to him”. While in the afternoon, they moved the thrall girl to something that looked like a door frame, where she was lifted on the palms of the men three times. Every time, the girl told of what she saw. The first time, she saw her father and mother, the second time, she saw all her relatives, and the third time she saw her master in the afterworld. There, it was green and beautiful and together with him, she saw men and young boys. She saw that her master beckoned for her. By using intoxicating drinks, they thought to put the thrall girl in an ecstatic trance that made her psychic and through the symbolic action with the door frame, she would then see into the realm of the dead. [The same ritual also appears in the Icelandic short story Völsa þáttr where two pagan Norwegian men lift the lady of the household over a door frame to help her look into the otherworld.]

Thereafter, the thrall girl was taken away to the ship. She removed her bracelets and gave them to the old woman. Thereafter she removed her finger rings and gave them to the old woman’s daughters, who had guarded her. Then they took her aboard the ship, but they did not allow her to enter the tent where the dead chieftain lay. The girl received several vessels of intoxicating drinks and she sang and bade her friends farewell.

Then the girl was pulled into the tent and the men started to beat on the shields so her screams could not be heard. Six men entered into the tent to have intercourse with the girl, after which they put her onto her master’s bed. Two men grabbed her hands and two men her wrists. The angel of death put a rope around her neck and while two men pulled the rope, the old woman stabbed the girl between her ribs with a knife. Thereafter, the relatives of the dead chieftain arrived with a burning torch and set the ship aflame. It is said that the fire facilitates the voyage to the realm of the dead, but unfortunately, the account does not tell to which realm the deceased was to go.

Afterwards, a round barrow was built over the ashes and in the center of the mound they erected a staff of birch wood, where they carved the names of the dead chieftain and his king. Then they departed in their ships.
 
Eulalia said:
It's evidently based on Ibn Fadlan's famous account of the funeral of a Rus Viking chieftain on the Volga,
but hasn't got quite the gutsy sexuality of Delacroix's Death of Sardanapalus - here's Ibn Fadlan:

The dead chieftain was put in a temporary grave which was covered for ten days until they had sewn new clothes for him. One of his thrall women volunteered to join him in the afterlife and she was guarded day and night, being given a great amount of intoxicating drinks while she sang happily. When the time had arrived for cremation, they pulled his longship ashore and put it on a platform of wood, and they made a bed for the dead chieftain on the ship. Thereafter, an old woman referred to as the “Angel of Death” put cushions on the bed. She was responsible for the ritual. Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument. The chieftain was put into his bed with all his weapons and grave offerings around him. Then they had two horses run themselves sweaty, cut them to pieces, and threw the meat into the ship. Finally, they sacrificed a hen and a cock.

Meanwhile, the thrall girl went from one tent to the other and had sexual intercourse with the men. Every man told her “tell your master that I did this because of my love to him”. While in the afternoon, they moved the thrall girl to something that looked like a door frame, where she was lifted on the palms of the men three times. Every time, the girl told of what she saw. The first time, she saw her father and mother, the second time, she saw all her relatives, and the third time she saw her master in the afterworld. There, it was green and beautiful and together with him, she saw men and young boys. She saw that her master beckoned for her. By using intoxicating drinks, they thought to put the thrall girl in an ecstatic trance that made her psychic and through the symbolic action with the door frame, she would then see into the realm of the dead. [The same ritual also appears in the Icelandic short story Völsa þáttr where two pagan Norwegian men lift the lady of the household over a door frame to help her look into the otherworld.]

Thereafter, the thrall girl was taken away to the ship. She removed her bracelets and gave them to the old woman. Thereafter she removed her finger rings and gave them to the old woman’s daughters, who had guarded her. Then they took her aboard the ship, but they did not allow her to enter the tent where the dead chieftain lay. The girl received several vessels of intoxicating drinks and she sang and bade her friends farewell.

Then the girl was pulled into the tent and the men started to beat on the shields so her screams could not be heard. Six men entered into the tent to have intercourse with the girl, after which they put her onto her master’s bed. Two men grabbed her hands and two men her wrists. The angel of death put a rope around her neck and while two men pulled the rope, the old woman stabbed the girl between her ribs with a knife. Thereafter, the relatives of the dead chieftain arrived with a burning torch and set the ship aflame. It is said that the fire facilitates the voyage to the realm of the dead, but unfortunately, the account does not tell to which realm the deceased was to go.

Afterwards, a round barrow was built over the ashes and in the center of the mound they erected a staff of birch wood, where they carved the names of the dead chieftain and his king. Then they departed in their ships.
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I'm not totally sure whether this is an accurate account, or a wishful, erotic fantasy of a certain CF thrall girl. Either way it sounds wonderful.
 
