Garðaríki

Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike)[3] or Garðaveldi was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the Kievan Rus' state.[4][5][lower-alpha 1] According to Göngu-Hrólfs saga, the name Hólmgarðaríki was synonymous with Garðaríki, and these names were used interchangeably in several other Old Norse stories.[10]

Towns of Garðaríki mentioned in Old Scandinavian sources, according to T. Jackson[1] and A. Bugge[2]

As the Varangians dealt mainly with the northern lands of Rus',[11] their sagas regard the city of Hólmgarðr (usually identified with Veliky Novgorod[12][13][14][15]) as the capital of Garðaríki.[16][17][18][19][20][21] Other local towns mentioned in the sagas that have generally been identified with modern-day places are Aldeigjuborg (Old Ladoga),[22] Kœnugarðr/Kænugarðr (Kyiv),[23] Pallteskja/Pallteskia (Polotsk),[24] Smaleskia (Smolensk), Súrdalar (Suzdal), Móramar (Murom), and Rostofa (Rostov).[1][25][2][26]

Three of the Varangian runestones, G 114, Sö 338, and U 209, refer to Scandinavian men who had been in Garðar.[27][28][29][30]

Etymology

The word Garðaríki, which first appeared in Icelandic sagas in the twelfth century,[31] could stem from the words Garðar and ríki according to the common Scandinavian pattern for state formations X+ríki,[32] therefore this term could be translated into English as "the kingdom of Garðar". The name Garðar 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.[33][34]

Garðar is a plural form of the Old Norse word garðr which referred to 1) a fence; 2) a fortification; 3) a yard; 4) a court; 5) a farm; 6) a village house,[35][36][37] while the related Old East Slavic word городъ[lower-alpha 2] referred to 1) a fence; 2) a fortification; 3) a field defensive work; 4) a settlement.[39] 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.[40] Thus, some researches interpreted Garðar as a collective name for Old Rus' towns[41][42] encountered by Scandinavians on their way from Lyubsha and Ladoga down the Volkhov River into other Slavonic lands.[43] The younger toponym Garðaríki could mean "the realm of towns", or "the country of towns".[44]

Legendary kings

See also

Notes
  1. The original name for the lands of Rus', particularly of Novgorodian Rus', in Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic sources, including runic inscriptions, poetry of skalds and sagas, was the toponym Garðar.[6] First seen in the poem Óláfsdrápa composed by Hallfreðr Vandræðaskáld in 996.[7] The toponym is based on the root garð- with a wide range of meanings.[8][9]
  2. Old East Slavic городъ stems from the Proto-Slavic *gȏrdъ meaning "fortification, town"[38]
  3. Some scholars linked Svíþjóð hin kalda or "Sweden the Cold" to the ancient Sarmatia and assumed that Gardariki was located there.[50][51][52]

