I've recently been reading about these guys and one thing I can't seem to get my head around is separating truth from fiction, I guess my question can be broken down into 2 parts really:
Jomsborg- was this a real place, or was it the town 'Wollin'?
Some of the leaders or chieftans, for example Palnatoke or Thorkell the Tall seem to be written about as real people in some sources and mythical figures in others.. Is it known if the leaders / key people of the Jomsviking s actually existed?
Thanks for any answers, greatly appreciated.
No one can seperate myth from reality when it comes to the Jomesvikings.
I guess that the reason you find that some of it seems very real and some of it seems very legendary is because the material on the Jomsvikings comes from a number of different sources, the two most importent being Saxo Grammaticus and his work "The deeds of the danes" and the Jómsvíkinga saga. In Saxo Grammaticus they are written as more mythical and in the Jómsvíkinga saga they are more human.
Jomsborg is believed to be the polish city of Wolin on the island of Wolin. There is a number of memorials and they also host a large viking event each year. Much about the jomsvikings are disputed and we have very little evidence for anything outside the sagas. There might have been a real Palnatoke at one point, but most historians believe that most of his deeds have been added latter. The danish noble family called Hvide have at different times in history claimed Palnatoke as their forefather. This is rather importent as Saxo Grammaticus writtes his work on command of archbishop Absalon who was the most prominent member of the Hvide family in his time.