And now let's talk about Harald, who will soon become known throughout Europe under the nickname Hardrada (Severe), Adam of Bremen will call Harald "the storm of the North", and modern historians - "the last Viking". Arriving in Novgorod, he entered military service in the squad of Yaroslav the Wise.
Here I will probably take the opportunity to illustrate the methods of work of Snorri Sturlson.
Snorri Sturlson. Monument in Bergen
So, the legend says that Harald not only lived in Gardariki and Könugard, but "became a leader over the king's people who guarded the country together with Eiliv, the son of Jarl Röngwald" (who came to Russia with Ingigerd), " path "and fought against Poland and the Baltic tribes. Sturlson seeks confirmation and finds it in the hanging of Thjodolve - the Icelander, the skald of Magnus the Good, and then Harald Hardrada:
With Eileve for a long time
There was a prince at the same time, Strengthened the line
They are fighting, Taken in a vice
Wend's shelves.
I tasted lyakh
Dashing and fear.
This, of course, is a translation that does not give the slightest idea of the true construction of this verse. The structure of the visi is indestructible, it is impossible to replace a line, a word, or a letter in it - otherwise the poem will cease to be a poem. It is for this reason that the laws in Iceland were written down by visas: if it is said that the value of a cow should be taken as a vira, then this word cannot be replaced by a sheep or a horse, in no case. On the other hand, lying in verses (even false praise) is an encroachment on the well-being of the person they talk about, this is a criminal offense for which, at the very least, is expelled from the country. So, the vis confirms the tradition - it means that it is true. In turn, the Russian chronicles say:
"In the year 6538, Yaroslav went to Chud, defeated them, and established the city of Yuryev."
"In the year 6539, Yaroslav and Mstislav gathered a lot of soldiers and occupied again the cities of Chervensky, and fought the Polish land, and brought many Poles and divided them among themselves. Yaroslav put his own people on the Ros, and they are there to this day."
Everything is correct.
In Kiev, Harald fell in love with Yaroslav's daughter Elizabeth, but at that time he was unimportant as a groom, and, rejected, at the head of a Varangian detachment, went to serve in Constantinople. He did not lose ties with Kiev; he periodically sent part of his salary and valuables obtained in battle to Yaroslav for storage. Harald dedicated a cycle of poems to his beloved "Vishes of Joy".
Elizabeth, daughter of Yaroslav, wife of Harald
Karamzin counted 16 such poems. Many of them have been translated into French by modern romantics. Here is an excerpt from an original poem by Harald the Harsh:
The horse galloped oak
Kiel the circle of Sicily, Redhead and ravenous
The sea lynx prowled.
The edge would come from the local
Not to the heart of a coward
Only maiden in Garda
Doesn't want to know me.
(The excerpt contains two kenings: an oak horse - a ship, and a sea lynx - an oar). In the 19th century, this poem was translated into French, and already from French it was translated into Russian by I. Bogdanovich:
"Song of the brave Swedish knight Harald" (the fact is that Norway in the 19th century was part of the Kingdom of Sweden):
1.
On the blue across the seas on glorious ships
I traveled around Sicily in small days, Fearlessly, wherever I wanted, I went;
I beat and won, who met against me.
Am I not a good fellow, am I not daring?
And the Russian girl tells me to brisk home.
3.
In a miserable voyage, in the miserable hour, When there were sixteen of us on the ship, When thunder broke us, the sea was pouring into the ship, We poured out the sea, forgetting both sadness and grief.
Am I not a good fellow, am I not daring?
And the Russian girl tells me to brisk home.
4.
I am skillful in everything, I can warm with the rowers, On skis I have earned myself an excellent honor;
I can ride a horse and rule, I throw the spear at the target, I am not shy in battles.
Am I not a good fellow, am I not daring?
And the Russian girl tells me to brisk home.
6.
I know the craft of war on earth;
But, loving the water and loving the oar, For glory I fly on wet roads;
The Norwegian brave men themselves are afraid of me.
