Garðaríki

Common card · No. 248744

Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike) or Garðaveldi was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the lands of Rus'. According to Göngu-Hrólfs saga, the name Hólmgarðaríki (also used as a name for Novgorodian Rus') was synonymous with Garðaríki, and these names were used interchangeably in several other Old Norse stories. As the Varangians dealt mainly with the northern lands of Rus', their sagas regard the city of Hólmgarðr/Hólmgarðaborg (usually identified with Novgorod) as the capital of Garðaríki. Other important places of Garðaríki mentioned in the sagas that have generally been identified with well known historical towns are Aldeigja/Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga), Kœnugarðr/Kænugarðr (Kiev), Pallteskja/Pallteskia (Polotsk), Smaleskja/Smaleskia (Smolensk), Súrdalar (Suzdal), Móramar (Murom), and Rostofa (Rostov). At least seven of the Varangian runestones, G 114, N 62, Sö 148, Sö 338, U 209, U 636, and Öl 28, refer to Scandinavian men who had been in Garðar.

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