<p>Count Robert of Paris is a knight of the First Crusade (1096-1099), and the story is chiefly concerned with his insult to a Greek ruler and its reparation. In order to protect his domain from invasion, Alexius Comnenus, Greek emperor of Constantinople, hires a bodyguard of warriors from other nations, who are termed Varangians. Jealousies arise between these and native soldiers, and Hereward a Saxon is attacked by a Greek, but escapes and afte...