Names for royal/imperial bodyguard units.

The Frankish kings and then the French kings used the Paladins (knights of the palace). Roland was the most famous.

We can consider the majordome (mayor of the palace, originaly "big man in the palace") were special but above the merovingian kings in many way (the merovigians were always fighting each others, the majordome was de facto the real leader), especially considering Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer grandfather of Charlemagne) virtually founded the carolingian dynasty.

I'll go for paladins and majordomes though.

Originally posted by Styrbiorn Originally posted by Komnenos Most prominent member of the Varangian guard was Harald Hadrade, later to become King of Norway, who fell in the battle of Stamford Bridge 1066 and who apparently invented skiing. He did not invent skiing - a 5,000 year old ski has been found in central Sweden.

I do apologise, my Old-Norse let me down, the Edda mentions only that he was a very good skier. Bet, he didn't practise much, while he was in Byzantine service. Raises also the question, if he had won the battle of Stamford Bridge, if it had happened in Mid-winter and in good Cross-Country Skiing conditions.

Originally posted by Jorsalfar I wonder what Hardr�de did in the Varangian Guard?

He led it.

Many Swedes and some other Scandinavians used to serve in the guard (and some of the not so religious ones left their marks in the Hagia Sophia), up until after Hastings, when many Anglo-Saxons sought their fortune there.

Originally posted by Jorsalfar I wonder what Hardr�de did in the Varangian Guard?

He came to Constantinople on his way home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1035, stopped over for a few years, served in the guard with distinction and in action and was appointed Akolythos, the commander of the Varangian Guard. During his time, the Mid-Byzantine Empire was in serious decline under a number of incapable rulers, and was fighting on the Balkans against Serbs and Bulgars, and in the East against various Caliphates and Harald Hadrade had enough opportunity to distinguish himself. He left in 1043, much richer than he came. The service in the guard was extremely well paid, even by Byzantine standards.

im not sure but, doesn't the pope have some switz guard or something?

Chaeonian Guard (Epirus).