Am I not a good fellow, am I not daring?
And the Russian girl tells me to brisk home.
And here is how A. K. Tolstoy in the ballad "Song of Harald and Yaroslavna":
I have ravaged the city of Messina, Plundered the seaside of Constantinople, I loaded the rooks with pearls along the edges, And you don't even need to measure fabrics!
To ancient Athens, like a raven, rumor
She rushed before my boats, On the marble paw of a Piraeus lion
I cut my name with the sword!
Like a whirlwind I swept the edges of the seas, Nowhere is my glory equal!
Do I agree now to be called mine, Are you my star, Yaroslavna?
Harald Hardrada. Stained glass window at Kirkwal Cathedral, Orkney Islands
Information about Harald's stay in the Empire can be found not only in the sagas (which claim that during these years our hero participated in 18 successful battles on the territory of Sicily, Bulgaria and Asia Minor), but also in Byzantine sources. Here is what it says, for example, in the "Instructions to the Emperor" (1070-1080):
"Aralt was the son of the king of the Verings … Aralt, while he was young, decided to set off on a journey … taking 500 valiant warriors with him. The emperor received him as befits and ordered him and his soldiers to go to Sicily, for a war was being started there. Aralt fulfilled the command and When Sicily subdued, he returned with his detachment to the emperor, and he gave him the title of manglavites (wearing a belt). Then it happened that Delius rebelled in Bulgaria. Aralt went on a campaign … and fought very successfully … the emperor as a reward for his service, Aralt appropriated spathrokandates (leader of the army) After the death of Emperor Michael and his nephew, who inherited the throne, during the reign of Monomakh, Aralt asked permission to return to his homeland, but he was not given permission, but, on the contrary, they began to fix all sorts of obstacles. But he still left and became king in the country where his brother Yulav ruled before."
Harald's Wehring served under three emperors, and the Saga of Harald the Severe says they played an important role in the 1042 conspiracy that deposed and blinded Emperor Michael Calafat. Moreover, the saga claims that Harald personally gouged out the eyes of the deposed emperor. Snorri Sturlson is in apparent confusion: he understands that they may not believe him, but his method requires that these data be recognized as true - there are verses of the skalds confirming this event: "In these two drapes about Harald and many other songs it is said that Harald blinded the king of the Greeks himself.. Harald himself told so, and other people who were there with him "(he apologizes to the readers).
The most striking thing is that Sturlson did not seem to be mistaken in trusting the skalds. Michael Psell writes:
"The people of Theodora … sent daring and courageous people with orders to immediately burn out the eyes of both (the emperor and his uncle, who took refuge in the Studi monastery) as soon as they met them outside the temple."
Harald and his warriors fit the definition of "daring and courageous people."
However, in 1042, Harald was forced to flee from Byzantium. There are three versions explaining this development of events: according to the most romantic of them, Empress Zoe (who was 60 years old) fell in love with him and offered to share the throne with her. The Saga of Harald the Harsh states:
"As here in the North, the Verings who served in Miklagard told that Zoë, the king's wife, herself wanted to marry Harald, And this was the main and true reason for her quarrel with Harald when he wanted to leave Miklagard, although before the people she put forward another reason."
According to the chronicler William of Malmösbury (first half of the 12th century), Harald, for dishonoring a noble woman, was thrown to be eaten by a lion, but strangled him with his hands.
According to the third - the most prosaic, but perhaps the most plausible version, he was accused of appropriating the emperor's property during one of the campaigns.
