Þórsteinn strained against the carrying poles, sweat stinging his eyes. The land here was
The Secret Testament by G.S. Brown
steep and rocky. He and his companions made their way with their boat, poles placed through the oar holes. It was a small boat and could be transported thus overland. Still, laden down as it was, it was slow going. At their last portage they had paid some Slavs from a nearby village to help them roll it over a road, that could scarcely be called as such. This time, there was no suchnea by town and anyway, it was likely that few would wish to make such a journey. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took the flask of water that one of them handed him. He was the only one from the northern isles. These other men were experienced and had made this journey every season from Kiev, some from as far as Novgorod. He glanced up as the flash of sun off metal caught his eyes. Above them, on the steep embankment beyond the river, came a trilling cry. Gamli gasped and ordered the men to lower the boat and reach for weapons. Further, ahead the trees closed around the road. The boat tilted dangerously on its perch by the river. Þórsteinn grabbed his axe where it hung on the boat within easy reach. Horsemen poured over the slopes. The fringed horse equipment and felted caps, scarcely registered with him before his brain in some fevered way recognized them as Pencheneg tribesmen.
A trip down the Dnieper was the most common way to traverse the territory from Rus’ to Constantinople. Waterways in general have been favored through the ages, whether the Dnieper or the Ohio river, as people could transport large amounts of goods on them and often roads were bad or even non existent. However, the Dnieper was not without its perils. Most famous of the dangers were the Dnieper Rapids, which in addition to the shallows of the river, made removing the craft and rolling it on the land necessary. There were seven to nine rapids (depending on whom you asked) and the travelers had to make portage which meant they had to bring their boat up on to shore and move it over land. This was done by rolling it over logs, moving the logs from the back to the front, a laborious and tedious endeavor. It was at this juncture that the travelers were most vulnerable. In the centuries in which travel was at its peak on this waterway during the eighth through the first half of the eleventh century, Penchenegs were a common menace to travelers. Pencenegs were nomadic horsemen of Turkic origin. Not much is known about them or their customs, even thought they were mentioned by many people from Anna Komene to Arabic and Polish sources. They fomented frequent raids against the Rus for over two centuries, putting Kiev under siege in 968.
Basil II came to an agreement with them when they threatened to throw their allegiance in with Ivan Vladislav, tsar of Bulgaria with whom Basil was at war. Basil brought in loaded of carts of wealth, and quietly bought them off. Whether bought off or fought off, the Penchenegs proved to be a thorn in the side of eastern Europe for a long time. They were known for their ferocity. Not a lot comes down to us about their customs, weapons, and mode of dress but I was able to piece a bit together from other nomadic steppe peoples.
Þórsteinn felt the hard impact of his axe blade as it made contact with the leather helm of the first man who came at him. His blow was poorly aimed and a hit that should have cut through helm, bone and brain, merely glanced aside. Knowing he would not have time to bring it back again for another strike at the man’s face where first he had aimed it, he instead thrust his shield boss into his opponent’s jaw, sending a rain of broken teeth and blood up into his face.
The Secret Testament by G.S. Brown
Putting his back into the prow of the boat, he waited for the press of men to advance upon him.
The smell of trammeled moss and soil mixed with blood, seemed a strange thing for him to
notice. The next Pencheneg who came at him wore a tunic of stained ox-hide. He carried a spear the shaft of which was decorated with locks of hair of many different colors. He aimed the spear at Þórsteinn’s belly and Þórsteinn parried his thrust with his axe, moving in close to the Pencheneg so his spear would be of little use, but he had not counted on the man dragging a knife from his belt with which he used to slash at Þórsteinn’s face.
Psellos tells us that the Penchenegs “wear no breastplates, greaves or helmets, and carry no shields or swords. Their only weapon and means of defense is the spear… in one dense mass , encouraged by sheer desperation , they shout their thunderous war cries and hurl themselves pell-mell upon their adversaries…pursuing them and slaying them without mercy.”
He goes on to relate their manner in the nomadic lifestyle to which they are accustomed: “…If there is no water, each man dismounts his horse and opens its veins with a knife and drinks the blood…after that, they cut up the fattest of the horses, set fire to whatever wood they find ready to hand and, having slightly warmed the chopped limbs of the horse there on the spot, they gorge themselves on the meat, blood and all. Their repast over, they hurry back to their primitive huts, where they lurk like snakes in the deep gullies and precipitous cliffs which constitute their home.”
They are frequently referred to as Scythians, but then so are the Nordic Rus in Byzantine sources, proving time and again that most people don’t know much about other people outside of their own experience.
Furs, honey, slaves, amber, and beeswax were frequent commodities traded down the Dnieper to Constantinople (or Mikklegard as the Varangians called it). In return, they would carry back the luxuries of Constantinople, such as wine, spices, gold, glass and all manner of expensive things. Over time the Dnieper carried back the faith and icons of Constantinople and Anna Porphyrogenita, the sister of Basil II, sent to be a bride of Vladimir of the Rus.
In The Secret Testament, Þórsteinn is the sole survivor of such an attack, and only because the boat they were hauling overland slid down the embankment, pinning him underneath.
The Dnieper Rapids was where Svyatoslav met his end. Svyatoslav was a Rus prince and the father of the Grand Prince of Kiev, Vladimir. After the Penchenegs killed Svyatoslav, they made a drinking cup from his skull. As Svyatoslav was a pretty rowdy pagan himself, he might have approved this ending and might have done the same had the roles been reversed.
Constantine Monomachus attempted to use the Penchenegs as mercenaries, but they proved to be untrustworthy and were given to fighting amongst themselves. He then was reduced to fighting them himself, only to have to resort to bribery. But by this time, the Penchnegs were aware of the incredible wealth of the empire and would settle for nothing less than large tracts of land and honorific titles.
The journey traversed 1,200 miles to the Black Sea. Once they had reached the Black Sea, if the waters were calm enough, the hardest part of the journey was done. This journey was estimated to take about six weeks. There is some evidence that winter travel was endeavored with sledges drawn by horses wearing crampons to keep their shod feet from slipping on the ice.
