Jomsvikings

The Jomsvikings were a legendary order of Viking mercenaries or conquerors of the 10th and 11th centuries. Though reputed to be staunchly dedicated to the worship of the Old Norse gods, they would allegedly fight for any lord who could pay their substantial fees, even if he were Christian. The institution of the Jomsvikings would itself foreshadow those of the later religious and chivalric orders of the Middle Ages.

The legend of the Jomsvikings appears in some of the Icelandic sagas from the 12th and 13th centuries. According to the sagas (particularly the Jómsvíkinga saga, King Olaf Tryggvasson’s Saga, and stories found in the Flatey Book), their stronghold of Jomsborg was located on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, but its exact location has been disputed by modern historians and archeologists. Jomsborg is also thought by some researchers to be identical with Jumne, Julin and Vineta, which are mentioned in both Danish and German records from the Middle Ages. There is no medieval source that mentions a precise location of Jomsborg except for the disputed Gesta Wulinensis ecclesiae pontificum (at 53°51′50″N 14°43′05″E) that was alleged to have been discovered in the autumn of 2019.

Historians still debate the accuracy of the accounts of the Jomsvikings. Without a conclusively identified location for their headquarters, and because of a lack of primary or contemporary sources specifically mentioning the Jomsvikings or Jomsborg, confirming the tales of their exploits has been difficult. However, there are three contemporary runestones, as well as passages in Old Norse poetry and the lausavísur, that refer to their battles.