Dr. Wayne Bartlett

You know, not a lot in terms of centralized control, a lot of opportunism going on, a lot of violence, but also a lot of trading as well.

So a place where a young man like Harold could really start to establish his reputation and make his way in the world.

So a place for adventurers.

And Harold was certainly that.

Yeah, well, for a time, he spent some time at Kiev, where the current ruler was a guy called Yaroslav the Wise.

Yaroslav was himself very connected to Scandinavia.

He had previously, for example, given refuge to Harold's now dead half-brother, Olaf.

So he has this long established their reputation for being a place of refuge for people like Olaf and now Harold, who are trying to restore their situation after particularly troubling times.

And unfortunately, there's not a huge amount in the historical record of

about what Harold did in Kiev at this time.

But we do know that he was probably involved in wars against the Poles, as you say, and other people in what we would now call Northeastern Europe.

We do know that he was involved in that, probably as some kind of captain in Yaroslav's army.

And he does, from the little we know, he does make a bit of a name for himself as a very successful army leader.

But it's really when he gets the opportunity to involve himself in the affairs of the Byzantine Empire, based on Constantinople, that we really start to see Harold coming into

When I say the historical record, a little bit of caution is needed because we're talking about sagas here, which may be history, may be a little bit of legendary stuff thrown in.

Someone's described them as historical novels, which is, I think, a good way of looking at it.

But it's really at this stage, once he makes his way from Kiev to Constantinople, that we really start to find that Harold becomes a much more rounded figure in the so-called historical record.

Very much so.

The collective name often given to these people is the Varangians.

So the Varangians are, if you like, they're mercenaries of Viking descent, which the Byzantine emperor of the day, and this had been going on for 150 years by the time Harold got there, used mercenaries from the Varangians to be, as you say, his enforcers.