THE VAEANGIANS. 



197 



the Novgorod Slavs sent an embassy to the Varangians (Yartigi) "beyond the 

 sea," inviting them to come and reign over them. The invitation was accepted by 

 Eurik and his two brothers, Sineous and Truvor, who either in 852 or 862 settled 

 with " all their Russian tribe " at Novgorod, about Lake Pskov, and on the shores of 

 the White Lake (Bielo-Ozero). The somewhat mythical Oleg, successor of Rurik, 

 transferred the seat of empire and the Russian name to Kiev. But who were these 

 Russian Varagi ? Li the sixteenth century their home was traced to the Letto- 

 Prussians, on the south of the Baltic, who were at that time supposed to represent 

 the imperial race of Rome, in consequence of their national name Latvinr, easily 

 changed into Latini, anl the sacred city Romove, identified with Rome. But 

 more recently their origin has been sought in Sweden, and this view is supported 



P'ig. 96. — KuRGANS OF Chernigov. 

 Scale 1 : 600,000. 



Kur|a n 



® Gorodisfitshe 



5 Miles. 



by numerous evidences showing that the national name of the eastern Slavs is 

 due to the Norse rovers, at that time going up and down the world in quest of 

 glory or plunder. According to Kunik, Ross, or Russ, was the name given by the 

 Baltic Finns to the Svear, or Swedes, of the west coast of the Baltic, and, notwith- 

 standing their Slavonic orthography, nearly all the names of Rurik's followers 

 occurring in the Russian chronicles are easily traced to a Scandinavian origin. 

 All the men " of the Russian nation," says Nestor, "were Norsemen." But these 

 Scandinavian adventurers were a mere handful in the midst of the indigenous 

 peoples amongst whom they went in search of fortune, and in a few generations 

 their Norse origin was forgotten. Rurik's grandson, Svatoslav, already bears a 

 Slav name. 