Ibn Fadlan's 'Risala' is an account of his journey in around 920
as a merchant, and emissary of the Caliph, to the ruler of the Rūsiyyah,
Swedish Viking settlers on the Volga - his account is regarded as probably factual.
the ritual he describes has some elements paralleled in Norse writings and archaeology -
the ship-burial, the girl's shaman-like visionary utterances -
though other features are more characteristic of the Turkic tribes of Central Asia -
the Rus were probably already an ethnic mixture, typically Scandinavian men
with Turkic women (like the Gall-Ghaidhil of Galloway, Norse men, Gaelic women)
 
Barbaria1 said:
Has some of the qualities of an old Norse Saga :rolleyes:
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Eulalia said:
bn Fadlan's 'Risala' is an account of his journey in around 920
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Sigh! I am surrounded by feminine literalists! I would think by now, they would understand my frequent tongue-in-cheek outbursts. I have no knowledge or reason to doubt the authenticity of the story. I said I'm not totally sure. I'm nothing sure!

But reading that account so helpfully supplied by the great Eulalia, I heard of a thrall girl who sounded remarkably like someone our Scottish Lassie would admire and wish (at least in fantasy) to emulate. I should have been more clear.

:calimero1:
 
Eulalia said:
It's evidently based on Ibn Fadlan's famous account of the funeral of a Rus Viking chieftain on the Volga,
but hasn't got quite the gutsy sexuality of Delacroix's Death of Sardanapalus - here's Ibn Fadlan:

The dead chieftain was put in a temporary grave which was covered for ten days until they had sewn new clothes for him. One of his thrall women volunteered to join him in the afterlife and she was guarded day and night, being given a great amount of intoxicating drinks while she sang happily. When the time had arrived for cremation, they pulled his longship ashore and put it on a platform of wood, and they made a bed for the dead chieftain on the ship. Thereafter, an old woman referred to as the “Angel of Death” put cushions on the bed. She was responsible for the ritual. Then they disinterred the chieftain and gave him new clothes. In his grave, he received intoxicating drinks, fruits and a stringed instrument. The chieftain was put into his bed with all his weapons and grave offerings around him. Then they had two horses run themselves sweaty, cut them to pieces, and threw the meat into the ship. Finally, they sacrificed a hen and a cock.

Meanwhile, the thrall girl went from one tent to the other and had sexual intercourse with the men. Every man told her “tell your master that I did this because of my love to him”. While in the afternoon, they moved the thrall girl to something that looked like a door frame, where she was lifted on the palms of the men three times. Every time, the girl told of what she saw. The first time, she saw her father and mother, the second time, she saw all her relatives, and the third time she saw her master in the afterworld. There, it was green and beautiful and together with him, she saw men and young boys. She saw that her master beckoned for her. By using intoxicating drinks, they thought to put the thrall girl in an ecstatic trance that made her psychic and through the symbolic action with the door frame, she would then see into the realm of the dead. [The same ritual also appears in the Icelandic short story Völsa þáttr where two pagan Norwegian men lift the lady of the household over a door frame to help her look into the otherworld.]

Thereafter, the thrall girl was taken away to the ship. She removed her bracelets and gave them to the old woman. Thereafter she removed her finger rings and gave them to the old woman’s daughters, who had guarded her. Then they took her aboard the ship, but they did not allow her to enter the tent where the dead chieftain lay. The girl received several vessels of intoxicating drinks and she sang and bade her friends farewell.

Then the girl was pulled into the tent and the men started to beat on the shields so her screams could not be heard. Six men entered into the tent to have intercourse with the girl, after which they put her onto her master’s bed. Two men grabbed her hands and two men her wrists. The angel of death put a rope around her neck and while two men pulled the rope, the old woman stabbed the girl between her ribs with a knife. Thereafter, the relatives of the dead chieftain arrived with a burning torch and set the ship aflame. It is said that the fire facilitates the voyage to the realm of the dead, but unfortunately, the account does not tell to which realm the deceased was to go.

Afterwards, a round barrow was built over the ashes and in the center of the mound they erected a staff of birch wood, where they carved the names of the dead chieftain and his king. Then they departed in their ships.
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This is really interesting. Many years ago, I read a somewhat garbled account of the same source material (I presume) which* repositioned the 'lifting on a door frame' to simple hanging (it is a scenario which has remained with me ever since.....). The mystical side was left out altogether. I suppose that reflects the tastes of the author I was reading. I now wish I could compare all of these, but the days when I could carry out this sort of research are over, sadly.

*From memory - I have never been able to find the book, which I saw in Manchester Central library

Delacroix's Death of Sardanapalus is a picture which has long lived happily in my imagination.....
 

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