This one hour video talk provides an overview of the connections between the Byzantine Empire and early medieval Scandinavia. It discusses the linkages by trade and cultural exchange, which eventually led to the emergence and later Christianization of the states of the Rus in Eastern Europe as well as the creation of the Varangian guard at the Byzantine courts in the 10th century. The fate of the Varangian guard is documented up to the mid-14th century.



Johannes Preiser-Kapeller is a researcher at the Institute for Medieval Research/Division for Byzantine Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. For further information on his research and teaching: https://oeaw.academia.edu/JohannesPreiserKapeller