Kylfings
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The Kylfings (
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
''Kylfingar''; Estonian ''Kalevid''; Hungarian ''Kölpények''; Old East Slavic Колбяги, ''Kolbiagi''; Byzantine Greek Κουλπίγγοι, ''Koulpingoi'';
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
''al-Kilabiyya'') were a people of uncertain origin active in Northern Europe during the
Viking Age The Viking Age () was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonizing, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. It followed the Migration Period and the Germ ...
, roughly from the late ninth century to the early twelfth century. They could be found in areas of Lapland,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
, and the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
that were frequented by
Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...
n traders, raiders and mercenaries. Scholars differ on whether the Kylfings were ethnically Finnic or Norse. Also disputed is their geographic origin, with
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
, Sweden and the Eastern
Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...
all put forward as candidates. Whether the name Kylfing denotes a particular tribal, socio-political, or economic grouping is also a matter of much debate. They are mentioned in
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition began in the 4th century and lasted into the 12th century, but most of the runestones d ...
inscriptions,
sagas is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super NES to th ...
(most notably in ''
Egil's Saga ''Egill's Saga'' or ''Egil's saga'' ( non, Egils saga ; ) is an Icelandic saga (family saga) on the lives of the clan of Egill Skallagrímsson (Anglicised as Egill Skallagrimsson), an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald. The saga spans the years ...
''), and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
(such as Thorbjorn Hornklofi's poem '' Haraldskvæði''), as well as
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
records and Rus' law-codes. According to the sagas, the Kylfings opposed the consolidation of
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
under
Harald Fairhair Harald Fairhair no, Harald hårfagre Modern Icelandic: ( – ) was a Norwegian king. According to traditions current in Norway and Iceland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, he reigned from  872 to 930 and was the first King of Nor ...
and participated in the pivotal late ninth century
Battle of Hafrsfjord The Battle of Hafrsfjord ( no, Slaget i Hafrsfjord) was a great naval battle fought in Hafrsfjord sometime between 872 and 900 that resulted in the unification of Norway, later known as the Kingdom of Norway. After the battle, the victorious Vikin ...
. After Harald's victory in that battle, they are described in the sagas as having raided in
Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...
and elsewhere in northern Norway and having fought against Harald's lieutenants such as
Thorolf Kveldulfsson Thorolf Kveldulfsson was the oldest son of Kveldulf Bjalfasson and brother of the Norwegian/Icelandic goði and skald Skalla-Grimr. His ancestor (great uncle) Hallbjorn was nicknamed "halftroll", possibly indicating Norwegian-Sami ancestry. H ...
.


