Garðaríki

File:GardarikiTownsEngRusFirst.png

Towns of mentioned in Old Scandinavian sources, according to T. Jackson,Template:Sfn E. Melnikova,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn K. Müllenhoff,Template:Sfn V. Thomsen,Template:Sfn and A. Bugge.Template:Sfn

(anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike)Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn or was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the lands of Rus'.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn According to Göngu-Hrólfs saga, the name (also used as a name for Novgorodian Rus')Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn was synonymous with , and these names were used interchangeably in several other Old Norse stories.Template:Sfn

As the Varangians dealt mainly with the northern lands of Rus',Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn their sagas regard the city of (usually identified with Novgorod)Template:EfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn as the capital of .Template:EfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Other important places of mentioned in the sagas that have generally been identified with well known historical towns are (Ladoga),Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn (Kiev),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn (Polotsk),Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn (Smolensk),Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn (Suzdal),Template:Sfn (Murom),Template:Sfn and (Rostov).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

At least seven of the Varangian runestones, G 114,Template:Sfn N 62,Template:Sfn Sö 148,Template:Sfn Sö 338,Template:Sfn U 209,Template:Sfn U 636,Template:Sfn and Öl 28,Template:Sfn refer to Scandinavian men who had been in .Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Etymology

File:Gardariki Etymology Diagram.png

Etymology of according to R. Cleasby & G. Vigfússon,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn R. Derksen,Template:Sfn J. de Vries,Template:Sfn P. Durkin,Template:Sfn T. Jackson,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn M. L. Jøndal,Template:Sfn J. T. Koch,Template:Sfn G. Kroonen,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn J. P. Mallory & D. Q. Adams,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn E. Melnikova,Template:Sfn E. Nosov,Template:Sfn V. Orel,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn O. Pritsak,Template:Sfn H. Rix & M. Kümmel,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn F. Wachler,Template:Sfn and G. Zoëga.Template:Sfn

The word , which first appeared in Icelandic sagas in the twelfth century,Template:Sfn could stem from the words Template:Sfn and Template:Wikt-lang (an empire, realm, kingdom)Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn according to the common Scandinavian pattern for state formations X+ríki.Template:Sfn is the genitive form of ,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn therefore the compound could be translated into English as "the kingdom of Garðar" or "the empire of Garðar".Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The name itself was used in skaldic poems, runic inscriptions and early sagas up to the twelfth century to refer to the lands to the east of Scandinavia populated by the Rus' people,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn primarily to Novgorodian Rus'.Template:Sfn The toponym Rússía (Russia) likely appeared after most of the sagas had been written, in the 13th–14th centuries.Template:Sfn

is a plural form of the Old Norse word Template:Wikt-lang which referred to 1) a fence; 2) a fortification; 3) a yard; 4) a court; 5) a farm; 6) a village house,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Efn while the related Old Russian word городъTemplate:Efn referred to 1) a fence; 2) a fortification; 3) a field defensive work; 4) a settlement.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Since there is an overlapping meaning among the ones these related words once had ("a fence, a fortified place"), both garðr and городъ could mean the same at one time in the past.Template:Sfn Thus, some researches interpreted as a collective name for Old Rus' townsTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn encountered by Scandinavians on their way from Lyubsha and Ladoga down the Volkhov River into other Slavonic lands.Template:Sfn The younger toponym could mean "the realm of towns", or "the country of towns".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Legendary kings

• Odin ()Template:Sfn
• ()Template:Sfn
• or ()Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
• ()Template:Sfn
• ()Template:Sfn
• ()Template:Sfn
• (king of in )Template:SfnTemplate:Efn
• (king from , )Template:Sfn
• (king of Ruziland, )Template:Sfn

See also

• Rus' Khaganate
• Kievan Rus

References

• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite thesis

Literature

• Brandt, Dagmar: (novel). 2 Volumes, Berlin 1943. Reprint .
• Jakobsson, Sverrir, The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), Template:ISBN

External links

• Template:Commonscatinline