True Left

Kings and Generals' historical animated documentary series on Medieval History continues with a feature length episode on Ancient Origins of the Kievan Rus: from Rurikids to Mongols, as we will talk about the history of the Eastern Slavs, their relationships with the Turkic steppe peoples, Eastern Roman Empire and the Norse. This video will cover the rise and fall of Kiev, Christianization of the Rus, attacks against Constantinople, the wars against the Khazars and other nomads, as well as the Mongol invasions and the struggle of the Novgorod Republic against the crusaders. We will talk about the Sieges of Constantinople, Battle of Kalka and battle onthe Ice (Lake Peipus).

Byock reveals through careful reading of the famed numerous sagas associated with Viking voyages and colonial life (i.e. Njál’s Saga, set in 10th century Iceland; Greenlander’s Saga, written in the later 12th century; and Eirik’s Saga, written in the mid 13th century). These sagas are populated by chieftains, free farmers, valorous deeds, enemies slain and territories taken, aristocratic-democratic forms of government, concerns for the honour and ethics of the individual and his family, the epic ideal of an individual’s sacrifice to duty to liege lord, and the heroic experiences of sailor-farmers colonising Greenland and North America.[36]