Etymology

The exact etymology of the word ''kylfing'' is disputed and many different theories have been put forward as to its ultimate origin. The general trend has been to trace ''kylfing'' to the
Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlemen ...
words ''kylfa'' and ''kolfr'', but scholars disagree as to the meaning of these words as well. Cleasby notes that in Old Norse, ''kylfa'' can mean a club or cudgel. Thus the national Icelandic antiquarian Barði Guðmundsson translated ''Kylfing'' to mean "club-wielders".Guðmundsson ''passim''. As Foote points out, it can also mean a smaller stick, such as a tally-stick or wooden token used by merchants, and, according to Jesch, it can also mean the "highest and narrowest part" of a ship's stem. Holm discussed the term ''kylfa'' in connection with the word ''hjúkolfr'' which means "meeting" or "guild"; according to Holm, the second element ''kolfr'' could refer to a symbolic arrow traditionally used as a device to summon people for a meeting. These varied derivations have led to a number of interpretations. Holm offers two meanings: "archer" and "man armed with a
cudgel A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...
". A number of historians have asserted that ''Kylfing'' referred to a member of a "
club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
in the social or Anglo-American sense", a "brotherhood" or a member of a Norse félag.Holm 85Ravndal 75.Arbman 90. In a number of minor Icelandic manuscripts on mathematics and geography, ''Kylfingaland'' is identified as
Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or is the Old Norse term used in medieval times for the states of Kievan Rus. As the Varangians dealt mainly with Northern Kievan Rus' lands, their sagas regard the city of (, Veliky Novgorod) as the capi ...
, ''i.e.''
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
, but the sources are unclear as to whether Kylfingaland is named for the Kylfings or vice versa, or whether, indeed, there is any connection at all. The
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
cognate of ''Kylfing'' is ''Kolbjag'', following the pattern of development *''kolƀing'' (*''kulƀing'') > *''kolƀęg'' > ''kolbjag''. The ''Kolbiagi'' were a group of foreign merchant-venturers and mercenaries mentioned in a number of
Old Russian Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
sources. They are often mentioned together with the
Varangians The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...
, a term used in
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
to describe traders and pirates of the Baltic sea. In Byzantine Greek, they were named ''koulpingoi'' and they served as a unit of the Byzantine army listed alongside the
Varangian Guard The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangi ...
, which was of Scandinavian origin. A very different derivation was put forward by the Russian scholar B. Briems. He hypothesised that ''Kylfingr'' was a direct Norse translation of the
Votic Votic, or Votian (''vaďďa tšeeli'', ''maatšeeli'') vɑːdʔda ˈtʃɨlɨ, mɑːt.ʃɨlɨ is the language spoken by the Votes of Ingria, belonging to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Votic is spoken only in Krakolye and Luzhits ...
self-designation ''Vatjalaiset'' and ''Vatja'' (or ''Vadjalaiset'' and ''Vadja'') used by the Votes, a Finnic tribe residing in
Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with Esto ...
,
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. A non-Norse origin was also proposed by
Julius Brutzkus Julius Davidovich Brutzkus or Judah Loeb Brutzkus or Joselis Bruckus ( he, יהודה ליבּ בֶּן־דָּוִד ברוצקוס, ''Yehuda Loeb ben David Brutzkus''; russian: Юлий Давидович Бруцкус; 1870, Palanga, Courl ...
, who argued that both ''Varangian'' and ''Kylfing'' derived from the
Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia ( Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic l ...
, particularly the
Bulgar Bulgar may refer to: *Bulgars, extinct people of Central Asia *Bulgar language, the extinct language of the Bulgars * Oghur languages Bulgar may also refer to: *Bolghar, the capital city of Volga Bulgaria *Bulgur, a wheat product * Bulgar, an Ash ...
and
Khazar language Khazar, also known as Khazaric, was a Turkic dialect group spoken by the Khazars, a group of semi-nomadic Turkic peoples originating from Central Asia. There are few written records of the language and its features and characteristics are unknown ...
s. Brutzkus asserted that ''Varangian'' came from the Turkic root ''varmak'' ("to walk, travel") while ''Kylfing'' was a Norse pronunciation of the Slavic ''kolbiagi'', itself deriving from the Turkic phrase ''köl-beg'' ("sea-king"); under this interpretation the word ''Kylfing'' would be more or less synonymous with "
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
".


Identity

According to ''Egil's Saga'', the Kylfings were trading and plundering in
Finnmark Finnmark (; se, Finnmárku ; fkv, Finmarku; fi, Ruija ; russian: Финнмарк) was a county in the northern part of Norway, and it is scheduled to become a county again in 2024. On 1 January 2020, Finnmark was merged with the neighbouri ...
around the year 900. Thorolf Kveldulfsson, King Harald's tax agent in northern Norway, engaged Saami scouts to monitor the Kylfings' movements and report back to him. Countering their raids, he is reported to have killed over a hundred Kylfing marauders.''Egil's Saga'' § 10 (Scudder 20). Some scholars see them as Scandinavians while others consider them to have been a Finnic tribe, and assert a connection between the word Kylfing and the
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
, Saami, and Karelian myths of
Kaleva Kaleva or Kalevi may refer to: * CWT Kaleva Travel, a travel management company based in Finland * Kalevi (mythology) Kaleva – also known as Kalevi or Kalev – and his sons are important heroic figures in Estonian, Finnish and Karelian mytho ...
. Elsewhere they are described as a mixture of Norse and
Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...
people who were employed as mercenaries and tax-agents by Scandinavian rulers; in this context Ravndal interpreted the ''kylfa'' element to refer to a "club" in the sense of organization. Arbman argues that the Kolbiagi were a separate fur-trading guild. Postan ''et al.'', on the other hand, hypothesize that Kolbiag denoted a junior participant in a Varangian trade guild, rather than a separate group.