And what was happening at that time on the territory of Russia? Relying on the north of Russia, which remained mainly pagan, and the hired Scandinavian squads, by 1036 Yaroslav became the sole ruler of a huge country and, finally, got the opportunity to implement his ambitious plans. But on the way of their implementation, Yaroslav inevitably had to face active resistance from his old comrades-in-arms. The number of secret and overt pagans in his circle was very large. These people did not understand how a free and independent person can publicly call himself a slave (even if it is of God). The military leaders of the pagan party, who destroyed Yaroslav's rivals, and then defeated the Pechenegs and practically drove them out of the Black Sea steppes, were very strong and influential. They remembered their merits, knew their worth and, to put it mildly, did not approve of the domestic and foreign policies of their prince. Once their interests coincided, and they were very much needed by each other: Yaroslav dreamed of seizing the Kiev throne, and Novgorodians passionately wanted to avenge Kiev for the baptism of their city with "fire and sword." Yaroslav was powerless without the help of the Novgorodians, and the Novgorodians needed a pretext for war and "their own" legitimate claimant. But now Yaroslav felt strong enough not to be led by his former allies. He could already afford decisive action in relation to the most stubborn and dull of them. The Novgorod mayor Kosnyatin, who in 1018, in order to prevent Yaroslav from fleeing "overseas", ordered to chop all boats and organized a new campaign to Kiev, was first exiled by him to Rostov, and then, on his order, was killed in Murom. But Yaroslav was too smart a man to follow the path of mass repression. While building a single all-Russian state for himself, the prince no longer wanted to play the role of a protege of the Novgorodians, but did not at all want to refuse their support. Circumstances demanded the removal of the Old Guard from Kiev, but removal under a very plausible and understandable pretext. And the right pretext was soon found.
So, in 1042, the Norwegian prince Harald returned from Byzantium to Kiev, who from the age of 15 lived at the court of Yaroslav and even wooed his daughter Elizabeth. Now his name was known throughout Europe, he was heading home, and absolutely everyone knew who exactly would become the king of Norway in a few months. Elizabeth was immediately given in marriage, and during the wedding feast Harald spoke of the terrible turmoil that gripped Byzantium, which he had abandoned. After the death of Emperor Michael IV, his nephew, inadvertently adopted by the Empress Zoya and declared Emperor Michael V, sent his foster mother to a monastery. However, this year the rebellious people freed Zoya, Michael was blinded and executed, the imperial palaces were plundered. But the most important and exciting news was the news of the death of almost the entire fleet of the empire, including its terrible fire-carrying ships.
Byzantine ship with Greek fire combat installation
It was difficult even to imagine a more favorable time for the attack on Constantinople, and in 1043 a large campaign of the united Russian-Varangian army was planned. The basis of the Russian squad was made up of Kiev pagans, Novgorodians and people from this city. Yaroslav rightly believed that he would remain the winner in any case: victory would bring him huge booty and great glory, and defeat would lead to a weakening of the pagan party and a decrease in its influence on state affairs. Yaroslav the Wise entrusted the general management of the campaign to his son, Vladimir Novgorodsky. Vyshata, the son of the Novgorod governor Ostromir and a close relative of the repressed by Yaroslav Kosnyatin, became the actual commander-in-chief of the Russian units. Together with them, the next Norman detachment went on a campaign - about six thousand Vikings. They were to be led by Ingvar, Ingigerd's cousin, who had already lived in Kiev for three years (after he had brought another hired Varangian squad there). The Saga of Ingvar the Traveler claims that he was the son of the famous Norman leader Eymund, who, according to Scandinavian sources, was in the service of Yaroslav the Wise and personally killed his brother Boris. But you should not trust this information - according to the testimony of Snorri Sturlson, Eymund was Norwegian. Another leader of the Norman squad was the Icelander Ketil, nicknamed the Russian (Garda Ketil) - the closest associate of Eimund and the last of the surviving participants in the murder of the most dangerous and powerful rival of Yaroslav. Everything seemed to be repeating itself and returning to square one, the "campaign of the epigones" was well thought out and well prepared.
And more than one treasure, perhaps
Passing the grandchildren, he will go to the great-grandchildren.
And again skald will lay down someone else's song
And how he will pronounce it.
But this song about the last campaign against Constantinople turned out to be sad and terrible.
