Eunuch Detective

One of the books I'm reading now is The Snake Stone: A Novel by Jason Goodwin, the second book in a series set in 1830's Istanbul that features Yashim, a Turkish detective of sorts who happens to be a eunuch. (The first book in the series was The Janissary Tree: A Novel). Author Goodwin is an historian by trade and his books feature numerous obscure yet fascinating details.

One of the pleasures of reading historical fiction in the Internet Age is the ability to quickly and expansively explore a subject. Goodwin includes the founding of Russia by the Vikings. Huh? A tribe of Swedes called the Rus came over in the 9th century CE purportedly at the invite of the locals to get things in order. The Vikings obliged and soon were rowing and sailing up and down the great Russian rivers, like the Volga and the Dneiper. They eventually reached Byzantium (Istanbul) and some of the Vikings stayed and formed the Varangian Guard of the Byzantine Emperors.

Some of the sources are: History of RUSSIA and Viking Answer Lady Webpage - Vikings in the East: Rus and Varangians.

The Viking Answer Lady also has a fascinating section on The Real Ibn Fadlan and the Viking North. Ibn Fadlan was an emissary of the Caliph of Baghdad and wrote a journal. This web page has extensive excerpts.

I also bumped into a bunch of YouTube videos of Viking reenactors! Maybe we can add this as an event at next year's Monona Festival.... YouTube - Fight of russian vikings III