ve sons. They durst not stay,
But round their ships' sides hung their shields
And fled across the blue sea-fields."

King Hakon returned then northwards to Norway, but Eirik's sons remained
a long time in Denmark.

21. KING HAKON'S LAWS.

King Hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land over
the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from it as
the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into ship-raths
according to the districts; and it was fixed by law how many ships there
should be from each district, and how great each should be, when the
whole people were called out on service. For this outfit the whole
inhabitants should be bound whenever a foreign army came to the country.
With this came also the order that beacons should be erected upon the
hills, so that every man could see from the one to the other; and it is
told that a war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most
southerly beacon to the most northerly Thing-seat in Halogaland

22. CONCERNING EIRIK'S SONS.

Eirik's sons plundered much on the Baltic coasts and sometimes, as
before related, in Norway; but so long as Hakon ruled over Norway there
was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he was the most beloved
of kings. When Hakon had reigned about twenty years in Norway (A.D.
954), Eirik's sons came from Denmark with a powerful army, of which
a great part consisted of the people who had followed them on their
expeditions; but a still greater army of Danes had been placed at their
disposal by King Harald Gormson. They sailed with a fair wind from
Vendil, and came to Agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day,
along the coast. But the beacons were not fired, because it had been
usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody had
observed them from the east coast; and besides King Hakon had set
heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the beacons without
occasion. The reason of this was, that ships of war and vikings cruised
about and plundered among the outlying islands, and the country people
took them for Eirik's sons, and lighted the beacons, and set the whole
country in trouble and dread of war. Sometimes, no doubt, the sons of
Eirik were there; but having only their own troops, and no Danish army
with them, they returned to Denmark; and sometimes these were other
vikings. King Hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble
an