Garðaríki (anglicized Gardariki or Gardarike)[7][8] or Garðaveldi was the Old Norse term used in the Middle Ages for the lands of Rus'.
[22] As the Varangians dealt mainly with the northern lands of Rus',[23][24][25] their sagas regard the city of Hólmgarðr/Hólmgarðaborg (usually identified with Novgorod)[note 2][43][44][45][46] as the capital of Garðaríki.
[note 3][58][59][60][61] Other important places of Garðaríki mentioned in the sagas that have generally been identified with well known historical towns are Aldeigja/Aldeigjuborg (Ladoga),[62][63][64][65] Kœnugarðr/Kænugarðr (Kiev),[66][67] Pallteskja/Pallteskia (Polotsk),[68][69][70] Smaleskja/Smaleskia (Smolensk),[71][72] Súrdalar (Suzdal),[73] Móramar (Murom),[74] and Rostofa (Rostov).
[16] 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,[121][122][94][note 5] while the related Old Russian word городъ[note 6] referred to 1) a fence; 2) a fortification; 3) a field defensive work; 4) a settlement.
[129] Thus, some researches interpreted Garðar as a collective name for Old Rus' towns[130][131] encountered by Scandinavians on their way from Lyubsha and Ladoga down the Volkhov River into other Slavonic lands.