The relationship between the leaders of the expedition somehow did not work out right away. Vyshata looked with hostility at Ingvar, treated kindly by Yaroslav, and Vladimir did not want to listen to either one or the other. At the mouth of the Danube, the Russians wanted to land and go to Constantinople through the territory of Bulgaria, so that they could retreat in case of failure. The Normans almost went to sea alone. With great difficulty, they managed to persuade Vladimir and Vyshat not to waste their forces in countless land battles, but immediately go to the capital of the Romans. Without losing a single boat, the allies safely reached Constantinople and unexpectedly saw the empire's fleet ready for battle, in the first line of which were formidable fire-carrying ships. Some of the ships came to the capital from the shores of Sicily and Asia Minor, others were hastily built by order of the new emperor Constantine Monomakh.
Emperor Constantine the Ninth and his wife at the throne of Christ
The alarmed emperor still preferred to enter into negotiations, and his ambassadors heard the unheard-of conditions of the leaders of the Normans and the Russians: they demanded 4.5 kg each. gold for the ship, of which there were no less than 400 - this expedition cost the allies too much to return home with small production.
"They came up with this, either believing that some gold-bearing sources are flowing in us, or because in any case they intended to fight and deliberately set unrealizable conditions," writes Mikhail Psell.
Further information sources diverge. Russian chronicles claim that there was no naval battle - the storm simply scattered the allied ships, most of which (including Vladimir's ship) were thrown ashore. The prince's son was taken on his ship by the Kiev voivode Ivan Tvorimovich. But the rest of the soldiers (about 6,000 people) were left on the shore. The chronicles paint a truly terrible picture of the betrayal of the army by their commanders:
"The rest of Vladimir's warriors were uprooted on the shore, the number 6,000 was on the edge of the river, and they wanted to go to Russia. And no one from the princes' squad would go with them."
(Sophia First Chronicle.)
Almost word for word repeats this testimony and "The Tale of Bygone Years."
Only the actual leader of this campaign, Vyshata, remained with them, who said: "If I die, then with them, if I am saved, then with the retinue."
Why do you think there is still no Vyshata Order of Officer's Honor in Russia?
According to Russian chronicles, only twelve ships returned to Kiev. Of the fourteen Byzantine triremes that rushed in pursuit of these ships, most were sunk in a sea battle. Vladimir and Ketil survived, while Ingvar fell ill and died on the way. He was only 25 years old, but in those distant years people grew up early and only a few of them died of old age. And Vyshata, having gathered around himself the soldiers who remained on the shore, led them to the north, and, it seemed, they managed, having scattered the Byzantine infantry, to get away from the terrible place. But the next day, surrounded by the Romans, pressed against the rocks and deprived of water, they were captured, and the triumphant victors gouged out their eyes many of them.
The Byzantine historian Michael Psellus claims that the Russians entered into a naval battle with the Byzantines and were defeated, and one should probably agree with him. Arriving home, Vladimir and the warriors of his last 12 ships, it was beneficial to explain the defeat by bad luck, bad weather conditions and the mystical impact of the "shroud of Christ with the relics of saints" immersed in sea water (Sofia First Chronicle).
According to Mikhail Psellus, after the breakdown of the ransom negotiations, the Russians "lined up their ships in one line, blocked the sea from one harbor to another, and there was no person between us who looked at what was happening without the strongest emotional disturbance. I myself, standing beside the autocrat, from afar watched the events."
What follows is something very familiar:
"A cloud that suddenly rose from the sea covered the royal city with darkness."
(I wonder if Bulgakov has read the "Chronography" of Mikhail Psellus?)
"Opponents lined up, but neither one nor the other did not start a battle, and both sides stood motionless in close formation."
This delay cost the Russian-Varangian fleet very dearly. Finally, at the signal of the emperor, the two largest Byzantine triremes moved forward:
"… spearmen and stone throwers raised a battle cry on their decks, fire throwers took their places and prepared to act … The barbarians surrounded each of the triremes from all sides, ours at that time pelted them with stones and spears."
