ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1973 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1973 ************************************ From: "Sara L Friedemann" 19 Mar 2000 Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for information on heraldry used by the Varangian Guard. Here is what we have found. The Varangian guards were an elite force of Viking warriors that served the Byzantine Empire from at least the middle of the 9th century. [1] However, at the time that the Varangian Guard was active in the Byzantine Empire, "heraldry" per se had not yet been invented. It is therefore unlikely that they would have used heraldic designs similar to what is found in Western European heraldry from the 13th century on. While they probably did decorate their shields and banners in various ways, we could find no information on what those designs looked like. There is information out there, however; an acquaintance of one of the Academy members is studying Varangian insignia. Unfortunately, we were not able to contact him to find more details on his sources. We're sorry that this letter could not be more useful to you, and hope that you will not hesitate to write again if any part was unclear or if you have further questions. Research and commentary on this letter was provided by Juliana de Luna, Walraven van Nijmegen, Amant le Marinier, Giles Leabrook, Julie Stampnitzky, Arval Benicoeur, and Barak Raz. For the Academy, ~Aryanhwy merch Catmael, 19Mar00 --------------------------------------- References: [1] "General history of the Varangian Guard." http://www2.murray.net.au/users/leigh/vguard.htm [accessed 22Feb00]