Varangian Guard versus Housecarl

Who wins


  • Total voters
    35
And the obvious Byzantinophile picks...... VARANGIAN GUARD! Realistically they were very nearly the same thing, but the ERE wanted the best of the best, and often had the money and stability to ensure that they actually got just that. In addition, their armor was generally superior, and I believe that the norse sagas themselves suggested that Scandinavian metalwork in the dark ages was sub-par compared to other areas at the time.
 
The Varangian guard would just hire the opposition. No need to endanger the safety of an elite army just because 500 good potential recruits wander by.
 
The Varangian guard would just hire the opposition. No need to endanger the safety of an elite army just because 500 good potential recruits wander by.

This.

Failing that, the Varangians are likely to be a more hand-picked and well equipped group, as Avitus said.
 
After 1066 and shortly thereafter they were more or less the same ...

The varangians had the advantage of far better training, unit cohesion and equipment. The roman heritage of professional military training and strategey still lived in Constantinople, and could work wonders on the gigantic barbaric Franks that signed up for the Guard.

Varangians wouldn't break ranks to chase retreating Normand cavalry, for example. And they lived and trained together all the time, while housecarls lived separately and seldom gathered.

But I also agree on the "let us hire them instead of fighting them" approach, which was highly byzntine.
 
Others have said it before me but they're almost the same thing from the 1070s on, and metalwork in the East is better than in the North, so with Guard wages they'd be able to buy better stuff.

I also agree that while on some level these questions are entertaining I wish some more thought went into it.
 
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