Citations
  1. Jackson 2003, p. 40–41: "Old Norse sources have preserved the names of the twelve towns that are considered by the medieval authors, as well as by their modern publishers, to have been Old Russian towns. These are Hólmgarðr, Aldeigjuborg, Kœnugarðr, Súrdalar, Pallteskia, Smaleskia, Móramar, Rostofa, Sýmes, Gaðar, Alaborg, Danparstaðir. The first eight of them are practically unanimously associated with Novgorod, Ladoga, Kiev, Polotsk, Smolensk, Suzdal, Murom and Rostov".
  2. Bugge 1906, p. 250: "Rußland selbst und mehrere russische Städte tragen in den isländischen Sagas nordische Namen, z.B. Garđar oder Garđaríki ″Rußland″, Holmgarđr ″Nowgorod″, Aldeigjuborg ″Altladoga″, Kœnugarđr ″Kiew″, Surdalar ″Susdal″, Smalenskia ″Smolensk″ und Palteskia [Rus' itself and several Rus' towns are called by their Nordic names in the Sagas, e.g. Garđar or Garđaríki ″Rus'″, Holmgarđr ″Novgorod″, Aldeigjuborg ″Staraya Ladoga″, Kœnugarđr ″Kiev″, Surdalar ″Suzdal″, Smalenskia ″Smolensk″ and Palteskia]".
  3. Store Norske Leksikon 2020.
  4. Cleasby & Vigfússon 1874, p. 192: "Garðar, m. pl. (í Görðum), Garða-ríki or Garða-veldi, n. the empire of Garðar, is the old Scandin. name of the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the 10th and 11th centuries".
  5. de Vries 1977, p. 156: "Garðaríki, älter auch Garðar 'name des Wikingerreiches in Russland'".
  6. Pritsak 1981, p. 366: "In the older sources, such as the scaldic poetry and the King's sagas, the usual ON name for Rus' (especially Novgorodian Rus') was Garðar, the plural form of Garðr".
  7. Jackson 2003, p. 37: "The earliest fixation of Garðar, as a designation of Rus, is found in the second strophe of Óláfsdrápa, a poem composed in 996 by the Icelandic skald Hallfreðr Vandræðaskáld".
  8. de Vries 1977, p. 156.
  9. Jackson 2003, p. 39.
  10. Thomsen 1877, p. 70: "The localities in Russia, or Garðaríki, which are mentioned in the Sagas are more particularly those grouped nearest round the Gulf of Finland which were evidently constantly frequented by the Scandinavians".
  11. Jackson 2003, p. 45: "The Old Norse place-name Hólmgarðr has traditionally been considered to be the designation of Novgorod".
  12. Jackson 2015, p. 173: "Лучше других городов источникам известен отождествляемый с Нов­городом Hólmgarðr [Hólmgarðr, which is identified with Novgorod, appears in the sources more often than other towns]".
  13. Thomsen 1877, p. 70: "Another town which is extremely often mentioned is Novgorod, which was called by the Scandinavians Hólmgarðr".
  14. Bugge 1906, p. 244: "Nowgorod (Holmgarđr)".
  15. Örvar-Odds saga, chpt. 30. Bardagi Odds ok Ögmundar: "Garðaríki er svá mikit land, at þat var þá margra konunga ríki. Marró hét konungr. Hann réð fyrir Móramar; þat land er í Garðaríki. Ráðstafr hét konungr. Ráðstofa heitir þar, er hann réð fyrir. Eddval hét konungr. Hann réð fyrir því ríki, er Súrsdal heitir. Hólmgeirr hét sá konungr, er næst Kvillánus réð fyrir Hólmgarði. Paltes hét konungr. Hann réð fyrir Palteskjuborg. Kænmarr hét konungr. Hann réð fyrir Kænugörðum, en þar byggði fyrst Magok, sonr Japhets Nóasonar. Þessir konungar allir, sem nú eru nefndir, váru skattgildir undir Kvillánus konung. [Garðaríki was such a vast land that it was a kingdom of many kings. Marró was the name of one king who ruled over Móramar, a land in Garðaríki. Ráðstafr was the name of another king, and Ráðstofa was the land where he ruled. Eddval was the name of a king who ruled over the kingdom called Súrsdal, and Hólmgeirr was the name of the king who had ruled over Hólmgarðr before Kvillánus. Paltes was the name of a king who ruled over Palteskjuborg. Kænmarr was the name of another king who ruled over Kænugörðum, where the first settler was Magog, son of Noah’s son, Japheth. All these kings paid tribute to King Kvillánus]".
  16. Petersen 1847, p. 27: "Eitt sumar sendi hann menn austr í Hólmgarða, at bjóða Hrollaugi konungi barnfóstr, er þá var ríkastr konúngr".
  17. Vigfússon 1862, p. 133: "Hon segir Jarizleifi konungi at hann skal bafua hinn æzsla hlut Gardarikis en þat er Holmgard… Jarizleifr konungr skal vera yfir Gardariki".
  18. Rafn 1830, p. 237: "…hann átti at ráða fyrir Hólmgarðaríki, er sumir menn kalla Garðaríki…".
  19. Rafn 1830, p. 362: "Hólmgarðaborg er mest alsetr Garðakonúngs, þat er nú kallat Nogarðar".
  20. Liljegren 1818, p. 204: "Holmgard eller Holmgardaborg, en stad, som af fremlingar mycket besöktes, var deruti hufvudstad och Gardarikes Konungasäte".
  21. Thomsen 1877, p. 70: "Thus mention is often made of the old commercial town Aldegjuborg, the Russian (Old-)Ladoga, standing on the little river Volkhov, at some distance from its fall into lake Ladoga, called by the Scandinavians Aldegja".
  22. Thomsen 1877, p. 70: "The Old Norse name of Kiev was Kœnugarðr".
  23. Thomsen 1877, p. 70: "Polotsk was called Palteskja".