Finnic peoples

Holm (1992) considers Egil's saga to equate the Kylfings with the Finnic
Karelians Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Russi ...
.Holm 86. In the 14th century, when the Swedish kings began to direct their attention northwards and encourage Swedish colonization in
Norrbotten Norrbotten (), known in English as North Bothnia, is a Swedish province (''landskap'') in northernmost Sweden. It borders south to Västerbotten, west to Swedish Lapland, and east to Finland. Administration The traditional provinces of Swe ...
, there were regulations that the
Birkarls The Birkarls (''birkarlar'' in Swedish, unhistorical ''pirkkamiehet'' or ''pirkkalaiset'' in Finnish; ''bircharlaboa'', ''bergcharl'' etc. in historical sources) were a small, unofficially organized group that controlled taxation and commerce in ...
and the Saami peoples were not to be interrupted in their traditional activities.Holm 87. A large part of the Karelians were under Novgorod which was included in what Icelandic sources called ''Kylfingaland'', and thus the Kylfings could have been Baltic Finnish tribes under Novgorod.Holm 88. Both
East Slavs The East Slavs are the most populous subgroup of the Slavs. They speak the East Slavic languages, and formed the majority of the population of the medieval state Kievan Rus', which they claim as their cultural ancestor.John Channon & Robert H ...
and Byzantines consistently made a clear distinction between Varangians and Kylfings, and Byzantines distinguished between them in the same manner as they separated
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
from
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
s. According to Holm such separations are indicative of clear ethnic differences between the two groups. Additionally, both East Slavic and Byzantine sources explicitly associate the Varangians with Baltic region, which they called ''Varangia'', and in Arabic, the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
was called ''Bahr Varank'', ''i.e.'' the "Varangian Sea". There are no comparable connections when they mention the Kylfings. Another difference is the fact that the Byzantine sources connect the word ''varangoi'' with ''rhōs'' in order to make it clear that the ''rhōs-varangoi'' and the ''varangoi'' originate in Baltic just like the ''rhōs'', but do not establish the same associations for the ''koulpingoi''.Holm 89. The Kylfings have also been identified with the
Votic people Votians are the oldest known ethnic group in Ingria. They are probably descended from an Iron-age population of north-eastern Estonia and western Ingria. Some scholars claim they were a tribe of Estonians, who developed a separate identity during ...
.
Carl Christian Rafn Carl Christian Rafn (January 16, 1795 – October 20, 1864) was a Danish historian, translator and antiquarian. His scholarship to a large extent focused on translation of Old Norse literature and related Northern European ancient history. He w ...
, Edgar V. Saks, B. Briem and
Sigurður Nordal Sigurður Nordal (14 September 1886 – 21 September 1974) was an Icelandic scholar, writer, and ambassador. He was influential in forming the theory of the Icelandic sagas as works of literature composed by individual authors. Education Nor ...
have proposed Kylfings to have been the Norse name for the Votes. The reason is that the ethnonym ''Vadja(laiset)'' can be associated with the word ''vadja'' (modern Estonian ''vai) which means "stake", "wedge" or "staff", which corresponds to Old Norse ''kolfr''. ''Vadjalaiset'' would consequently be translated into Old East Norse as ''kolfingar'', which in Old West Norse (Old Icelandic) would be umlauted as ''kylfingar''. Whereas some native names were Scandinavized, as ''
Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...
'' into ''Ráðstofa'', the Norse learned of the meaning of other names and translated them, which they did at
Volkhov Volkhov (russian: Во́лхов) is an industrial town and the administrative center of Volkhovsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the river Volkhov east of St. Petersburg. Population: It was previously known as ''Zvan ...
, and in the case of some of the Dniepr rapids. The theory that the Kylfings were Votes has been opposed by Max Vasmer and Stender-Petersen,Holm 91. whereas Holm finds it likely. Holm considers it apparent that the Varangians and the Finnic tribes were able to cooperate well, and he points to the relative ease and stability with which Finland was later integrated as a part of the Swedish kingdom.Holm 95. Jorma Koivulehto, a Finnish linguist, disagrees with the Vote theory and maintains that the Votic name or any other Finnic ethnonym is not etymologically connected with the name Kylfingar. Estonians have also been identified as Kylfings.


Scandinavians

Barði Guðmundsson identified the Kylfings as an East Scandinavian, possibly
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, tribe that infiltrated northern
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
during the late ninth century. Guðmundsson connects the Kylfings with the Germanic
Heruli The Heruli (or Herules) were an early Germanic people. Possibly originating in Scandinavia, the Heruli are first mentioned by Roman authors as one of several " Scythian" groups raiding Roman provinces in the Balkans and the Aegean Sea, attacking ...
who were active throughout northern Europe and in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
during the fifth and sixth centuries. According to Guðmundsson, many of these Kylfings may ultimately have emigrated to
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
during the ninth and tenth centuries. Other scholars have assigned a
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
origin to this tribe. Some scholars have considered the Kylfings of ''Egil's Saga'' to be a "conquering Germanic people", or the Swedish king's tax collectors. Holm (1992) considers such suggestions to be anachronistic because the Swedish kings lacked any interest in northern Fenno-Scandia during the ninth and tenth centuries, and not even the later law of Hälsingland mentions any Swedish settlement north of Bygdeå in southern
Västerbotten Västerbotten (), known in English as West Bothnia or Westrobothnia, is a province (''landskap'') in the north of Sweden, bordering Ångermanland, Lapland, North Bothnia, and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is known for the cheese named after the p ...
.Holm 86ff. Pritsak identified the Kylfings as a "professional trading and mercenary organization" that organized expeditions northward, into the Saami lands, as distinct from other
Varangian The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...
and
viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
groups whose expeditions focussed on lands to the west and east of Scandinavia. This interpretation is supported by such historians as Stender-Petersen. A number of runestones in Sweden contain the personal name ''Kylfingr'', which may or may not be connected to the Kylfings as a group.


