718 Van der Weyden, Rogier
slaves or soldiers for the wars against the Persians thus
ending the Vandal kingdom.
See alsoGOTHS;OSTROGOTHS.
Further reading: Averil Cameron, “Vandal and
Byzantine Africa,” in The Cambridge Ancient History.Vol.
14, Late Antiquity: Empire and Successors, A.D. 425–600,
ed. Averil Cameron, Bryan Ward-Perkins, and Michael
Whitby (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000),
552–569; F. M. Clover, The Late Roman West and the Van-
dals(London: Ashgate, 1993); Malcolm Todd, The Early
Germans(Oxford: Blackwell, 1992); Malcolm Todd, The
Northern Barbarians, 100 BC–AD300,rev. ed. (New York:
B. Blackwell, 1987); J. M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Barbarian
West, 400–1000,rev. ed. (Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1996);
Lucien Musset, The Germanic Invasions: The Making of
Europe, AD400–600,trans. Edward and Columba James
(1969; reprint, University Park: Pennsylvania State Uni-
versity Press, 1975).
Van der Weyden, Rogier See WEYDEN, ROGIER
VAN DER.
Van Eyck SeeEYCK, HUBERT VAN, ANDEYCK, JAN VAN.
Varangians and Varangian Guard(the Sworn Men)
The Varangians were initially in Scandinavian sources des-
ignated as trusted MERCHANTSor trusted soldiers who were
affiliated by an OATHto some kind of traveling group. The
Varangians at first seem mainly to have been traders mov-
ing by boat who were forced by their dangerous business
expeditions to arm themselves. They were soon defined
and employed as mercenary soldiers, who became famous
for their reliability and valor. At CONSTANTINOPLEthey
formed a particular, fierce, and elite regiment detailed to
guard personally the emperor. For the BYZANTINEEMPIRE
the Varangians were associated with Russians, but by the
11th century they also included NORMANS. At various
times they were also enlisted to overthrow emperors.
Russian princes had also frequently employed
Varangian mercenaries in their conflicts with each
another or on distant expeditions. The name was also
associated in general ways with the founders of the new
Russian or Rus ́kingdom.
See alsoKIEV ANDKIEVANRUS ́; NOVGOROD; RURIK;
VIKINGS.
Further reading:Sigfús Blöndal, The Varangians of
Byzantium: an Aspect of Byzantine Military History,trans.,
rev., and rewritten by Benedikt S. Benedikz (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1978).
Vasco da Gama(ca. 1469–December 25, 1524)Por-
tuguese navigator
Vasco da Gama was born in Sines in southwest PORTU-
GAL in about 1469. The king of Portugal, Manuel I
(r. 1495–1521), commissioned him to lead an expedition
to follow the route found by Bartholomew DIAZaround
AFRICAto India. A nobleman, he was an experienced sol-
dier and trained navigator who proved to be a tough,
arrogant, intelligent, and compassionate commander. He
left LISBONon July 8, 1497, with four ships manned by
170 sailors and equipped with translators and trinkets
for trade. Sailing far out into the Atlantic to take best
advantage of the prevailing winds, he rounded the Cape
on November 18, 1497, and sailed up the coast of east-
ern Africa. Hiring a pilot from a local sultan, he sailed
across the Indian Ocean and made landfall near Calicut,
or present-day Kozhikode in Kerala in India, on May 18,- He spent three months there and, having lost his
pilot, was barely able to cross back over the Indian Ocean,
with little actually to show from his time in India. He
reached Portugal in early September 1499 with only 54 of
his original crew left. He had reached India, however.
In 1502 he returned to India to establish colonies en
route and there. He managed to establish Portuguese
dominance in the Indian Ocean by winning several bat-
tles and showing no mercy to those who opposed him.
After returning to Portugal, he retired with much honor.
Called out of retirement 20 years later, he was made
viceroy of India. He died in Goa on December 25, 1524,
soon after his return.
Further reading:Vasco da Gama, A Journal of the
First Voyage,ed. E. G. Ravenstein (London: Hakluyt Soci-
ety, 1898); G. R. Crone, The Discovery of the East(Lon-
don: Hamish Hamilton, 1972), especially “Vasco da Gama
Reaches Calicut,” 27–39; Sanjay Subrahmanyam, The
Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama(Cambridge: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1997).
vassalage SeeFEUDALISM AND THE FEUDAL SYSTEM.vaults SeeGOTHIC.vellum SeePARCHMENT.Venerable Bede SeeBEDE THEVENERABLE, SAINT.venial sin SeeSIN.Venice A city in northeastern ITA LY, Venice was first
established on some 118 small islands in the middle of a
lagoon in the sixth century as a refuge from invaders.
People from the coastal area between RAVENNA and
Aquileia fled there to avoid dominance first by the HUNS
and then by the OSTROGOTHS. These early settlements,
living off fishing and the production of SALT, were much
expanded during the Lombard invasions of the later sixth
century as more people fled out to them. The Venetian