Historically the Guard existed longer than the Varangian title of the Byzantines existed. Scandinavian countries, especially nobles, jarls and kings, regularly used a smaller, but no less skilled guard called Housecarls. Servants were personally chosen by the ruler and served as bodyguards, police, and military elite just as they would in later versions of housecarls (Wheeler 128-130). Housecarls perfectly reflect the culture of the northerners and served the ancient Scandinavian countries. in the most efficient form of a guard. As the Scandinavians began to integrate with Slavic Rus, the elite guards became larger to compensate for the larger landmasses, this scale would decentralize the guards as more and more men flocked to the kingdoms for wealth and glory. It is at this time under the Russian flags that all Northern mercenaries began to be called Varangians. The service of the first Varangians continued the success seen by the Housecarls. Although the culture of the Guard was heterogeneous, coming from many northern states, it functioned in unity, bringing together many warrior cultures and fusing the unity of different military tactics to form a cohesive Guard (Cross