Other suggestions

A few historians have hypothesized that the Kylfings were a
West Slav The West Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak the West Slavic languages. They separated from the common Slavic group around the 7th century, and established independent polities in Central Europe by the 8th to 9th centuries. The West Slavic lang ...
ic people related to the Pomeranians. Under this interpretation, the Slavic term ''Kolbiag'' may share common origins with such place-names as Kołobrzeg (formerly Kolberg), a town on the
Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
n Baltic coast, and
Kolpino Kolpino (russian: Ко́лпино; fi, Kolpina, ') is a municipal city in Kolpinsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on the Izhora River (tributary of the Neva) southeast of St. Petersburg pro ...
, a settlement near modern
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.


Status


Byzantine Empire

Eleventh-century
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
sources refer to Kylfings (Κουλπίγγοι, ''Koulpingoi''; often attested in the genitive plural ''Κουλπίγγων'', ''Koulpingon'') as being among the foreigners serving as mercenaries in
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, but appear to distinguish between them and the Varangians. For instance, an imperial chrysobull, an edict bearing a golden seal, issued in 1073 exempts certain
monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
from being forced to
billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...
soldiers of specific '' ethne'': Varangians, Rus',
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
s,
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
and ''Koulpingoi''. In previous edicts issued in 1060 and 1068 the Koulpingoi had not been separately delineated.Laiou 91. Similar edicts were issued in 1082, 1086, and 1088. The edict issued by
Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
1088, for instance, reads:


Russia and the eastern Baltic

The Kylfings were also active in the eastern Baltic and northern Russia. ''Kylfingaland'' may have been used to refer to Karelia; on some runestones it has been interpreted as a synonym for Garðariki, the Old Norse name for
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. The eleventh-century '' Ruskaya Pravda'', the
law code A code of law, also called a law code or legal code, is a systematic collection of statutes. It is a type of legislation that purports to exhaustively cover a complete system of laws or a particular area of law as it existed at the time the cod ...
of the
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...
, grants certain privileges to Kylfings (''Колбяги'' or "Kolbiagi") in addition to Varangians ("Varyagi"). For instance, Varangians and Kylfings were entitled to press charges with an oath without relying on any witnesses. In addition, in order to swear innocence, they needed only two witnesses, whereas a native Slav needed as many as seven. Moreover, the Varangians and the Kylfings were entitled to give shelter to a fugitive for as many as three days, whereas Slavs and others had to hand him over directly.


Hungary

A military organization called ''Kölpények'' is reported to have existed in
Medieval Hungary Hungary in its modern (post-1946) borders roughly corresponds to the Great Hungarian Plain (the Pannonian Basin). During the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age, it was located at the crossroads between the cultural spheres of the Celts, Celtic tribes (suc ...
during the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries. Hungarian scholars have proposed that the ''Kölpények'' were identical with the Kylfings/Kolbiagi.''A Pallas Nagy Lexikona.''Székely 11. Hungarian sources regard the ''Kölpények'' as being of Scandinavian origin. They were hired by the early rulers of the House of Arpad, particularly
Taksony of Hungary Taksony (, also Taxis or Tocsun; before or around 931 – early 970s) was the Grand Prince of the Hungarians after their catastrophic defeat in the 955 Battle of Lechfeld. In his youth he had participated in plundering raids in Western Eu ...
in the 950s, to serve as frontier guards. They fought with their Magyar employers alongside Sviatoslav I of Kiev against
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
and the Byzantine Empire. Alternatively, the ''Kölpények'' may have been of
Pecheneg The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პაჭ ...
origin, as there was a Pecheneg tribal group called ''Külbej'' during roughly the same period.


