“The East” on the Latest Study of the “Eastern Vikings”: Reflections on the Book Entitled “The Making of the Eastern Vikings: Rus’ and Varangians in the Middle Ages”

Abstract

The article provides a detailed analysis of the collective monograph The Making of the Eastern Vikings: Rus’ and the Varangians in the Middle Ages, published by Brepols in 2024. Alongside an introduction, an index of terms, and a bibliography, the volume comprises eleven scholarly contributions — eight of which are source-based studies, while the remaining three focus primarily on historiography. Centered on events in Eastern Europe between the 9^th and 13^th centuries, the articles draw upon five main categories of sources: Byzantine historical texts, works by Arab historians and geographers, Western European sources, Russian chronicles, and Icelandic sagas. The monograph features contributions from both established and emerging scholars, and this diversity is reflected in the uneven quality of the articles. While roughly a quarter of the cited literature consists of Russian-authored works (in both Russian and English) addressing Scandinavian presence in Rus’ and Byzantium during the period in question, several chapters demonstrate limited engagement with Russian scholarship. This oversight results in either the rediscovery of previously established findings or, in some cases, outright erroneous conclusions. The collection’s overarching theme is perhaps best encapsulated by the title of one of its articles: The West on the North in the East. Literally translated as “Western ideas about the Northmen in the East”, the phrase succinctly captures the volume’s core focus — Western historiography’s perspectives on the Scandinavians in Eastern Europe.