The _Thing_ or _Fylkis Thing_ was not made up of representatives elected by the people, but was rather a primary assembly of the free udal-born peasant-proprietors of the district. There were leading men in the _fylki_, and each _fylki_ had one or more chiefs, but they had to plead at the _Thing_ like other free men. When there were several chiefs, they usually had the title of _herse_; but when the free men had agreed upon one chief, he was called _jarl_ (earl), or king. The king was the commander in war, and usually performed the judicial functions; but he supported himself upon his own estates, and the free peasants paid no tax. The dignity of the king was usually inherited by his son, but if the heir was not to the liking of the people, they chose another. No man, however clear his right of succession, would think of assuming the title or power of a king except by the vote of the _Thing_. There he was presented to the people by a free peasant, and his right must be confirmed by the _Thing_ before he could exert any act of kingly power. The king had a number of free men in his service, who had sworn allegiance to him in war and in peace. They were armed men, kept in pay, and were called _hird-men_ or court-men, because they were members of the king's hird or court. If they were brave and faithful, they were often given high positions of trust; some were made _lendermen_ (liegemen), or managers of the king's estates. It is but natural that the ancient Norwegians should become warlike and brave men, since their firm religious belief was that those who died of sickness or old age would sink down into the dark abode of Hel (Helheim), and that only the brave men who fell in battle would be invited to the feasts in Odin's Hall. Sometimes the earls or kings would make war on their neighbors, either for conquest or revenge. But the time came when the countries of the north, with their poorly developed resources, became overpopulated, and the warriors had to seek other fields abroad. The viking cruises commenced, and for a long time the Norwegians continued to harry the coasts of Europe. At first the viking expeditions were nothing but piracy, carried on for a livelihood. The name Viking is supposed to be derived from the word _vik_, a cove or inlet on the coast, in which they would harbor their ships and lie in wait for merchants sailing by. Soon these expeditions assumed a wider range and a wilder character, and historians of the time paint the horrors spread by the vikings in dark colors. In the English churches they had a day of prayer each week to invoke the aid of heaven against the harrying Northmen. In France the following formula was inserted in the church prayer: "_A furore Normannorum libera nos, o Domine_!" (Free us, O Lord, from the fury of the Northmen!)