Lands and men.
The guest, like the hostage, was expected to fight and help his host.
“Next spring Half was twelve winters old, and no man was as tall or as strong as he. Then he made ready to go on warfare, and had a new and well-outfitted ship. In Hördaland there was a Jarl named Alf the old. He was married to Gunnlöd, daughter of the Berserk Hromund, sister of the hersir Hámund the valiant. They had two sons, both named Stein. The elder was then eighteen winters old. He was at that time the advice-giver of King Half. No one could go on expeditions who was younger or more youthful than he. A large stone lay in the yard, and no one was allowed to go who could not lift it from the ground; nor could any one go who was not so hardy that he never was afraid, or who spoke words of fear, or drew back his lips (changed countenance) on account of wounds.”
“Stein the younger, Gunnlöd’s son, was not able to go on account of his age, for he was only twelve winters old” (Half, and Half’s Champions’ Saga, c. 10).
Horses used for war could not be less than three years old, except in cases of great danger, when they could be taken at the age of two years.
One of the formations of an army was that of “Svinfylking” (swine-array), or a triangle. This array was adopted in the Bravalla battle,[[113]] where it is said to have been introduced by Odin himself, thus showing its great antiquity.
Sigmund Brestisson, the famous champion of the Faroes, in the time of Hakon Jarl made a raid into Sweden. One of the chiefs of the King of Sweden, by name Björn, gathered a numerous host and cut Sigmund off from his ships. One day when they saw the host of the land, the men of Sigmund talked of what they should resolve to do. Sigmund said:
“‘There are yet many good chances, and very often the more numerous host does not gain the victory, if there are fearless men against them. Now we will make a resolve to arrange our host in swine-array. We kinsmen, I and Thorir, will be foremost, and then three and five white shielded men shall stand on the flanks; and I think it our best plan to rush at their array, and see if we can thus get through it, and the Swedes will not stand firmly on the field.’ This they did, rushed at the array of the Swedes, and broke through it” (Flateyjarbok, i., p. 140).
It seems the shieldburg was at the apex of the triangle.
“If thou art in a battle on shore, and hast to fight on foot, and art at the point of the svin-fylking, then it is very important in the earlier part of the battle that good care is taken that the locked shieldburgh be not broken or opened” (Konung’s Skuggsja, p. 85).