  24. Jackson 2015, p. 173: "Городов, однако, упоминаемых на территории Гардарики, во всей совокупности древнескандинавских письменных памятников можно насчитать лишь двенадцать. Восемь из них (Hólmgarðr, Aldeigjuborg, Kænugarðr, Pallteskja, Smaleskia, Súrdalar, Móramar, Rostofa) практически однозначно отождествляются исследователями с Новгородом, Старой Ладогой, Киевом, Полоцком, Смоленском, Суздалем, Муромом и Ростовом; остальные четыре названия (Sýrnes, Gaðar, Álaborg, Danparstaðir) имеют не столь однозначные толкования. [Of the cities, however, mentioned in the territory of Garðaríki, in the entire body of the old Scandinavian written records, only twelve can be counted. Eight of them (Hólmgarðr, Aldeigjuborg, Kænugarðr, Pallteskja, Smaleskia, Súrdalar, Móramar, Rostofa) are almost definitely identified by scholars with Novgorod, Staraya Ladoga, Kyiv, Polotsk, Smolensk, Suzdal, Murom and Rostov; the other four names (Sýrnes, Gaðar, Álaborg, Danparstaðir) have less unambiguous interpretations]".
  25. Liljegren 1818, p. 204: "HOLMGARD, eller GARDARIKE, egenteligen så kalladt, tillföll Jarislaf, och utgjorde Novogorod, Ladoga, Bielo-Osero, Rostov och angränsande orter dess område".
  26. Pritsak 1981, p. 346: "R i karþum aR. uaR uiue meR::h ... he [Liknat] was in Garðar".
  27. Pritsak 1981, p. 396: "Þōrstæinn must have spent a long time in Rus' since he managed to accumulate a sizable fortune there (as witnessed by his huge monument, Sö 338)".
  28. Pritsak 1981, p. 396: "Þōrstæinn, then, was a commander (forungi) of a retinue (lið) in Rus' (i garþum)".
  29. Pritsak 1981, p. 396: "han fial i urustu austr i garþum ... He fell in action east in Garðar (Rus')".
  30. Jackson 2003, p. 37: "According to Braun, the name Garðaríki was created by those Icelanders who wrote down sagas from the late twelfth century".
  31. Braun 1924, p. 194: "Und so entstand in der isländischen Kunstprosa der Ausdruck Garðaríki, nach dem Vorbild von Danaríki, Svíaríki (woraus Sverige) Hringaríki, Raumaríki u. a. m. Volkstümlich war das Wort ursprünglich nicht und ist es auch später nur auf Island durch die Sagaliteratur geworden".
  32. Jackson 2003, p. 37: "...in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries, Garðar was used for the designation of Old Rus all over Scandinavian Peninsula".
  33. Jackson 2003, p. 37: "In the skaldic poetry of the tenth through the twelfth century, Old Rus is called only by its earliest Old Norse name Garðar. In the runic inscriptions of the eleventh century, the toponym Garðar is used nine times".
  34. de Vries 1977, p. 156: "garðr 1 m. 'zaun, hof, garten’".
  35. de Vries 1977, p. 156: "Gewöhnlich zu garðr ‘hof, festung’".
  36. Jackson 2003, p. 39: "Old Norse garðr has the following meanings: 1) a fence of any kind, a fortification; 2) a yard (an enclosed space); 3) a court-yard, court and premises; 4) a separated farm (in Iceland); 5) a house or building in a country or village (especially in Norway, Denmark and Sweden)".
  37. Derksen 2008.
  38. Jackson 2003, p. 39: "The Old Russian word, in its turn, has the following meanings: 1) a fence; 2) a fortified place, town walls, a fortification; 3) a field defensive work; 4) a settlement, an administrative and trade center".
  39. de Vries 1977, p. 156: "…der ältere Name Garðar war vielleicht eine zusammenfassende Bezeichnung von russischen grady oder 'städte'…".
  40. Braun 1924, p. 196: "Garðar bedeutet also die Gesamtheit der slavisch-russischen Städte mit ihren Bezirken".
  41. Jackson 2003, p. 40: "Thus, the Scandinavians, who set on their way from Ladoga down the Volkhov into other Slavonic territories, came across a chain of fortified settlements, that were called by the local population города [goroda]".
  42. Jackson 2015, p. 172–173.
  43. Petersen 1847, p. 4: "Konungr hèt Sigrlami, svá er sagt, at hann væri sun Óðins. Hánum fèkk Óðinn þat ríki, sem nú er kallat Garðaríki".
  44. Göttingische Anzeigen 1787, p. 553: "...und Hrollaug, den König in Gardariki (Novogorod)".
  45. Sögubrot, chpt. 2. Vélræði Ívars konungs: "…Garðaríki. Þar réð fyrir sá konungr, er Raðbarðr hét".
  46. Rafn 1830, p. 237: "Sva byrjar þessa frásögu, at Hreggviðr er konúngr nefndr; hann átti at ráða fyrir Hólmgarðaríki, er sumir menn kalla Garðaríki…".
  47. Sörla, chpt. 1. Frá Sörla ok ætt hans: "Í þann tíma, sem Hálfdan konungr Brönufóstri stýrði Svíþjóð inni köldu".
  48. Laing 1844, p.216: "Swithiod the Great, or the Cold, is the ancient Sarmatia; and is also called Godheim in the mythological sagas, or the home of Odin and the other gods".
  49. Rafn 1852, p.438: "Svethiæ Magnæ (Sarmatiæ)".
  50. Rafn 1852, p.438: "In ea parte orbis, quæ Europa appellatur, Svethia Magna orienti proxima est, quo ad religionem Christianam propagandam Philippus apostolus venit. Hujus regni pars est Russia, quam nos Gardarikiam appellamus".
  51. Sturluson 1230, chpt. 48. Dauði Haralds konungs grenska: "Hit sama kveld kom þar annarr konungr, sá hét Vissavaldr, austan or Garðaríki".

References

Literature
  • Brandt, Dagmar: Gardariki. Ein Stufenbuch aus dem russischen Raum (novel). 2 Volumes, Berlin 1943. Reprint Faksimile Verlag Bremen 1981.
  • Jakobsson, Sverrir, The Varangians: In God’s Holy Fire (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), ISBN 978-3-030-53796-8
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