''Austkylfur''

The skaldic poet Thorbjorn Hornklofi wrote about ''Austkylfur'', or "East-Kylfings", in his epic poem '' Haraldskvæði''. In some manuscripts the name was, probably erroneously, rendered ''auðkylfur'' or "rich men".Chadwick 186. Some
philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...
s, using the nautical meaning of the word ''kylfa'', interpret the phrase as "eastern ships". Others, such as F. Jonsson, interpreted ''Austkylfur'' to mean "eastern logs", while Vigfusson believed that the phrase properly meant simply "men of the east". Another interpretation of the term used in ''Haraldskvæði'' is the derogatory "eastern oafs". Guðmundsson specifically identified the ''Austkylfur'' of Hornklofi's poem with the Kylfings mentioned elsewhere in Scandinavian and Eastern European sources, and interpreted the phrase ''Austkylfur'' to mean "eastern club-wielding men".Guðmundsson 82. In ''Haraldskvæði'' as recorded by Snorri Sturluson in the ''
Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...
'', the Austrkylfur were described as being opponents of Harald Fairhair at the Battle of Hafrsfjord. As such they formed part of the force, led by
Kjotve the Rich Kjotve the Rich (Old Norse: ''Kjǫtvi hinn auðgi'', Norwegian: ''Kjøtve den Rike'') was a king of Agder, then one of the petty kingdoms of Norway during the late 9th century. Kjotve led the western Norwegian kings against King Harald Fairha ...
of
Agder Agder is a county (''fylke'') and traditional region in the southern part of Norway. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder counties were merged. Since the early 1900s, the term Sørlandet ("south ...
and the kings and jarls of
Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Munici ...
, Rogaland, and
Telemark Telemark is a traditional region, a former county, and a current electoral district in southern Norway. In 2020, Telemark merged with the former county of Vestfold to form the county of Vestfold og Telemark. Telemark borders the traditional ...
, that came to Hafrsfjord to fight Harald's encroaching
hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...
. The exact relationship between the ''Austkylfur'' and the anti-Harald coalition is unknown. Nora Chadwick identifies the ''Austkylfur'' as the part of the force opposing Harald that came from Agder and Telemark. These districts lie further east than the other kingdoms opposing Harald's rule. After their defeat by Harald and his army, the Kylfings' property was plundered and their womenfolk, described as "eastern maidens", were distributed by the victorious king among his warriors.


Timeline


Notes


References

* Anderson, T.
Kylfingar
" in Hoops, Johannes, ''et al.'', ''Reallexikon Der Germanischen Altertumskunde.'' Walter de Gruyter, 2000. p. 520–522. * '' Anglia: Zeitschrift für englische Philologie''. Niemeyer, 1924. * Arbman, Holger. ''The Vikings.'' Praeger, 1961. * Blöndal, Sigfús and Benedikz, Benedict S.
The Varangians of Byzantium
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Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
.'' vol. 7. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908. *
Kaikamees -- ajalooline aunimi.
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'. Boydell & Brewer, 2008. * Jónsson, Finnur, transl. ''Hrólfs saga Kraka og Bjarkarímur.'' Copenhagen, S. L. Møllers bogtr., 1904. *Kazhdan, A. P. and Ann Wharton Epstein.
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'. Dumbarton Oaks, 2000. * Norvin, William. '' Classica et mediaevalia: revue danoise de philologie et d'histoire.'' Librairie Gyldendal, 1938. * Percy, Thomas and
Margaret Clunies Ross Margaret Beryl Clunies Ross (born 24 April 1942) is a medievalist who was until her retirement in 2009 the McCaughey Professor of English Language and Early English Literature and Director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Syd ...
. ''The Old Norse Poetic Translations of Thomas Percy: A New Edition and Commentary''. Brepols, 2001. * Postan, M. M., Edward Miller, and H. J. Habakkuk. ''The Cambridge Economic History of Europe.'' Cambridge Univ. Press, 1987. * Pritsak, Omeljan. ''The Origin of Rus'.'' Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991. * Ravndal, Gabriel Bie. ''Stories of the East-Vikings''. Augsburg Publishing House, 1938. * Scudder, Bernard, transl. "Egil's Saga". ''Sagas of Icelanders''. Penguin, 2001. * Sootak, Jaan.
Development of Estonian Criminal Law
" ''Juridica International'', Vol. 1996-I. pp. 52–53. * Struminski, Bohdan. ''Linguistic Interrelations in Early Rus''. CIUS Press, 1996. * Székely, György. ''Hungary and Sweden: Early Contacts.'' Akadémiai Kiadó, 1975. * Vernadsky, George. ''Medieval Russian Law.'' Columbia Univ. Press, 1961. {{featured article History of Karelia History of Kievan Rus' Norsemen