dr Maciej Lubik

Section 26.: Chronographies and letopises. Historical literature of the Byzantine-Slavic cultural circles in the Middle Ages. Sources from the eastern periphery of the Piasts’ power territory

Saga of Harald Sigurdarson is one of the most colorful among the kings’ sagas. A distinctive part of it is the description of the accomplishments of this future Norwegian king during his mercenary service in Byzantium (30s and 40s of the 11th century), and earlier in Rus’, when he campaigned against Poland. This description gives an insight into medieval Scandinavians’ historical – though not necessarily of this kind – perception of the Byzantine court, and especially its key figures (incl. Empress Zoe and her husbands) who play significant role in the narratives that finally formed Harald’s image in the cultural memory of the medieval North. The aim o this paper is to show the way in which the characteristics of these figures and the Byzantine court is shaped in the sagas, and to consider the extent to which the geographically and chronologically distant reality is reflected in the Icelandic narratives of the 13th and 14th century.