''Blakumen'' or ''Blökumenn'' were a people mentioned in Scandinavian sources dating from the 11th through 13th centuries. The name of their land, ''Blokumannaland'', has also been preserved. Victor Spinei, Florin Curta, Florin Pintescu and other historians identify them as

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

(variation of the exonym Vlach), while

Omeljan Pritsak Omeljan Yosypovych Pritsak (; 7 April 1919 – 29 May 2006) was the first Mykhailo Hrushevsky Professor of History of Ukraine, Ukrainian History at Harvard University and the founder and first director (1973–1989) of the Harvard Ukrainian Rese ...

argues that they were

Cumans The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Ru ...

. Judith Jesch adds the possibility that the terms meant "black men", the meaning of which is unclear. Historians identify ''Blokumannaland'' as the lands south of the

Lower Danube The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important r ...

which were inhabited by Vlachs in the Middle Ages, adding that the term may refer to either

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

(to the north of the Danube) or

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

in the modern

Icelandic language Icelandic ( ; , ) is a North Germanic languages, North Germanic language from the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken by about 314,000 people, the vast majority of whom live in Iceland, where it is the national languag ...

''Blakumen'' on runestone G134

The only preserved example of the variant ''Blakumen'' of the ethnonym was an inscription on a

runestone A runestone is typically a raised stone with a runic alphabet, runic inscription, but the term can also be applied to inscriptions on boulders and on bedrock. The tradition of erecting runestones as a memorial to dead men began in the 4th centur ...

in the Sjonhem cemetery in

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

in Sweden. The forms of the runes on the memorial stone suggest that it was raised in approximately 1050 AD. According to its inscription, a

Varangian The Varangians ( ; ; ; , or )Varangian
," Online Etymology Dictionary were

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

. Curta proposes that Hróðfúss was a merchant traveling towards

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, who was attacked and killed by Vlachs north of the

. Jesch likewise suggests that Hróðfúss was a merchant "on a voyage abroad", and assumes that he was murdered by local merchants who betrayed his trust. Jesch translates ''Blakumen'' as Vlachs, confronting their treachery with their untrustworthiness as claimed by Kekaumenos. Jesch also allows for the possibility that the term may have meant "black men", in which case the meaning is unclear. Pritsak refuses to identify the ''Blakumen'' in the inscription with Vlachs, instead stating that they were

, whose migration towards the westernmost regions of the Pontic steppes began around the time when the memorial stone was erected. Spinei counters this view because several mentions of the ''Blakumen'' or ''Blökumen'' (for instance in the Eymund's Saga) occur in contexts taking place decades before the earliest appearance of the Cumans in the Pontic steppe. Spinei also says that if understood as meaning "Black Cumans", then the term is not concordant with the Varangian ethnic terminology (derived from either Germanic or East-Slavic naming traditions), that it is not attested in mirror forms in other languages (such as *''cumani nigri'' in Latin or *''mauro Koumanoi'' in Greek), and that the juxtaposition of a Scandinavian adjective and a proper name of Greek or Latin origin (at the expense of the German ''Walven'' designating Cumans) to produce ''Blakumen'' ("black Cumans") and ''Blokumannaland'' ("the land of the black Cumans") is highly improbable.

''Blökumenn'' in the ''Flatey Book''

''Blökumen'' are mentioned in the ''

Flateyjarbók ''Flateyjarbók'' (; "Book of Flatey, Breiðafjörður, Flatey") is an important medieval Iceland, Icelandic manuscript. It is also known as GkS 1005 fol. and by the Latin name ''Codex Flateyensis''. It was commissioned by Jón Hákonarson and p ...

'', an Icelandic manuscript from the late 14th century, which preserved a 13th-century

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

of King Olaf of Norway. This work contains a separate chapter on the adventures of a Norwegian prince, Eymund, at the court of Prince Jarizleifr in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

. The chapter narrates that Eymund informed Jarizleifr of the departure of Jarizleifr's brother, Burizlaf, to Tyrkland, and added that Burizlaf was preparing to attack Jarizleifr with a huge army formed by ''Tyrkir'', ''Blökumen'' and other peoples. Curta, Spinei and other scholars identify Jarizleifr with Yaroslav the Wise, and Burizlaf with

Sviatopolk I of Kiev Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich (also called ''Sviatopolk the Accursed'' or the ''Accursed Prince''; ; – 1019) was Prince of Turov from 988 to 1015 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1015 to 1019. He earned his sobriquet after allegedly murdering his ...

. They argue that the reference to the ''Tyrkir'' and ''Blökumen'' proves that Sviatopolk I hired

Pechenegs The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks, , Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: , , , , , , ka, პაჭანიკი, , , ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Pečenezi, separator=/, Печенези, also known as Pecheneg Turks were a semi-nomadic Turkic peopl ...

and Vlachs when he decided to go to war with Yaroslav. Furthermore, they propose that the ''Blökumenn'' of the ''Flatey Book'', like the ''Blakumen'' of the runic inscription from Gottland, were Vlachs from

Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...

''Blokumannaland''

''Blokumannaland'' is a territory mentioned in

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of th ...

's ''

Heimskringla () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...

'' ("The Circle of the World") from the 13th century. The book narrates how the Byzantine Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

, referred to by the name Kirjalax, invaded ''Blokumannaland'' where he fought against pagan tribes. Since these pagans have not been identified, there is disagreement as to the actual date of the Byzantine invasion. For instance, Spinei identifies the events prescribed in the ''Heimskringla'' with the Battle of Levounion of 1091 AD, which ended with the catastrophic defeat of the Pechenegs by the Byzantines. He argues that ''Blokumannaland'' refers to a territory inhabited by Vlachs south of the Lower Danube. On the other hand, Sandaaker proposes that the battle took place in 1040 AD, while the latest date of 1122 AD was proposed by Ellis Davidson and Blöndal. Alexandru Madgearu says that Sturluson anachronistically mentioned the lands south of the Danube as ''Blokummanaland'', because the latter term referred to the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

in Sturluson's time. In the modern Icelandic language, the term ''Blokumannaland'' may refer to either

References

Sources

Primary sources

*''Snorri Sturluson: Heimskringla: History of the Kings of Norway'' (Translated by Lee M. Hollander) (2009). The American-Scandinavian Foundation. . *''Eymund's Saga'' (1989). In ''Vikings in Russia: Yngvar's Saga and Eymund's Saga'' (Translated and Introduced by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards). Edingburgh University Press. pp. 69–89. .

Secondary sources

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