Kylfings – Unknown Warriors Mentioned On Norse Runes – Were They Members Of The Varangian Guard?

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Several Norse runes mention a group of unknown warriors named Kylfings. According to scholars, the Kylfings may have been members of the Varangian Guard, but who these people were and where they came from remains a historical mystery.

Left: Norway's first king Harald Fairhair. Credit: Public Domain - Right: Battle of Hafrsfjord by Ole Peter Hansen Balling, 1870. Credit: Public Domain

Who Were The Kylfings?

From the late ninth century to the early twelfth century, the Kylfings were present in Northern Europe during the Viking Age.

They are mentioned in the Norse runestones, sagas, poems, Byzantine records, and Rus' law codes. The Kylfings obviously played an important role in many countries, but tracing these peoples' history has been difficult.

To begin with, we don't even know whether the term Kyfling refers to a particular tribe or is the name of a socio-political or economic group. Some scholars have suggested that the word kylfing was probably derived from Old Norwegian kylfa' club', which means 'man with a club.'

The Norslunda Runestone, bearing runic inscription U 419, mentions the personal name Kylfingr. Credit: Wikipedia

However, whether the Kylings were ethnically Finnic or Norse is still debated. They could have originated from Denmark, Sweden, or the Eastern Baltic.

The Kylfings And Their Battle Against Viking Chief Harald Fairhair

According to the Sagas, the Kylfings opposed the consolidation of Norway under the Viking chief Harald Fairhair.

The Kylfings participated in the great naval Battle of Hafrsfjord, sometimes between 872 and 900. When Harald Fairhair won the battle, the Kyflings started raids in Northern Norway and fought against King Harald Fairhair's warriors. The monument Sverd I Fjell – Swords In Rock, located just outside Stavanger, Norway, commemorates the Battle of Hafrsfjord.

Egil's Saga reveals that Kylfings were trading and plundering in Finnmark around 900. Thorolf Kveldulfsson, King Harald's tax agent in northern Norway, engaged Sami scouts to monitor the Kylfings' movements and report back to him. When Thorolf Kveldulfsson encountered the Kyflings, he killed all of them.

"Far and wide about Finmark did he travel; but when he reached the fells eastward, he heard that the Kylfings were come from the east and were there for trading with the Finns but in some places for plunder also.

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Thorolf set Finns to spy out the movements of the Kylfings, and he followed after to search for them and came upon thirty men in one den, all of whom he slew, letting none escape." (Egil's Saga, Chapter: Thorolf in Finmark)

Kyflings And The Varangian Guard

Historians have found evidence that the Kylings were also mentioned in connection with the Varangian Guard. The Varangian Guard represented the elite heavy infantry regiment of the Roman ('Byzantine') Empire from AD 988 AD to around 1404 AD.  and consisted of professional Viking warriors who successfully conquered territories.

However, whether the Kyflings actually served as a unit of the Byzantine army has not been historically proven.

Who these unknown warriors were and where they came from is still a controversial subject. One theory proposed they were a Finnic tribe or West Slavic people. Still, many have also suggested that the Kylfings were from East Scandinavia, possibly Swedish tribe, or originated from eastern Baltic and northern Russia.

Written by  Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

Updated on October 2, 2022

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