Russians attack Byzantine dromon
“When the fire flew at the enemy, which burned his eyes, some barbarians rushed into the sea to swim to their own, while others were completely desperate and could not figure out how to escape. At that moment the second signal followed, and many triremes went into the sea … the barbarian system crumbled, some ships dared to stay in place, but most of them fled. Here … a strong east wind furrowed the sea with waves and drove the waves of water against the barbarians. And then they arranged a true bloodletting for the barbarians;
For relatively sparsely populated Sweden, the consequences of this defeat were disastrous. The coast of Lake Mälaren is dotted with runestones, erected in memory of the deceased relatives. The inscriptions on many of them commemorate Ingvar and his warriors. For example:
"Blacy and Dyarv erected this stone for Gunnleiv, their father. He was killed in the east with Ingvar."
"Geirvat and Onund and utamr set the stone for Burstein, their brother. He was in the east with Ingvar."
"Gunnar and Björn and Thorgrim erected this stone according to Thorstein, their brother. He died in the east with Ingvar."
"Tjalvi and Holmlaug ordered to install all these stones according to baka, his son. He owned a ship and led [it] in the east in the army of Ingvar."
"Torfrid installed this stone for Asgout and Gauti, her sons. Gauti died in Ingvar's army."
"Tola ordered to install this stone according to her son Harald, brother of Ingvar. They bravely went far for the gold and fed (themselves) to the eagles in the east."
"Spioti, Halfdan, they set this stone for Skardi, their brother. [He] left here east with Ingvar."
"Andvette and kiti, and Kar, and Blacy, and Dyarv, they erected this stone according to Gunnleiv, their father. He fell in the east with Ingvar."
Four memorial stones were installed in memory of the helmsmen of Ingvar's army - their ships died, and, therefore, the soldiers who were on them died.
Three years later, Yaroslav made peace with Byzantium, and the illegitimate daughter of the emperor came to Russia as a pledge of a new union of the two states. She became the mother of the most famous grandson of Yaroslav the Wise - Vladimir Monomakh. Vyshata returned home with her. He outlived Yaroslav and managed to take part in the wars of his sons and grandsons described in the Lay of Igor's Regiment. In 1064, Vyshata, together with the Kiev governor Leo, elevated to the Tmutorokan throne the son of his comrade-in-arms in the unfortunate campaign against Constantinople - Rostislav Vladimirovich. The son of Vyshata (Jan Vyshatich) was a Christian and became famous for the execution of the Magi who killed women accused of poor harvests, and his grandson Varlaam became the abbot of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
Varlaam Pechersky
Harald the Harsh survived Yaroslav for a long time. Until October 1047, he was co-ruler of his nephew Magnus, after his death he ruled Norway for another 19 years. On September 25, 1066, Harald died in England, trying to get himself another crown. On this day, the Anglo-Saxon army of King Harold II Godwinson defeated the Norwegians who had landed in Britain, led by Yaroslav's aged, but still belligerent, son-in-law in the battle at Stamford Bridge. Harald was struck by an arrow that pierced his throat.
Peter Nicholas Arbo. "Battle of Stamford Bridge"
The Norwegians lost about 10,000 people, the Anglo-Saxons pursued them on a 20 km journey, 24 of the 200 Norwegian ships returned to their homeland.
"The Norwegians had to wait for a new generation of warriors to grow up before they could undertake another campaign over the sea" (Gwynne Jones).
Crushing defeats first in Byzantium, and then in England, the death of a huge number of young men led to a demographic catastrophe in the sparsely populated countries of Scandinavia, they did not recover soon. The formidable Norman ships appeared less and less on foreign coasts. The Scandinavian countries for a long time receded into the shadows and seemed to fall asleep, not exerting much influence on the course of European history. The Viking Age can be drawn with a runic inscription on a gravestone in Sweden:
The good bond (landowner) Gulli had five sons.
Fell at Fari (island of Fyur - Denmark) Asmund, a fearless husband.
Assur died in the east in Greece.
Halfdan was killed on Holme (Novgorod).
Kari was killed at Dundi (Scotland) and Bui died.
